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Concert: Division Of Laura Lee
Crocodile Cafe, Seattle WA, 2-1-03
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
After spending almost three months inundating myself with the sounds of Black City, the new album by Gothenberg, Sweden's Division of Laura Lee, and interviewing Per Stalberg for the January, 2003 issue of Cosmik Debris Magazine, I was quite curious to see what this band would be like live. Rumor had it the live show was the thing with DOLL, as they'd come to be affectionately referred to by their fans and the media, and some of the descriptions I'd heard were a bit too fantastic and therefore quickly dismissed. No sense setting impossible standards for a band I've yet to see, right?
[Pictured above: Per Stalberg and Jonas Gustavsson. Pictured below: David Ojala]
The crowd had been warmed up to sweaty-feverish by The Catheters and their brand of pure energy rock, and the wait between bands wasn't particularly long. Armed with a camera that was acting up, refusing to take the photos I was telling it to due to a new, incompatible telephoto lens, I took up position in front of guitarist David Ojala's microphone stand, a good vantage point for shooting the entire stage, and before I could figure out what was up with the camera, the lights went out and a tornado blew in from Sweden.
It took all of half a song to realize the standard I'd refused to hold this band to was lower than they were capable of. Every moment they were on stage was pure magic. Every song, most of the from Black City but a few new tunes here and there, came off fully realized instead of as live compromises. Vocalist/guitarist Per Stalberg used stomp boxes to duplicate the swirling sound effects on a few of the Black City songs, the results so effective I'm pretty sure he used those same effects in the studio instead of going with fancy digital tricks. With the sound bases covered, DOLL went about giving us a hell of a show. Stalberg, one of the least likely looking rockers you'll ever see when he's standing off-stage talking to someone, is a man possessed when the guitar is strapped around his shoulder. He's in constant motion. (my camera's insistence on taking the picture 3 seconds after I pushed the shutter netted me many wonderful photographs of a lone microphone where Per had just been!).
Though he's center stage and singing the majority of the time, Per isn't the only songwriter and lead vocalist in the band. Bassist Jonas Gustavsson takes the spotlight for several of his own numbers, including the chilling "Black City," the powerfully honest "The Truth Is Fucked" and the defiant and angry "Wild and Crazy," songs that are surprising coming from this young, happy, energetic and playful guy who's been hopping about the stage for the last twenty minutes having the time of his life. The transformation from that guy into dark and tortured guy should seem laughable, but something in Jonas' delivery and in his face as he sings tells you he's not fucking around here, that he feels these things and now you will too. He turns out to be every bit the star front man Per Stalberg is. A band with an overall sound this good and two bona fide lead singers/songwriters? Most bands don't have one.
There was little talk throughout the show, usually nothing more than a quick introduction to a song, or a nod to someone in the crowd, then another explosive song would begin, with everyone in motion, feet flying to the slamming beat of Hakan Johansson's drums, another infectious DOLL riff ripping through the speakers. They were unstoppable on this night - nothing new from what I hear - and the crowd was into it from the first intro. Division Of Laura Lee aren't as well known as The Hives - though they're unfairly compared to them all the time simply by virtue of being from Sweden - and the shame of it is they're so much more complete than The Hives. There's no formula here, no uniforms, no uniform stage moves. What I saw was a guy in a white T-shirt who moved as the music moved him, a guy in a black T-shirt and sweat jacket beating the shit out of his bass and having a hell of a good time, a drummer who almost never opened his eyes or looked up, so lost in the beat was he, and another guitarist (Ojala) who, I learned from standing directly in front of him throughout the show, is the secret to DOLL's sound, the Swiss... excuse me, the Swedish Army Knife of guitar and background vocals who makes more completely different sounds and fills more rolls than any two guitarists in most other bands.
The show ended with the three guys up front leaving the stage with their axes turned up leaning against their amps as feedback roared. Johansson continued the hypnotic beat of the final song long after the others had departed, finally knocking over his drums, piece by piece, and eventually falling down amongst them, remaining motionless as the feedback continued for some time. Long enough that one wondered "did he hurt himself?" Nope, eventually the lights came up and Johansson popped to his feet and left the stage. It had been one powerful show, beyond entertaining and all the way to unforgettable. I've recommended concerts before, but this time I am going a step further and telling anyone who enjoys DOLL's music that you only know 1/4th of the story. Until you see them live, you won't have the full level of respect for them that they deserve, even if you think they're amazing now.
© 2003 - DJ Johnson