KATATONIA, PORNORPHANS & DAYLIGHT DIES

ULU – Malet Street, 9th May 2003

I had never heard Daylight Dies before but this US act preach firmly from Katatonia circa Brave Murder Day pulpit which is one Gospel that should definitely be listened to! They sound more English (definite My Dying Ride influence) and have the coldness of Norwegian acts that US outfits have rarely been able to muster. I am the last person to hype the good old US of A as we have enough mainstream publications doing that already, but this is tight, wide in scope, atmospheric and done with not a small degree of talent. Watch them grow.

The Pornorphans are certainly startling. Fronted by a 5ft tall blonde lady who can’t weigh more than 6st who prances about of the stage like a pole dancer, sings lyrics like “I sit and watch you masturbate” and calls the audience “my lovelies” she makes an immediate impression. The music is a touch less interesting and there is no disguising that whilst there are about five rows in front of the stage the majority of the punters appear to retreat towards the bar. It turns out that the band are Finish, although my own vote would have been Belgian; but either way whilst I revelled in their obscurity, musically to these ears they did not leave as lasting impression as their vocalist. Sorry but that just how it is.

One gets the distinct feeling that Katatonia deserve better tonight. With their new album Viva Emptiness, like the previous 5 receiving universal critical acclaim there are still only 200 people in here and there is the atmosphere of an abattoir. Furthermore things start off badly as they are treated to a diabolical sound mix which renders opener Ghost of the Sun impotent and Criminals fairs little better. The edginess of the crowd seems to transcend onto the stage with stickman Daniel Liljekvist hitting things but certainly not in the right places and the show teeters on the brink of collapse&ldots;

But Katatonia will not be weakened by this. Teargas sees a noticeable improvement in the sound and I Break hits the ground running and we are finally off. The next hour or so is perfect. Anders “Blackheim” Nystrom’s lonely leads match perfectly with Jonas Renske’s Robert Smith-esque wails. Jonas is a rare frontman. There is no disguising the fact that he would appear more at home on the ocke playing darts at Lakeside than anything else, but his anguished yelps and somber mood suit the music perfectly. “Are you feeling ok? Well this is a song about not feeling ok” said Jonas introducing Sweet Nurse and it looks as though a few may fall into the category of the latter as the toilet downstairs is closed with the rumours going around that someone has slashed their wrists&ldots;.To Katatonia. Natch.

The absolute highlight is Evidence. It is quite simply a phenomenally good song sung from the heart that has “hit” stamped all over it should anyone bother to market it.

The encores are initially perfect and secondly a complete joke. On the positive Deadhouse hits all the right spots and is a perfect set up for the concluding Murder off the aforementioned Brave Murder Day. But at this point the lights go on, the microphone goes off and Blackheim’s guitar sound disappears through the floor. The band plough on regardless and smile in the face of adversity, a big two fingers to the venue who obviously lack a bit of tact when advising a band their time is up.

So the feeling is one of disappointment. I will see this band put on an absolutely classic show one day, but this was not it due to the incompetence of elements around them, rather than any lack of real ability on their own behalf. This is a band who deserve far more support than they are currently getting so get off your backside and go and see them next time.

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