Dirty Honey at Riot Room
Dirty Honey Setlist
The Amazons Setlist
Dirty Honey Tour Dates
Feb 21, 2020 Nuemos Seattle, WA
Feb 22, 2020 Polaris Hall Portland, OR Feb 25, 2020 Slim's San Francisco, CA Feb 27, 2020 House of Blues Anaheim, CA Feb 28, 2020 El Rey Theatre Los Angeles, CA Mar 29, 2020 Download Japan Tokyo, Japan Apr 11 -12, 2020 Byron Bay BluesFest Apr 17, 2020 Amalie Arena Tampa, FL Apr 18, 2020 Central Florida Fairgrounds Apr 24, 2020 Prudential Center Newark, NJ Apr 25, 2020 DCU Center Worcester, MA May 22 - 24, 2020 Rocklahoma Festival May 24, 2020 Dos Equis Pavilion Dallas, TX The Amazons Tour Dates
21 February Neumos Seattle, WA
22 February Polaris Hall Portland, OR 25 February Slim's San Francisco, CA 28 February El Rey Theatre Los Angeles, CA 19 June Festivalpark Hradec Králové, Czech Republic 09 July 2000 trees Upcote Farm Withington, UK 24 July Aston Hill Farm Pikehall, UK 13 August Gopsall Hall Farm Bottesford, UK 15 August 110 Above Festival Leicester, UK Read More
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Kansas City just looked into the crystal ball and saw the musical future--
Up and coming bands Dirty Honey and The Amazons played a very crowded and long sold-out show at the Riot Room in Kansas City, proving in the process that it would be the last time that either band plays this small a room, for some time to come.
The venue (since we’re new to covering this market, though this reviewer is not) is located in the middle of the busy Westport area of midtown and was formerly known over a decade ago, as The Hurricane. Since then, the beer selection has improved, but it’s pretty much in its original shape- a cramped capacity two-section room of less than 250, but because the stage is awkwardly positioned on one side and up a few steps, maybe just over half are actually afforded a clear view.
Ok, on with the show-- the pride of Reading, UK the four-piece known as The Amazons opened with a fiery forty-five minute set that built excitement as it progressed and made plenty of new fans on this, their first trip touring America in their six years as a band. Future Dust (on Fiction Records) is the band’s second full-length, which went Top Ten in their native UK when released last spring.
Drums kicked in the driving ‘Fuzzy Tree’ from the new record, with singer/guitarist Matt Thomson in an embroidered sun/moon patterned blazer brushing his light tousled hair to unleash on guitar mid-song. The rest of the quartet (Chris Alderton– guitar; Elliot Briggs– bass; Joe Emmett– drums) seemed both very focused and also excited to be playing on these shores for the first time.
“We are a rock n’ roll band, I’m sure you’re a rock n’roll crowd... let’s put it to the test!” Thomson exclaimed before youth anthem, ‘25’ with its lyric “There'll be gnashing, there'll be biting, and the truth won't be invited” and a call-and-response break that the crowd happily obliged to sing back on.
‘Stay with Me’ chugged like Oasis in its prime and ‘Doubt It’ worked in a sped-up portion of Led Zeppelin’s ‘In My Time of Dying’ while 2015’s ‘Junk Food Forever’ was about their hometown, “may we never return” Thomson said, prefacing the song. They ended strongly with ‘Black Magic’, dedicating it to a small group of stage left girls that had noticeably sung along to every word.
Dirty Honey has only been a band for just over two ears, but already come off like old pros. The Los Angeles foursome (Marc Labelle– vocals; John Notto– guitar; Justin Smolian– bass guitar; Corey Coverstone– drums) also has the unique distinction of being the only unsigned band to top the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs Chart and their self-released, self-titled EP has been out less than a year, but has massive and still increasing buzz.
Their sound is an ideal potent cocktail of familiar riffs and influences that echo the classic blues rock bar sound of an early Aerosmith, The Faces, Black Crowes, and Uzi/Suicide-era Guns n’ Roses, but also updates things to sound current and vibrant. Older (and perhaps wiser) than say, Greta Van Fleet, the influences are present but don’t go deep enough into mimicry and act instead, as a sonic building block to something all their own.
Many in the room were knocked out after seeing their third-on-the-bill opening set with Alter Bridge last October, and returned, beyond excited to witness a full set in such an intimate venue. A dizzying and beefy riff from Notto’s guitar introduced ‘Scars’ and their seventy-minute set, with singer Labelle taking center in dark jacket, Aerosmith t-shirt, wry smile, and wide-brimmed hat, his voice easily elevating itself from mid-range Steven Tyler up to a rough-edged Axl Rose/Jeff Keith shriek.
‘Break You’ and ‘Fire Away’ were both built on monster riffs, and a powerful backbeat that looked effortless coming from drummer Coverstone. Stage presence seemed already arena-worthy as well, with singer Labelle even deferring back to the side of the stage during any instrumental soloing, to shift the focus to his bandmates.
“Rock n’ roll needs a kick in the ass” Labelle declared, and the band is road-testing a couple new, yet-unreleased songs, the first being a crusher called ‘The Wire’ which is a future rock radio staple. ‘Heartbreaker’ (not the Zep classic) was dedicated to the ladies present, and had the crowd singing along, which then segued into an early set Coverstone drum solo.
‘Down the Road’ slowed the show tempo, but also proved a vocal workout for Labelle, who showed he could hold a note with the best of them and another new song, ‘Tied Up’ would follow. Their Aerosmith cover of ‘Last Child’ was actually inspired by Slash, who helped the band early on, and considers it an all-time favorite, with Labelle confirming vocally that he could probably sub in for Tyler, if the Boston band ever needed it.
Guitarist Notto could likely do the same to step in for Joe Perry as his nimble solo outro’d directly into the band’s radio hit ‘When I’m Gone’, which lit up the already amped crowd, even further. Smolian showed off his melodic chops tinged with some reverb in a Royal Blood-esque bass solo, which (ahem) led very naturally into the end portion of Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’ and Labelle holding that classic note like a vintage Robert Plant.
The band finished with the namesake song of the tour, ‘Rolling 7’s’, a melodically deceptive number that starts somewhat dark and muddy, but rapidly keeps building as the audience clapped and sang along with rising applause.
And with that, the lucky couple hundred in attendance not only witnessed a memorable concert, but also got a glimpse into the musical future as Dirty Honey and The Amazons are each “rolling sevens” and have nothing but bigger things ahead.
(click on any photo below to enlarge and see full image)
The Amazons |
Dirty Honey at Riot Room, Kansas City (15 Feb 2020) |