Review: Brant Bjork And The Bros ‘Live In The High Desert’
When you get to hear live music that’s been dug up from the archives, then you usually know that it’s going to be something special, but when it’s a Brant Bjork And The Bros live concert from back in 2009, then you know it’s going to be a thing of beauty.
When you get to hear live music that’s been dug up from the archives, you usually know it’s going to be something special, but when it’s a Brant Bjork And The Bros live concert from back in 2009, it’s guaranteed to be a thing of beauty.
In one of his many renditions, this recording sees the classic Bros line-up with Dylan Roche on bass, Giampaolo Farnedion drums, and Max Raddings on guitar and from the opening bars of my favourite Brant Bjork song, Turn Yourself On, you are instantly lost in a different world where you have no worries or ills to think of. I was listening to this one sunny Monday morning as I went out for a walk, and I ended up trudging further than anticipated as my head was immersed in the music.
As Bjork himself said about that performance, ‘I believe this was the only time I played Pappy’s with this last and final line of The Bros’, referring to Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, a venue in the Mojave Desert, and they deliver a show that is as near to perfect as you are ever going to get. There’s the brilliant Low Desert Punk followed by the joyous ‘73, and you can sense the love in the room as the riffs are played, the strings are plucked, and the drums are patted.
The fact that this has finally been released should not be lost on anyone as you get to hear a band at the peak of their powers, who Bjork says, ‘has just returned from a tour down in Australia, so we were still in rock mode, there was a vibe not felt elsewhere’. It’s a scintillating memento of that period, and when Farnedi kicks off that drum intro for Too Many Chiefs my mind casts back to the time when I heard these songs live myself.
Genuis is a word that it banded about far too often, but Bjork is worthy of that title, for not only writing some amazing, genre defining songs, but he’s surrounded himself with musicians who have elevated his music to incredible heights, and this live album is the perfect example of that. Doctor Special, This Place and Hydraulicks is evidence of this, as The Bros give it their full treatment and it’s an absolute joy to listen to them played live.
a band who were relentless in their pursuit of excellence, performing at a level that few can match…
Even Bjork himself has commented on this night saying, ‘it was a good show on a great night, the band and the crowd were on and totally feeling it’ and this comes across on the recording. By the time the classic Freaks Of Nature comes on, I’m totally lost in the moment, and my best air guitar riffs come flying out. As he introduces the band during a section of the song, it highlights the talent on that stage and just how simple the quartet make performing songs of this exceptionally high standard look.
Miss My Chick/Ultimate Kickback gets the combined treatment, with the mesmerising riff section around the four-minute mark, they then return to 1999’s outstanding Jalamanta to deliver Lazy Bones and Automatic Fantastic that once again reminds you of how many amazing songs Bjork has written over the years. The signature riff is there, and sparks howls of pleasure from the assembled crowd before the end comes with Adelante from Ché’s Sound Of Liberation album.
For those fortunate enough to be present that evening, they witnessed a band who were relentless in their pursuit of excellence, performing at a level that few can match, and now, we all get to share in that moment and worship once more at the altar of Brant Bjork And The Bros.
Label: Duna Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Matthew Williams
