Demob Happy

Finally, the right moment. Demob Happy have been fighting for a while now to carve out their own space in an overcrowded alternative scene, but the road remains steep and uphill. Fresh off the release of their solid third album "Divine Machines" (2023), the trio led by bassist Matthew Marcantonio, completed by guitarist Adam Godfrey and drummer Thomas Armstrong, seems to have hit a ceiling in terms of popularity, much like fellow travelers The Amazons (to cite one possible example), and the outcome of their two previous Milan shows would seem to confirm this. Their third Italian date ever, and the first to be held in Bologna, managed to do at least some justice to this alt-rock project, which thanks to the crowd's warmth pushed hard on the accelerator and delivered a strong performance.

The evening opens with the brief set from Ed songwriter, aka Marco Rossi, accompanied for the occasion by bass and drums. The Modena-based musician moves between grunge memories and pop quirks: while his attempt to emulate Cobain-style vocals (and looks) feels a bit too forced at times, he finds decent footing with the placid "8", "Don't Shake You" and "Life In A Day", before drifting into Cure-adjacent territory with hints of Dinosaur Jr. in a tighter drumming pattern, and finally handing the closing section over to markedly (post-)grunge terrain, first with veiled echoes of Screaming Trees' "Dust" and finally with instrumental passages recalling Foo Fighters. As he leaves the stage at the end of the set, Ed hands out some old copies of his debut album "One Hand Clapping" (2012) to the crowd, leaving them at the edge of the stage.

The Brighton trio warm up with the aggressive riffs of "Voodoo Science", immediately showcasing one of their key reference points, namely the work of Queens Of The Stone Age, combined with a synthetic edge. The drum blasts and tight basslines of "Loosen It" set the stage for an effective one-two punch, featuring the razor-sharp guitar of "Run Baby Run" and the catchy choruses of "Token Appreciation Society", grittier here than on record.

Blessed with excellent stage presence, Marcantonio and co. prove to be fine entertainers, happily trading banter with the audience between songs in a set that appears perfectly balanced between the three albums released so far and standalone singles. The lopsided "Liar In Your Head" precedes the live debut of the explosive new track "The Name Of This Song" and the stoner-leaning passages of "Junk DNA".

One of the key moments is lit up by the tense rhythms of "Tear It Down", which also showcases Armstrong's distorted vocals, and by the heavy bassline of "Succubus". Setting the bass aside for a moment, "Muscular Reflex" rests entirely on a classic garage-style guitar-drums pairing, while the jittery "Sweet & Sour America" picks up the pace and further stirs the crowd, leading into the final stretch with the whirling "Less Is More", which brings Royal Blood to mind, the jumps to the notes of "Autoportrait" and one last moment dominated by the crowd chanting the surname of the Italian-born frontman, followed by a brief improvised jam, before the closing blasts and sing-alongs of "Be Your Man".

Somebody killed the radio star, Demob Happy declare at the start of "Token Appreciation Society" - perhaps a fitting line for the system and the times we live in, and yet a small hope still exists somewhere, and engaged live shows like this one at Covo Club, capable of filling eyes with joy and energizing musicians and audience alike, are proof of that.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google