Live Review: Two Feet - Scala, London 13/03/2019
New York musician Bill Dess (aka Two Feet) fills the Scala with his sultry blues and trademark bass as he returns to charm his European fans. Having just come off a string of stadium shows with Panic! At The Disco, Two Feet tells the crowd he’s glad to be back headlining and in London for only his 2nd time ever. Greeted by a queue that seemed to snake around the entire building, this was clearly going to be a gig with a lot of energy. Dess does a fairly good job of staying under the radar, but when he released ‘Go Fuck Yourself’ on SoundCloud back in 2016, he had people hooked immediately. Since then, he’s released a few more EP’s - most recently the 8 track “a 20 something Fuck” - and only got more popular.
Fellow New York DJ/producer Tim909 opened the show with a long set of EDM music. He’s supported Two Feet many times now and they’re an unexpectedly good fit. His non-stop electronic sound got the crowd energised almost immediately and he was clearly loving every second of his performance. Good as he was, it was pretty clear the room was just eagerly awaiting the main act.
The room explodes as soon as Two Feet walks onto the stage, accompanied only by his bandmate Huff, whose impressive set up at the back of the stage handles all the percussion and electronic elements of Two Feet’s show. Launching straight into his deep and enchanting sound, the pair work through an eclectic set of all Two Feet’s tracks, as well as a few new ones. Loving the new as much as the old, the crowd clap on demand and are constantly screaming for more.
Go Fuck Yourself is, of course, met by deafening screams from the audience. the track is one of Two Feet’s oldest and most popular. At regular points throughout the show the crowd could be heard chanting “doodles”, so it came as no surprise that Quick Music Doodles sent fans into a frenzy, and the electrifying energy that had been floating around the room doubled. The guitar heavy track is the perfect blend of his unique bluesy sound and heavy bass.
In amongst his own tracks, Dess threw in a cover of what he declared one of his favourite songs - Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine.” Infusing the track with his own infectious guitar riffs, Two Feet gives the crowd an impressive show. Dess is clearly not a one trick pony - his own tracks are flawlessly produced and even more flawlessly performed live, but his ability to cover such a huge song in such a unique way proves his talent is not limited to his own music.
After a rollercoaster year of releasing new music and battling depression, and a real love/hate relationship with his own growing fame, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Two Feet’s stage presence. Turns out that’s just as incredible as his music - he’s got a cool, chilled out vibe about him and effortlessly engages with his audience in between bounding around the stage with relentless energy. I’m fairly sure it’s impossible to leave a Two Feet show disappointed. With catchy guitar riffs, bass you can feel pounding through your whole body and his seductive vocals, Bill Dess certainly knows how to make every fan in the room adore him even more when they leave than they did when they walked in.
Words and Photography by Megan Smith