Danko Jones - TT’s Cambridge MA 27th April 2005
Setlist: Rules / My Time Is Now / Samuel Sin / Play The Blues / Living In The City / Sound Of Love / Lovercall / Forget My Name / Dance / Cadillac / Mountain
After seeing Danko Jones at Donington last summer, I wrote:
‘A Danko Jones show, I came to realise quite quickly, is a full-tilt, take-no-prisoners, no-holds-barred, blend of rhythm and blues, soul, rock and punk, performed by one of the best power trios I’ve ever seen. This band is as tight as a duck’s arsenio hall and doesn’t belong on a stage at the arse-end of the festival site.’
Moreover, I proffered that:
'Danko, himself, is a curious mixture. He has the smooth, sex-laden charm of a Phil Lynott, the verbals of a Barry White, the urgency and feistiness a Joey Ramone, all wrapped up in the craftsmanship of a Muddy Waters. It’s quite a powerful combination and it doesn’t give you a minute’s rest… As for the bass player... those bass lines should carry a health warning, people of a certain age could break a hip and they must certainly frighten the women and children.'
I stand by everything I wrote then, and it goes double now, and then some. I’ve always loved power trios; there is just something so special about the basic raw power and the spaciousness of the sound. Once you have four, five, or more people in the band, the sound becomes more layered and sophisticated; with a three-piece what you get is no-nonsense groove.
After seeing Danko Jones at Donington last summer, I wrote:
‘A Danko Jones show, I came to realise quite quickly, is a full-tilt, take-no-prisoners, no-holds-barred, blend of rhythm and blues, soul, rock and punk, performed by one of the best power trios I’ve ever seen. This band is as tight as a duck’s arsenio hall and doesn’t belong on a stage at the arse-end of the festival site.’
Moreover, I proffered that:
'Danko, himself, is a curious mixture. He has the smooth, sex-laden charm of a Phil Lynott, the verbals of a Barry White, the urgency and feistiness a Joey Ramone, all wrapped up in the craftsmanship of a Muddy Waters. It’s quite a powerful combination and it doesn’t give you a minute’s rest… As for the bass player... those bass lines should carry a health warning, people of a certain age could break a hip and they must certainly frighten the women and children.'
I stand by everything I wrote then, and it goes double now, and then some. I’ve always loved power trios; there is just something so special about the basic raw power and the spaciousness of the sound. Once you have four, five, or more people in the band, the sound becomes more layered and sophisticated; with a three-piece what you get is no-nonsense groove.
Danko Jones is as fine an exponent of this style as any that have come before, and there are some heavyweight names in that list: Cream, Rory Gallagher, Robin Trower, Atomic Rooster, King’s X, to name but a few/ But, the members of Danko Jones are more than capable of holding their heads high within that exalted company.
Although the group is named for the charismatic guitarist, this is very much a band. The threesome feeds and plays off each other with such precision timing that you can only stand and watch, open-mouthed, stunned by the quality of the performance. The power they generate collectively is astonishing – and it’s not just volume that I’m referring too. JC on bass and Damon on drums remind me of what I consider to be one of the best rhythm sections ever: Gerry McAvoy and Ted McKenna. Their rock solid timekeeping and pile-driving beat is a thing of beauty, allowing Danko to do what he does best: connect with the audience, play some fills and lead breaks.
Although the group is named for the charismatic guitarist, this is very much a band. The threesome feeds and plays off each other with such precision timing that you can only stand and watch, open-mouthed, stunned by the quality of the performance. The power they generate collectively is astonishing – and it’s not just volume that I’m referring too. JC on bass and Damon on drums remind me of what I consider to be one of the best rhythm sections ever: Gerry McAvoy and Ted McKenna. Their rock solid timekeeping and pile-driving beat is a thing of beauty, allowing Danko to do what he does best: connect with the audience, play some fills and lead breaks.
Undoubtedly, Danko Jones is the focal point of the band and, as such, it is difficult to think of anyone, at present, who can come anywhere near his infectious mixture of cheeky charm, dangerous sexuality and wicked sense of humour. You can see from the looks on the faces of the audience; the girls want to be with him, the guys want to be him. Inevitably, there is the comparison with Phil Lynott; I can think of worse tags to be burdened with. If you believe the theory that was propounded back in the 1950’s, that Rock ‘n’ Roll music is the Devil’s work, then Danko Jones has the best tunes around. If any band currently doing the rounds is going to get you into a hip-grinding, sexually aroused frenzy, making you shake your groove thang like it’s going to drop off, it’s DJ. These guys aim straight below the belt and, if you can’t feel it, you’re dead. The tunes are short, powerful and come at one hell of a pace, the music only being punctuated by Danko’s trash-talking. It’s a dangerous mix, and if you’re of a nervous disposition, remember to bring the smelling salts, or for sure, you’ll be having a case of the vapours with 10 seconds of them coming on stage.
But, it’s not just the music. Danko Jones plays every gig as though they’re headlining Rock in Rio and it doesn’t seem to occur to them to turn it down a notch; they go way past 11 on every dial; two-hundred-and-fifty people or 250,000, it doesn’t make any difference, you’ll see exactly the same performance. I’ll guarantee, here and now, that the quarter million would be walking out of the stadium singing, “If you wanna know how to play the Blues, you gotta get yourself a woman!”
But, it’s not just the music. Danko Jones plays every gig as though they’re headlining Rock in Rio and it doesn’t seem to occur to them to turn it down a notch; they go way past 11 on every dial; two-hundred-and-fifty people or 250,000, it doesn’t make any difference, you’ll see exactly the same performance. I’ll guarantee, here and now, that the quarter million would be walking out of the stadium singing, “If you wanna know how to play the Blues, you gotta get yourself a woman!”
Danko Jones is as close to musical Viagra as you’re ever going to get, and I’d bet my hard-earned that you can get pregnant just listening to one of their CDs (so make sure have some protection before you put it in the player.) If you go to a live show, which you owe it to yourself to do, be prepared to enjoy a night of great music, performed by an awesome band with incredible energy and boundless enthusiasm. Unless, of course, that doesn’t appeal to you. In that case, just settle down in your bath chair, pull that blanket well up over your knees, and enjoy the cosiness of your big slipper, safe in the knowledge that your incontinence pants and adult diapers can cope with whatever comes your way.
Your very own God of Thunder is so sure that, if you go along to a gig, you will enjoy this band so much, that if you do go and don’t enjoy the show, find it so dull that you don’t tap your feet, shake your head, and slap your hands against your thighs, I will personally put my hand into my trouser pocket, rummage around for ten or twenty minutes, and personnaly refund the cost of your admission*.
You see, when you watch, you learn, and it’s time that you all learned the Lovercall.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
3rd May 2005
*Offer only valid in Caramel City
Your very own God of Thunder is so sure that, if you go along to a gig, you will enjoy this band so much, that if you do go and don’t enjoy the show, find it so dull that you don’t tap your feet, shake your head, and slap your hands against your thighs, I will personally put my hand into my trouser pocket, rummage around for ten or twenty minutes, and personnaly refund the cost of your admission*.
You see, when you watch, you learn, and it’s time that you all learned the Lovercall.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
3rd May 2005
*Offer only valid in Caramel City