The older I get, the less I find myself rocking up to a totally random gig on a Monday evening. Or any evening, for that matter. I’d never heard of dust when I received the invite to their show at Manchester’s Yes Basement but was attracted by the fact that they’ve scored support slots for bands such as Bloc Party and Interpol in 2024. As I was able to count the attendees of the gig on just over three pairs of hands, it appears that I’m not the only person who was, until recently, yet to catch a whiff of the Australian alt-punk band. But while it may have been a small crowd for the venue, that barely mattered once the band were on stage – they played as if this was the biggest show of their careers (which it definitely won’t be) and those who were in attendance had an absolute ball. It’s a shame that more people weren’t able to witness it.
It was a frantic set. Forty-five minutes of visceral, aggressive performance from a young-looking band who play like they’ve been working together for years. The two vocalists bounce off each other – one with more of a scream, the other veering between spoken word and singing. The drummer stands out as the one driving their sound forward at times, battering the skins and cymbals while simultaneously trying to block the light of the projector out of his eyes. And in a way that is occasionally reminiscent of Joy Division, the bass pulses through each and every tune. But what actually makes dust feel a bit unique in a crowded genre, is the man who stands on the right-hand side of the stage = the saxophonist. He’s supremely talented, but that isn’t the only advantage – the presence of saxophone elevates many of the songs above your standard alt-punk fare, creating songs that thrum with intensity when played live.
Not knowing the songs previously, and the band not being the type to do a rambling introduction to each one, it is hard to pick out and name the highlights on the set. One which they called a new song had a slightly different, less aggressive sound and bought a moment of calm and rest to a set that otherwise never let up. And ‘False Narrative’, towards the end, felt like the moment that is most likely to catch the attention at those support sets next year. But there wasn’t a dull moment throughout and I have been listening to their EP on repeat since leaving the show. It is hard to imagine that I’ll ever get to see them surrounded by less than forty people again, so I am going to relish the fact that I got to on Monday. If they keep playing like this, bigger things are on the horizon.
It was also a night when I was glad that I wasn’t too lazy to get down there in time for the support act. It’s hard to really describe Crimewave other than to say he is a Manchester artist who stood centre stage with a guitar and a laptop and blasted out a set of songs which blended the sounds of shoegaze, hip-hop, and industrial music to create an energetic, charged, and fascinating set. Both acts at this Yes Basement show need to be on your watchlist.
Words by Fran Slater
Picky Bastards 