California rockers, Dirty Honey, Can’t Find The Brakes as they start their latest tour of the U.K. and Europe.
It’s only just over a year since Dirty Honey were in the U.K. on their highly acclaimed California Dreamin’ Tour (review here). And now, the band are back – playing to bigger crowds – to showcase their most recent album, and tour namesake, Can’t Find The Brakes (review here).
THE SUPPORT
Support in Manchester is provided by The Heavy North, whose blues drenched rock and roll is in keeping with the vintage, yesteryear, sounds of the headliners. The opening set is electric; no more so than for penultimate track To The Wind I Go.
Support in Leeds is provided by local band Wolforna, who give the Yorkshire date a loud opening. Both support acts lay a great platform for the headline act, and it’s always good to see local bands being given an opportunity to play in decent-sized venues.
DIRTY HONEY
On both nights the instrument-playing members of Dirty Honey take to the stage to the sounds of AC/DCs Rock and Roll Damnation and are joined almost immediately by lead singer, Marc LaBelle. The show is kicked off with the tour and album namesake, a powerful and pulsating Can’t Find The Brakes, featuring what is the first of many outstanding and theatrical lead guitar breaks of the headline act. It is followed by the namesake of the previous tour, California Dreamin’, which, like most of the songs on offer tonight, oozes plenty of sleaze and swagger.
There are plenty of highlights, as the band powers through a strong set. We are treated to a handful of back-catalogue crowd pleasers from the self-titled EP and album, including Another Last Time which see LaBelle down at the barrier singing to and with an enthusiastic audience.
Covers from Prince (a heavier Let’s Go Crazy) and The Rolling Stones (a faster paced, bluegrassy Honky Tonk Women) are also on show and lapped up by the almost 1,000 strong crowd. The former, a known cover of the band, has been a setlist staple for some time, but the latter is a real treat and showcases the bands ability when working acoustically; I, for one, hope for a little more along these lines from the band in the future.
CAN’T FIND THE BRAKES
As you would expect – and hope, based on the strength of the album – the set features a good number of tracks from the latest album, with six of the eleven tracks getting an airing. All are excellently delivered and received. As with Honky Tonk Women, the acoustic Coming Home (Ballad of the Shire) is a set highlight and is a perfect number to slow down the volume and tempo; albeit, only temporarily. The latest songs are well picked, and complement the bands earlier material, though it would have been great to hear album epic Roam; maybe that’s one that can be brought out for the next tour…?
Even though we are only seeing the early dates from this leg of the tour, there is no sign of any ring rust. The band are working together well and clearly enjoying being on stage together, which is clear based on the impromptu laughs and conversations between them – including Jaydon stealing and drinking Marc’s Tequila in Leeds.
So, what next for Dirty Honey? Firstly, there is the small matter of a European tour to complete. And then likely a run of festival dates across the US. Hopefully then we are in the territory of album number three. Whenever this may be, it will be interesting to see what direction Dirty Honey take; whether it is more heavy rock, and/or further steps into different genres it’s highly likely that a band with this much talent and showmanship will be in bigger venues again next time. Catch them when you get the chance. You will be blown away.
Check out Won’t Take Me Alive from Can’t Find The Brakes below. All of Dirty Honey’s forthcoming tour dates can be found here.
All pictures and words courtesy of Steven Boon. You can find more of his work here.
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