the DirtbombsWe Have You Surrounded
The Dirtbombs wasted no time. From the moment they stepped on stage at the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern on April 21 to the last song they rocked, no breathers wanted or needed.Kelly Stoltz started the evening off, and did an admirable job of keeping the audience entertained with solid songs and a fez-wearing theremin player. Ben Blackwell, one of the Dirtbombs two drummers and sometimes drummer for Stoltz, joined them for their final song. Stoltz (straightfacedly) introduced him as Pete from Sarnia, winner of a Tim Hortons contest. Stoltz applauded the audience’s good sense several times between songs, saying everyone had made the right choice to catch the Dirtbombs that Wednesday night.
It seemed that most of Toronto agreed. Getting anywhere near the stage was an accomplishment. Hardcore fans had staked out spots in front of the stage before the opening act even started. It took some clever maneuvering and ducking to squeeze into a space among them.
Then the Dirtbombs took over.
This is what a concert should be like. The Dirtbombs have more charisma and energy than the average American Apparel-wearing hipster band taking up space on stages across the country. Mick Collins, in shades and a t-shirt emblazoned with the ominous slogan ‘They Are Watching You’, doesn’t have to try to be cool, he just is.
They played hard and fast, ramming one song into the next in a cacophony of rhythm and visceral groove. They’re a tight, dynamic unit, and managed to keep things poised on the brink of happy chaos for a remarkably long time. Less seasoned musicians, I suspect, wouldn’t have been able to sustain that kind of energy. The crowd lost it a bit sooner; some particularly inebriated fans started a mosh pit halfway through the first song.
Though the set drew heavily from their new album, We Have You Surrounded, older favorites, like ‘Chains of Love’ and ‘Motor City Baby’, held up well. The new songs certainly benefited from the outing; part of what makes the Dirtbombs so great simply can’t be captured in the studio.
The end of the night summed everything up. A bit of anarchy, a raucous cover of a Stones song, and bassist Ko Melinda showing up the boys when she climbed up on the amps. Kelly Stoltz was right; everyone who wasn’t there blew their Wednesday night.