In the equivalent of the sweat tent that threw James Ray into the slammer, the Shacklewell Arms in London’s East End, Captured Tracks darlings Dignan Porch and DIIV performed to a packed sardine house. When Shacklewell sells out, they mean it. I’m seriously talking no-room-to-spare, made possible by the emphatic splash these bands are making across the pond (and the U.S., for that matter).
After a somewhat lengthy bus ride on the 38 from Soho, I got to the quaint pub/venue a bit after 9pm. Keeping train-schedule timing, Dignan Porch were already diving into their set with all ten feet.
Seeing the band was absolutely impossible (actually making it into the room itself was a feat), but the sound more than made up for it. If Shacklewell does one thing right, it’s getting big sound out of a small cave. The band members – frontman Joe Walsh – vocals/guitar, Hayley Akins – keyboard/vocals, Ben Goodwin – bass, Sam Walsh – lead guitar, and Stephen Keane – drums – on stage took full advantage, making the room swirl as lofty melodies danced with the heat that emanated from the walls and the smiling bodies in the crowd.
As we swayed like the sea during sunset, Joe’s sweet vocals led us ‘through the darkness’ and into the bright, bouncing night. Aural recognition permeated the ears as “Picking Up Dust” came through the speakers, the single of Dignan Porch’s new album, Nothing Bad Will Ever Happen, and delighting all the senses.
Next up was DIIV (still getting used to the name change), taking an aggressive hold on the London kids, taking the tracks from this year’s Oshin and spinning them into a brash live set. Working on our second layer of sweat we screamed and howled as “How Long Have You Known” and “Doused” came on, whilst DIIV continued to rip through their set with a Nirvana cover and ending with “Past Lives.”
By 10:40pm it was all over, and DIIV set out into the London night for previous engagement in the form of a radio show appearance, and I myself headed to the bar for a cold cider and a few napkins to dry off.
Over the past year Capture Tracks out of Brooklyn has quickly become one of my favorite record labels, continually popping out album releases from bands that do indeed capture the heart and soul, from Beach Fossils (which ended my SXSW 2012 experience with a bang on the last night) to Blouse (who played a stellar set earlier this year at Hi-Dive) and Craft Spells. They’ve excelled at molding and nurturing the next generations of indie pop and shoegaze artists that carry the torch once held by House of Love, Pale Saints, Lighting Seeds and Chapterhouse.
Dignan Porch go on tour again in the U.S. in October after a Brixton, U.K. date in September, and DIIV continue their European tour through August, coming back to the states to tour with Wild Nothings in September, which includes a Denver date September 12 at Larimer Lounge. If it doesn’t sell out I will truly be surprised.
http://dignanporch.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/diivnyc
http://capturedtracks.com
[UPDATE] DIIV TOUR DATES:
9/05/12 @ Great American Music Hall- San Francisco, CA *
9/07/12 @ Venue- Vancouver, BC *
9/07/12 @ Biltmore Cabaret- Vancouver, BC *
9/08/12 @ Music Fest Northwest- Portland, OR *
9/09/12 @ Neumos- Seattle, WA *
9/12/12 @ Larimer Lounge- Denver, CO *
9/13/12 @ Jackpot Music Hall- Lawrence, KS *
9/14/12 @ The Sandbox- Omaha, NE *
9/15/12 @ Triple Rock Social Club- Minneapolis, MN *
9/16/12 @ Empty Bottle- Chicago, IL *
9/17/12 @ Magic Stick- Detroit, MI *
9/18/12 @ The Great Hall- Toronto, ON *
9/19/12 @ Ill Motore- Montreal, QC *
9/20/12 @ Brighton Music Hall- Boston, MA *
9/24/12 @ Union Transfer- Philadelphia, PA *
9/25/12 @ Rock and Roll Hotel- Washington, DC *
9/26/12 @ The Southern- Charlottesville, VA *
9/27/12 @ Grey Eagle- Asheville, NC *
9/28/12 @ Exit In- Nashville, TN *
9/29/12 @ 529- Atlanta, GA *
10/1/12 @Warren Wilson College- Swannanoa, NC
10/6/12 @INDEX Festival- Deep Ellum, TX
10/9/12 @ Echoplex- Los Angeles
* w/ Wild Nothing
DIIV EUROPEAN TOUR DATES
11/01/12 @ Pitchfork Paris Festival- Paris, France
11/02/12 @ The Rewire Festival- The Hague, Netherlands
11/03/12 @ Iceland Airwaves- Reykjavik, Iceland
11/05/12 @ Kuudes Linja- Helsinki, Finland
11/07/12 @ John Dee- Oslo, Norway
11/08/12 @ Debaser Slussen- Stockholm, Sweden
11/09/12 @ Loppen- Copenhagen, Denmark
11/10/12 @ Molotow- Hamburg, Germany
11/11/12 @ Bi Nuu- Berlin, Germany
11/12/12 @ Gebaude 9- Cologne, Germany
11/13/12 @ De Kreun- Kortrijk, Belgium
11/14/12 @ The Garage- London, UK
11/15/12 @ Plymouth Pavillions- Plymouth, UK w/ The Vaccines
11/17/12 @ Alexandra Palace- London, UK w/ The Vaccines
11/19/12 @ De Montfort Hall- Leicester, UK w/ The Vaccines
11/20/12 @ Deaf Institute- Manchester, UK
11/21/12 @ The Apollo- Manchester, UK w/ The Vaccines
11/22/12 @ Liverpool University- Liverpool, UK w/ The Vaccines
11/23/12 @ Doncaster Dome- Doncaster, UK w/ The Vaccines
11/25/12 @ 02 Academy- Glasgow, UK- w/ The Vaccines – Sold Out
11/26/12 @ 02 Academy- Glasgow, UK w/ The Vaccines
11/27/12 @ 02 Academy Newcastle- Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK w/ The Vaccines
11/28/12 @ Brudenell Social Club- Leeds, UK w/ The Raveonettes
11/29/12 @ 02 Academy- Birmingham, UK w/ The Vaccines
11/30/12 @ 02 Academy Bournemouth- Bournemouth, UK w/ The Vaccines
12/01/12 @ Autumn Falls Festival @ AB- Brussels, Belgium
12/02/12 @ Le Guess Who Festival- Utrecht, Netherlands
