Monday 17 June 2013

Dirt Royal at London Callin' 12th Anniversary Party at The 12 Bar Club June 07th

Dirt Royal at The 12 Bar Club - Photo by Steve Worrall
Tonight's gig at the 12 Bar Club was the 12th Anniversary party for Barnet Mark's London Callin' Club night, and he picked a great line-up to celebrate the event. The first band on were Dirt Royal who have already picked up some impressive fans. Andy from The Past Tense recommended them and was there at the front of the stage, proudly wearing his Dirt Royal button badge. The Brighton based three-piece are young, guitarist Leon, bassist Charlie and drummer Loz all being in their early twenties and Barnet Mark mentioned to me that they were the band he wished he'd been in when he was their age...! I can see why, as Dirt Royal are full of confidence and have a great set of fully formed, tight and tuneful songs that does belie their age. Starting off with "Sick Boy Method" you are struck by the chemistry between Leon and Charlie, who share lead vocals duties as they crash about the stage, attacking their songs with real aggression, it's a great performance. Dirt Royal have a classic three-piece sound, and with the importance of the melodic backing vocals and Charlie's prominent bass, it's easy to think of The Jam. However, the band have a bit more of a varied palette which is evident in the second song "It Was You", and later on in "Factory Fodder", which both have a Fifties/early Sixties Rock & Roll feel. It's on these two songs, and their cover of Bobby Freeman's classic "Do You Wanna Dance?", that shows they have a lot of varied influences to draw from. So, a very promising band to watch out for, and I'd recommend getting hold of their great six track E.P. called "About Now", which they were selling for only one pound, and you really can't much better than that!

Dirt Royal at The 12 Bar - Photo by Steve Worrall
Here's a video of "Bobbys Without a Cause" filmed on the night. Check out the band's web-site for more information on upcoming gigs and to order their excellent "About Now".




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