The story began when some bright spark at Dundee City Council decided to shut The Doghouse over the £2K that was owed to them, with said bright spark allegedly later admitting that they might have "over-reacted". Damage done!!
Back to square one - the "Save The Doghouse" campaign kicked off with many a band ploughing in and stating in no uncertain terms that The Doghouse must be saved and that we must all rally round to ensure that this vital hub of the Dundee Music Scene is saved from extinction - or worse!!
So, I thought I'd do my bit and organised a free disco at Hustlers with all the donations from the audience going to The Doghouse - unfortunately, apart from about 9 people, nobody turned up - - well, actually about 50 people turned up to find it was an all local bands disco rather than a gig, and promptly disappeared again.The coffers of the "Save The Doghouse" campaign swelled by exactly zero (yeh, I was too embarassed to give them a tenner from me!!). We'd publicised it real well and had it in both local papers - I guess the people just didn't care enough!!
So, it came down to The Doghouse mounting its own fundraisers and, in quite a short space of time, they did it, the idea being that there'd be two gigs - one for the "older audience" (age-wise, that is) and one for the "younger audience".
On paper,a great idea. Initially the idea went a bit astray when Buck Rogers, originally announced to play, found they had another gig that night, and couldn't do it. Then The Trade, who The Doghouse wanted to be at the "young" gig, found that, due to the lead singer having to go into hospital, they could only play the "old" gig - so they were added to the bill.
All of which meant that the first of the two - for the "older" people" - featured some guy opening whose name I've completely forgotten, followed by Havana Swing, the above bands, plus LOrd Lucan, Dundee Street Poet, Gavin Mcginty and Revolver and finishing off with Boogalusa and The Levee Breakers, the local and highly talented Led Zeppelin tribute band - 6 hours of entertainment for £10. Can't argue with that!! Well, actually.......
You see, what worried me was that the line-up, to me, seemed far too eclectic to make people come out in droves to pay £10 (£12 on the door) to see all these acts play 25-30 minute sets. But I assumed that, especially with all the publicity that the venue had received in the local press over the last few weks, that this would not be an obstacle and that Dundee would turn out in its numbers for such a worthy cause, not to mention an evening of entertainment, however varied. My concerns were slightly compunded when I found that The Levee Breakers were actually playing a full set (2-3 hours) at Fat Sams only a week later. The thought occurred to me that why would a Zep fan go to pay £10 to see the band for 30 minutes alongside a load of bands that they probably wouldn't like, when they could go to see the thing, the whole thing and nothing but the thing, a week later? Answer - the "Save The Doghouse" cause, of course!!
So it was that myself and Rudi - the lady who organises the events at Strathmore Cricket Club - decided to go along and check it all out (yes, we did pay to get in!!). We missed the opening two acts and got there at 7pm. Assorted members of The Trade greeted us warmly as we went in, then I heard the familiar sounds of an acoustic guitar - "that's Sarah", I exclaimed and we left The Trade guys to go and take a look at Sarah's set. Now, the Whitehall Theatre holds around 700 people. OK, so it was early in the evening. But there were 32 people in that hall. 32!!!!!! Jeez!!! There were two people on stage - Sarah with her trusty acoustic and a guy called Harry on acoustic bass guitar. The strains of the classic track "Frustration" immediately hit home as the song was delivered in absolute clarity, the lyrics perfectly discernible and that voice soaring from the PA, on a song that's very cleverly written, got a great hook and is immediately accessible. "She's got a great voice", said Rudi, standing next to me - "I wonder if she'll play Strathmore?" Yeh, she has got a great voice, as the rest of the set testified - a voice that's strong, mid-range and yet full of emotion, while the two guitarists didn't miss a note and played so well together, decidedly the acceptable face of acoustic singer-songwriting.
Next up were a trio called The Snapin' Turtles, about which I knew nothing - but by the end of the set, I definitely wanted to know more. They are basically a blues-rock trio who play seventies blues-rock and psych covers, and make some classic songs come alive in their hands. The playing was tremendous, and they did one of the best covers of Allman Brothers "Whippin' Post" that I've ever heard, the guitar work on fire and so expressive at the same time, the rhythm section driving it home. Then they launched into a version of the fast-paced explosion that is a track by Arthur Lee's Love that I used to adore and which I'd not heard for 20 years or so, but which they made sound like it had been composed yesterday, the title of which completely escapes me, as they hurtled through the song with the supercharged drumming, ever intensifying guitar and rumbling bass - the ending a delight as the strains of the delicate electric guitar pick up the peices after the main body of the song implodes. As a blues-rock trio, they were stunning and, on this appearance, I'd go see this band anytime - and definitely will!!
By now, we'd retired to the back of the hall due to the massive stomach-crunching bass guitar sound that was erupting from the PA, with the whole thing sounding better further back. Unfortunately that was next to the bar, so we heard Lord Lucan from the bar. Initially sounded like a guy on vocals and acoustic guitar, but then the strains of some harmony vocals kicked in and added a bit of extra texture to the rawness of the lead vocal. However, my attention wandered as a guy from the Hanney crew came in and we exchanged pleasantries - so much for a review of Lord Lucan!! The Dundee Street Poet fared even less well when the two of us decided we weren't really into what I guess you'd call "Scottish Street Poetry" and although the guy delivered it all with gusto and passion, much of it flew over our heads. IN the bar, they announced that the next act on would be Gavin Mcginty - who I would love to see - but then the poet guy went on for another ten mins or more and, when Gavin finally came on, he did about two or three numbers and that was it!! Shame, as that really rich sounding vocal and acoustic guitar sounded really strong over the PA on songs that he injected with feeling and guts on one hand, tenderness and fragility on the other.
We were still in the bar!!
So, it came to The Trade. I loved The Trade - Rudi had never even heard them before. For this one, we wandered back into the hall - and actually sat down, too (it was an all-seated theatre). Now, I'd not seen the band since last year and, I think, in a previous review had made comments along the line of "yes, but..." and "raw", "loose" and other uncertainties, naming "The Dealer" as the best song of the set. Well, what a change!! The band came on and, right from the opening bars of the lead track "Middleman", you knew that this was one band that had turned a rather vital corner while I'd been looking in the oposite direction. First off, they were tight, but not only that, the song was performed faultlessly, so polished a performance that you could have been forgiven for thinking that this was some signed-up touring band in action. Ross's vocals are now strong, the rawness replaced with a textural strength that sings with huge emotion and immediately grabs your attention, while Bobo's drumming sounded suitably crisp, crunchy, on fire and addictive, defying you not to get up out of your seat and dance. The riffs and rhythms from the two guitarists, LIam and Craig, provided a spark of undercurrent that lit up the main body of the song as a lead guitar break positvely flew from the PA, all of this underpinned by the massive presence - in every way - of bassist Drew, who shook the foundations. The song itself was performed with confidence and, for such a fast-paced lyric, came across as one stomper of a set-opener. There was a second track but I was too busy enjoying myself to remember it - so they came to the third track - "one of our newer tracks, a slow one and the nearest we get to a lovey dovey song", announced singer Ross. But what ensued was something that could well prove to be one of the band's greatest tracks, embodying everything for which the word "epic" could do justice. Starting as a kind of indie-rock ballad, the song is performed with passion as the band lay down a kind of mid-paced backing for Ross to soar over with a suitably strong vocal and lyric to match. Gradually, the song builds as the band fire up and you feel that the thing is going to explode with maybe a lead guitar break or something. But instead, it continues to build and, for the finale of the song, Ross reverts to beating a drum, while the band lay down this amazing sea of sound that takes the roots from Scottish home-grown music, as this towering brew of electric guitars, muscular bass and powerful drumnming made you think of pipe bands, stirring anthemic homelands and brought a lump to your throat as it all rose up majestically, the audience - for by now there was an audience (well, around 70-80 people, so I counted!!) - clapping along heroically, the track itself receiving a most massive reception. After this came "The Dealer" and it's a mark of just how fantastic the bands's songs and performance now sound that this incendiary track is no longer head and shoulders above the rest of the songs, but sits neatly alongside as just another giant of a song from an indie band who've really got it spot on. That the song is still both powerful and instant, with that throaty holler from Ross delivering the verses and hooks with absolute conviction, as the band scythes its way through the song. They did one more song that ended with yet more sterling lead guitar work as the rhythm guitar river continued to flow unabated, the rhythm section drove it all forward in grand style and another scorching lead vocal from Ross led us to the guitars-driven finale. To a well deserved rapturous reception, the band left the stage, and certainly this was the finest I'd seen the band play to date - hopefully a portent of what's still to come.
We returned to the bar - well actually, the snack and seating area as it was too loud in the bar to chat. We then heard some of the Revolver set - Beatles cover band - and they sounded....well.... like The Beatles, actually, only a bit stronger in the vocal dept (or more raw, depending on your point of view). By now there were over 100, so I think I counted, in the audience, so things were definitely improving on that front. With that, we had to go - so I've no idea how it all ended up audience-numbers wise for the final two acts - all I can say is that, for the Doghouse's sake, I hope it got a whole lot better. If not, you have to ask yourself the question, bearing in mind the awesome amount of publicity the venue has got in the local press over the last two weeks, where the heck was everyone?
So, there ya go - worth the £10 (plus booking fee) for the three bands reviewed above, so we were happy - let's hope everyone else was!!
Sadly, I won't be at the next one, as I have a promotion next door to it - highly ironic - but you don't need me to tell you that it's gonna be huge - as the real Doghouse faithful, rally to the cause. Wish I could be there!!