Death From Above 1979 'Do It' in Sign Language at Lollapalooza

One of the most unique aspects of a Lollapalooza main-stage performance is the sight of American Sign Language interpreters at the front of the stage, signing the lyrics live with much rock 'n' roll attitude. Canadian duo Death From Above 1979 put one ASL worker to the best use on Saturday afternoon, incorporating her into their finale.

The reunited drummer/vocalist Sebastien Grainger (sporting all white and a new blonde shaggy do he recently tweeted may be "too weird for Chicago") and bassist Jesse F. Keeler (dressed in bad-guy black) had already delivered many favorites from their 2004 disco-punk classic 'You're a Woman I'm a Machine,' playing beneath a black-and-white tombstone banner proclaiming "Death From Above 1979, 2001-2005."

Their trademark ferocious rhythms and unholy racket remained evident, and while they still don't exactly look like chums, there was a newfound sense of play on display. Calling the Lollapalooza festival "the stuff of Guitar mag pull-out posters and mud-pit sex fantasies," Grainger then asked the crowd, "Who would have thought we'd be here together?" perhaps an acknowledgement of the delicateness of the pair's working relationship as much as the shock of appearing at the legendary fest's 20th anniversary. Throughout the set, the ASL translator kept pace with her own impassioned interpretation of loud and heavy material.

But it was during 'Romantic Rights,' in which Grainger typically ditches his kit to stand up and work the stage like a frontman while Keeler holds down the groove, where the band adopted her like a third member: Grainger dropped down to her platform and the two performed a kind of duet, he shouting the song's chorus "Do it!" repeatedly while she signed it with wild abandon. The rousing crowd-pleasing moment came to and end when the drummer had to return to his position. "You looked lonely over there. If we had another drummer I'd come back, but I can't," he explained to the signer, before adding, "I'm staying at the Hard Rock, so look me up. I got a whole lotta signs, if you know what I'm saying, and none of them say 'Stop'."

Death From Above 1979 Perform at Lollapalooza


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