Diamond Dogs--Ravaging
After a short interval during which both bands milled around and had a chat, the headlining Diamond Dogs appeared. One thing that was most obvious was that Henrik "The Duke of Honk" Widen was sitting down with his feet up on a monitor, looking as if he were at home in front of the telly. The guy wore a plaid waist-coat, is as bald as a hillbilly's tires, and is as cool as a glacier. Another striking thing: Sulo, their lead singer, seems like a tall, younger Rod Steward with a better voice. (In fact, Diamond Dogs has done a song that Stewart turned down.) Sulo wore a brown ruffled black tie shirt with a brown suit. It was like being transported back to a 1970s prom.
The Swedish band have a sax/tamborine player called Magic, who looks like an extra from Fame. Talent and stage presence make this lot different from a high school cover band. For example, their guitarist can wail (and sing) but spends most of his time looking so cool you wonder if his fingers are even moving. The drummer, Jesper, has an afro and occasionally lets the lead singer play drums when he feels he needs the mic.
How many rock bands do you know that get their audience dancing? Even the bloody journos were dancing (not moshing) in front of the stage. No doubt due to the date (a Monday) and the weather, bugger all people were at the gig, which created a feeling of being at private party with people in the know.
This is Diamond Dogs' first headlining tour to back their debut UK album,
Bound to Ravage. (They've released five CDs in Sweden.) I felt sorry for those people who missed such a cracking gig. This lot put on one of the best performances I have ever seen. They're like the Quireboys and Black Crowes, had those groups never gone up their own arses on drugs and egos. The Dogs have been around for six years and count among their ranks musicians who've played with the Hellacopters, Johnny Thunders, and Dogs D'Amour. It's no wonder they're so tight and infectious. Not only are they bloody amazing live, they're also damn nice blokes, happy to chat to journos and punters alike.
Article comments
1 - Aaman
Cool - Escapi Records seems to be producing all the good stuff this year in hard rock
Most PR guys are dealing with a volume of reviewers and bands, and perhaps they just get overwhelmed pushing, pushing, pushing...