Dirty Honey landed at the Electric Ballroom in Camden on Monday, February 12th. An energetic affair, though slightly hampered by the venue’s cramped confines. As a band that’s accustomed to larger stages, their music didn’t quite achieve the full soar it’s capable of in such close quarters. However, despite the limitations of the setting, there were moments where their talent shone through brilliantly.
From the outset with Can’t Find The Brakes, Dirty Honey set out their stall early with how they were going to entertain the crowd. Throughout the perfoamce, whenever the crowd was brought down with a slower track, they didn’t give anyone respite before powering up with thier next big song. John Notto’s rousing solos were littered throughout the set, with the crowd lapping up every lick and riff. But Marc Labelle’s vocals really cut through and left you with the feeling you were watching future festival headliners early.
Dirty Honey get compared to a litany of bands including The Black Crowes, Aerosmith and AC/DC. But they are much better than the sum of those comparissons. You only had to listen to Another Last Night, which was the song/moment of the night, complete with Labelle performing a Spider-Man clamber around the Ballroom, was simply something special.
With a relatively small discography, Dirty Honey managed to pack in a huge amount of crowd pleasing anthems, bluesy melodies and a couple of cover versions (Prince’s Let’s Go Crazy & Rolling Stones Honky Tonk Woman) that made the attending crowd have a very, very good night of Rock ‘N’ Roll.
The highlight of the evening came unexpectedly from the all-female support act, Baby Said, whose dynamic performance hinted at a promising future ahead. Their fantastic grooves and infectious energy captivated the raucous crowd and set a high bar for the headliners to follow.
Overall, while Dirty Honey’s performance may have been somewhat stifled by the claustrophobic atmosphere of the Ballroom, their undeniable talent still managed to shine through. With the addition of Baby Said’s electrifying set, the evening proved to be an enjoyable experience for all in attendance. Dirty Honey are a band that is set for a lot bigger things in the UK, much like Alter Bridge when they started out. Look forward to seeing them on a bigger stage soon and make sure you grab tickets whenever you can.
Dirty Honey Setlist
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(Prince cover)
Roam
The Wire
Another Last Time
When I’m Gone
Encore:
Won’t Take Me Alive
Rolling 7s
