Live from the Camden Underworld, 19/5/11
D - 4/5
And so we come to the small venue in Camden, long since host to rock and metal bands alike offering up a bitesize serving of D live from Japan - their only UK stop on this European Tour - and all the expenses involved in their travelling included, any money made to go to aid the Japanese relief effort. Despite a notable lack of audience banter, understandable given their lack of English fluency, they still managed to learn more than enough to get the crowds jumping, fist pumping, chanting, clapping, flag waving, dancing, swaying and banging their heads in almost perfect unison; feats reserved for the upper echelons of showmen and really highlighting the fact they should be playing for an audience of 2,000 rather than the couple of hundred that actually reared their head.
D's wide appeal is evident from the plethora of rockers, punks, goths and Visual-Kei fans who all got themselves dressed up for the occasion - a mixture that is a sight in itself - but none more so than the theatrical outfits of the band themselves. The frontman mysteriously hiding behind his elegant black cape, but the show was really stolen by the amusing antics of the bassist and lead guitarist in their feminine dresses; the more masculine former making sure to flash plenty of leg and blow kisses into the crowd whilst the one you'd be most likely to try to pick up at a bar and get halfway to the bedroom before you realised they had a penis could often be seen frantically bobbing up and down and screaming into the microphone.
D's live performance is one of those cases of the music sounding far better live, without any undue muddiness between the instruments and rarely a note being missed. Complete with an extended drum solo, they managed to make a lethargic crowd move to the music, and whilst not reaching the energetic peaks of others, show a genuine sense of wanting to be there to perform, and not just to try and make some money or advertise themselves. Between the free signing session after the show and the translated lyrics in the CDs being sold, they certainly weren't rushing into this tour haphazardly and their appreciation for their fans prove to me beyond any doubt that this could be one to watch in the next few years.
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