It's still early days for London quintet Dry The River, but their appearance at London Calling in Amsterdam on Sunday 21 May is a clear indication of where they're headed. They're on the bill fairly early by Dutch standards - 8pm - but the upstairs room in Paradiso is packed out to the point of overflowing by the time they appear onstage. It's fair to say, too, that the reaction to their set is phenomenal. Though only six songs long, the likes of Family Tree, Weights And Measures and superb set closer of Lion's Den demonstrate the versatility of the band's songwriting and their eclectic, far-reaching influences. The conversation backstage afterwards meanders through a variety of the most surprising genres, and drummer Jon Warren eagerly displays a tattoo on his leg of the Fat Wreck Chords logo - the label run by Fat Mike, singer of pop-punk mainstays NOFX - when the subject of punk comes up. Between him and the other members - Peter Liddle (vocals / guitar), Matt Taylor (guitar), Scott Miller (bass) and Will Harvey (violin) - their musical inspiration as a band is as eclectic as its comes, ranging from At The Drive-In to Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen to Devendra Banhart. Their own music, though, is a careful mix of emotive, lilting folk and upbeat, impassioned rock. At times, they're as graceful and beautiful as Fleet Foxes, at others as intense and dramatic as Broken Records. The whole time they're onstage, however, they're cohesive and determined, those disparate parts forming one sumptuous, cathartic whole.
Despite a gruelling touring schedule, the five-piece still find time to relax, of course. After the set, Q joins the band round the side of the venue, where they five of them have congregated, still reeling from their performance. Although they're approached by a few fans after their performance, at this stage, it's easy for them to relax without being hassled too much. But you get the feeling that that may change very soon - in the same way that international superstardom gradually bestowed itself upon Mumford & Sons, there's a very real sense that this could happen to Dry The River, too. Right now though, that's not even something on their minds. Post-gig, all they want to do is enjoy Amsterdam, and the various intoxicating delights it has to (legally) offer. Luckily, for them, they're playing another show in Amsterdam the next night, which means that the partying can rage all night. Q keeps up with them for a while, but calls it a night sometime after 1.30am, leaving the booze flowing freely, presumably until the very early hours. And so they should - they deserve it.
Words: Mischa Pearlman
3:29 PM | 26/05/2011
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