Django Django at First Avenue

Django Django brings Born Under Saturn to Minneapolis

When I saw the British electro rock band Django Django at First Avenue in March of 2013 I was blown away. Their percussive sound was contagious, and the full house at the mainroom of First Avenue gushed over with appreciation that night. The band’s second stop in Minneapolis was less impressive however, even though their catalog is now doubled to include their 2015 released sophomore album Born Under Saturn.

Doing their best to ignite the Sunday crowd that only filled about two-thirds of the mainroom, the art-rockers from London started off with their big single “Hail Bop” from their superb 2012 self-titled debut. From the photo pit it felt a little flat, and it wasn’t until “First Light” several songs in that the band raised the energy. The crowd followed, dancing to the bass heavy polyrhythmic beats blasting from the stage for the rest of the show. “Default” from the band’s debut was a culmination of this energy, hitting with a hard bounce towards the end of the set. Before “Default” hit, singer / guitarist Vincent Neff showed off his acoustic chops in the very nice instrumental “Slow West”, a tune written for drummer John Maclean’s new indie movie by the same name.

On this night, Django Django were at their best with uptempo songs like “WOR” and “Shake and Tremble” — a standout track on Born Under Saturn. Although it took a while to awake the sleepy Sunday crowd, Django Django definitely did so by the end, with the main floor resembling a dance party for the latter half of the show, strobe lights and all. But much like how their 2015 release Born Under Saturn doesn’t compare with their fantastic 2012 debut, this show at First Avenue was missing the drive that left me floored when they first came through town. Django Django is still a massively underrated band in my book. Check them out.

Django Django