Moved from the original venue (Oran Mor), this gig saw the ABC again around 90% full. I’m afraid I arrived late, and as it turns out I think they started with a couple of their best from the current album, can’t believe that they would not have played ‘Drag the Lake’ or ‘This F***** Job’, surely, damn. I had been drawn to this band by their most recent release ,The Big To Do, being around their sixth or seventh offering since their debut back in…1999 I think.
Mmm, getting a bit scared here to review a band whose only album I’ve heard is their last, arriviste Betty etc, however here goes…
DBT are one of the most accomplished rock acts I’ve seen in a while and they play it southern trad, shades of Skynrd, being from Alabama and some other points deep south, but also shades of Crazy Horse, Afghan Whigs and The Dream Syndicate, who I never, regrettably, saw live. And, definitely, Springsteen.
One bass, two guitars, augmented by a third, sometimes on a steel, guitarist, booming drums and a keyboard player, this band can tear it up and the guitar solos merge into each other from the three potential leads. It’s hard to commentate through a pretty sprawling set covering (I think) quite a bit of career-spanning material. The most recent cuts I heard were ‘(Don’t Want To Say) I Told You So” and ‘Birthday Boy’, and along with oldies ‘Steve McQueen’ and ‘Sands of Iwo Jima’ they drove this audience (90% male, from 20 to 70, clearly some Mojo readers among them) into happy submission with an onslaught of heavy riffs, squawling solos and heartfelt emotion.
A cover (or two) was played and a couple of tracks from a forthcoming (2011) album also.
Yes, they are from the “South” but although Hazzard County and My Name is Earl were invoked in spirit, this was not satire and they write about what they know. Themes were mainly about downtrodden lives, dashed hopes and family values, a couple of mawkish moments but respect due, they were here to entertain. Some more Southern Gothic elements emerged at times, especially during the encore (after a 10 minute break when the audience were beginning to give up hope of another few songs) and ‘Used To Be A Cop.
I’m not au fait with previously Glasgow gigs but there is some history, the band clearly enjoying starting a UK tour in this town.
- Lloyd Cole - 22 January 2025
- Solareye - 17 January 2025
- Hens Bens - 12 January 2025