Dirty Honey - London Review

It is always good getting two gigs in London to line up with each other. Despite going to London quite a few times a year, each visit tends to be a fleeting one - so it is not too often that I get a chance to take it slow in the capital. I managed to do so this weekend, though, with Serenity on Sunday and Dirty Honey taking Camden by storm on the Monday it meant that I had a good chunk of the latter free to explore somewhat. It also meant that a bit of a lie in could be taken, but I was soon up, lunching in Finchley, and enjoying a rather sunny walk essentially southwards following the Northern Line to another part of the suburb. It was a good way to spend a couple of hours and it set me up nicely for the evening's entertainment at the Electric Ballroom - one of the city's most underrated venues. I have been to the venue quite a few times now, and each show has been memorable thanks to strong sound mixes and good atmospheres. Sometimes the second of two gigs on the trot can fall a little flat, particularly if the first one is a cracker - but I had a feeling that the California-based rockers Dirty Honey would not fall into that trap. Serenity's show the previous night in Tufnell Park was excellent, but I was really pumped to see Dirty Honey live again - just over a year after seeing them for the first time. I had been into the band for a couple of years beforehand, but seeing them play to a sold out Bodega in Nottingham as if they were headlining Wembley Stadium only increased my love of the four-piece and I was sure that when they returned they would be playing rooms much larger than the Bodega. With a strong and more mature second album in Can't Find the Brakes (which I reviewed here) now behind them I was right - and the Electric Ballroom seemed like an appropriate step up from The Garage (the band's last London venue). Sadly I do not think that Nottingham was included on this latest tour for comparison, but it is clear that in just over a year Dirty Honey's popularity has increased significantly. In truth, the band probably undersold themselves last time, with many of the shows selling out pretty quickly, but either way it is great to see the growth that they have undertaken and the genuine excitement that there is across the age spectrum to see an old-fashioned hard rock four-piece. The band are not especially original, but they do what they do so well - and it is great seeing older fans and teenagers equally excited for a band of Dirty Honey's ilk. I do not think that the Electric Ballroom was sold out, but the crowd the band attracted was certainly very healthy - and the place felt very full. I opted not to get a t-shirt this time as I still have one from the last tour, but the queue for the merch stall barely let up all night. The guy manning it certainly earned his keep that night. Given the large crowd, too, the atmosphere was excellent from the off. As mentioned, nights at the Electric Ballroom tend to be memorable ones - but this one felt a cut above the usual. Everyone was there to have a great time - with those around me about half way back just as into the show as those down at the front.

My only criticism was the fact that the doors opened at 7pm and the evening's sole support act, Baby Said, did not come on until 8:30pm. The wait for the action was a rather tedious one, but by the time the music started this was forgotten. Baby Said, a four-piece poppy rock band, were given around half an hour to play with - and they impressed quite a bit with their easy-going, yet somewhat punky, sound. Based around two sisters, Veronica (vocals/guitar) and Jessica Pal (vocals/bass guitar), the band rocked through quite a few short, no-nonsense songs which generally contained strong vocal hooks. Both of the sisters sang, trading lead vocals throughout, and the harmonies between them and another guitarist who's name I did not catch were impressive. Musically the songs tended to be quite simple, with brash power chord riffing and the occasional melodic lead line, but vocally there were some interesting and somewhat more complex arrangements on show - and it was generally this three-way vocal interplay which sold the songs to me. I got the impression, too, that the band were pretty new. They only currently have one song released officially, with a second single dropping at the end of this week. As such, I think that it is fair to consider them a bit of a work in progress, but they already have something about them. Their sound and songs were generally pretty upbeat and fun, and I think it is also fair to say that they already have a pretty established sound. With most of the songs being pretty short and under three minutes, I do think perhaps they should push themselves a little going forward - and perhaps come up with a couple of more involved pieces to nicely compliment the punky pop rock of their core sound. The ingredients are certainly there and the band's endearing stage presence seemed to get most of the crowd onside, too. It will be interesting to see how the band develop going forward and I will keeping an eye on their progress.

Despite Baby Said's fun showing, it was Dirty Honey whom everyone was there to see - and when the lights went down at around 9:30pm the place went wild. What followed was 90 minutes of classy, bluesy hard rock - with a significant chunk of the new album played alongside choice cuts from the band's first album, debut EP, and a couple of covers. The first part of the set was filled with punchy tracks and there was very little coming up for air. The title track of the new album kicked things off, with frontman Marc LaBelle's voice effortlessly filling the room, before a couple of older favourites in California Dreamin' and the more melodic Heartbreaker really got the crowd on side. The set was well-paced, with new and old songs mixed in nicely throughout - but if the band had any concerns about how the new songs would be received then they should not have done, as each new song was greeted as warmly as all of the old favourites. As such, there was no dip in the energy level at all, with Get a Little High and the rollicking Tied Up particularly impressing during the set's early moments. There was a slight change of pace thanks to the more groove-based Scars - a more serious piece which allowed John Notto (guitar/vocals) more of a chance to show off his bluesy side. In truth, though, most of the songs gave Notto a chance to impress with his soloing - with him and LaBelle being the modern epitome of the classic frontman/guitarist combination. Equal parts Steven Tyler and Chris Robinson, LaBelle is one of this generation's best rock frontmen. He had control over the crowd from the off with his best rockstar poses adding extra weight to sleazy tracks like Dirty Mind. An acoustic mid-section showed that the band are not all bluster, though, with the delicate Coming Home (Ballad of the Shire) seeing bassist Justin Smolian picking up an acoustic guitar - over which Notto added some delicate slide. An infectious cover of The Rolling Stones' Honky Tonk Women ensured that even the acoustic segment generated some energy, though, before the electric instruments were strapped back on for the Free-esque Don't Put Out the Fire and the band's trademark rocked up version of Prince's Let's Go Crazy. By this point the main set was slowly coming to a close, but there was still plenty more to come. The Wire ensured that there was more rocking to be done - but before that a relatively rare outing for the slower track Roam again showcased a bit of a different side to the band. A couple of longer pieces then saw the main set come to a close - with Another Last Time seeing LaBelle venture out in the crowd to sing part of the song and Notto stretching out the intro to When I'm Gone with plenty of bluesy soloing. There was time for a couple more, though, and the cheering brought the band back out for a hard rocking version of the snappy Won't Take Me Alive and an excellent night-closing version of Rolling 7s - which was stretched out quite significantly with bass, drum, and guitar solos during the intro. It was a fantastic end to a great night and as the band took their bows the crowd certainly made their appreciation heard. The setlist was:

Can't Find the Brakes

California Dreamin'

Heartbreaker

Get a Little High

Scars

Dirty Mind

Tied Up

Coming Home (Ballad of the Shire)

Honky Tonk Women [The Rolling Stones cover]

Don't Put Out the Fire

Let's Go Crazy [Price and the Revolution cover]

Roam

The Wire

Another Last Time

When I'm Gone

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Won't Take Me Alive

Rolling 7s

I have learnt over the years not to get too excited about newer bands as so often they fail to break through into the big time - but Dirty Honey really feel like a band who could make a big name for themselves. They have everything that they need to do so, but whether they do or not remains to be seen. They have already come a long way over the past few years so I have faith that they will break through the glass ceiling - and they will really deserve it if they do. I will certainly be in attendance next time they visit the UK - which cannot come soon enough really.