King Tut’s is sold out tonight and is so packed it’s almost impossible to move! A strange noise starts to emanate from the stage, a heavy bass sound, and one by one the members of 65daysofstatic arrive on stage. The drummer stands outside his kit, banging on a solitary drum, while the others pick up their instruments and join in. What started out as a slow build breaks down into a techno-esque breakbeat with pummeling guitars. The guys are going crazy, flinging their limbs around as they play, there’s just so much energy coming from them it’s hard not to be impressed.
A swirly, galloping drumbeat fills the room, rainbow coloured stage lights add to the overall trippy effect, then suddenly it’s faster, heavier. Feedback squeals out as the music builds to a crescendo, layer upon layer of sound. It’s all very intense, the drumming, the jarring sounds that are discordant yet fit the music, we even have a mini mosh pit in the first few rows. The crowd are definitely ‘proper’ fans, they know the music, no cheering and clapping at the quiet parts, they know exactly what to expect.
65days leave the stage to riotous cheering that turns into a rousing chant of ‘six-teee-fiiive!!’, and not two minutes later they are back onstage. For the first time they talk to their fans, asking, ‘do you wanna hear a new one?’ which sends the crowd wild. They start off with a slow, echoey intro, no drums, a slow build, then almost military drums kick in, the bassist banging on the drumkit and they are done.
They are a very hard band to define, there are elements of drum & bass, post rock, and even more populist dance music, but it seems their legion of fans are happy with each element and they are constantly attracting more. A good band to check out if you like Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, or even Pendulum.