DownTuned

Due to some crossed wires, DT turned up at the H&A expecting a night of retro-thrash with ex-Anthrax frontman Joey Belladonna, but what we got was something very different indeed.

The very sparse crowd prompts openers The Medley Band to head upstairs, serenading drinkers in an attempt to drag them into the H&A’s tiny cellar-cum-stage bar. Those who do are rewarded with a truly revelatory performance from a band who deserve to be absolutely massive.

Opening with some Carolina stomp-rock with added sax appeal, TMB initially put me in mind of perennial southern second-stringers Gideon Smith. But as the set progressed the sound opened up, with more and more influences combining into a truly magnificent The Band/Pink Floyd sound. The band are incredibly tight with some wonderful sax and jazz influences creeping in and out, wrapped up in honky-tonk and blues rock so authentic you can’t quite believe these people don’t hail from Mississippi. Some Santana noodlings helped things along on the rocking, upbeat Mexico, while ballad Broken Bottles had a heartfelt vocal that hinted at Drive-By Truckers – with a chorus aching to fill an arena. The early days of something very special indeed - check ‘em out before they’re huge!

Next up it’s Belladonna, and rather than the aforementioned poodle-permed thrasher, we get two girls with attitude, banging out short, punky grooves on bass and stripped down drums, but managing the Death From Above trick of making it sound Massive. The Darlington duo pump out short sharp Punk-Hop tunes with Peaches vox and plenty of leg on show, but there’s an air of authenticity that reeks of Iggy devotion. Vocalist Clare Hill throws Chrissy Hynde shapes and comes off – and this is a compliment – like a female Lemmy. Belladonna do need to open up the songwriting and stick in a little diversity, as after more than 30 minutes their game begins to become wearing, but on the whole this is good clean Grrrrl-ey fun.

Finally it’s the turn of headliners RDB, and unfortunately there’s a sliding scale of quality tonight. They pump out some slightly tired dad-rock, with unfortunate hints that someone in the band is a fan of Steve Vai’s songwriting skills. The sound and presentation are messy, with the frontman obviously believing he’s better than he is. Sub-par pub rock that sadly saw DT head to the bar.

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