What could be more suitable for a Halloween gig than zombies? And to add to the ghoulish fun, these particular Zombies – Etienne Jaumet and Cosmic Neman (also Herman Dune’s drummer) – were performing their latest album in full, which happens to be the duo’s interpretation of soundtracks from the films of John Carpenter – the cult composer and director of the classic ‘Halloween’ and other scary/bizarre B-movies.
Engulfed by synths and a mammoth drum kit, the Parisian duo launched straight into the theme from ‘Assault on Precinct 13’, with their proggy, electro Krautrock vibe perfectly complementing Carpenter’s dark tones and love of spacey synths – a passion shared by the band.
The duo then worked their way through a range of Carpenter classics, including ‘The Thing’ and the seminal, spooky theme from ‘Halloween’, spliced with mangled film samples and given a heavier, twisted disco feel. Superb.
ZZ then finished off with a punchy synth-rock version of the theme to ‘Escape From New York’ – a fitting showcase for the considerable drum skills of Neman, which had impressed throughout the night. All in all, a fine Halloween show from both Zombies, and hopefully a precursor for the band to receive the wider recognition they deserve.
But for me, the scariest part of the evening was yet to come, as I was forced to make my way back through London’s Elephant and Castle at midnight on Halloween, faced with various groups of youths to whom the line between trick-or-treating and mugging is an almost non-existent one. The horror, the horror…
Words by Tristan Parker