The Dwarves, Dingwall's & The Stillery, London
- Written by Jono Coote
Last time The Dwarves fitted a UK date or two into a tour, it was at a Northern venue with an in house soundman who couldn't have known less about music if he'd given himself an aural lobotomy. Squinting my ears though, I could just about make out the foundations of a killer show through the distortion and feedback, meaning that I was stoked to see them at a completely different venue this time round; in fact two venues, as Sunday night's full band carnage was followed by a Monday night acoustic set which promised a more intimate, clear rendition of Blag Dahlia’s gleefully offensive lyric book.
Sunday night was a late starter due to the myriad distractions offered by a BBQ at Stockwell skatepark, so I arrive at Dingwall's in Camden just in time for the headliners to kick off with 'Let me Show you how it's Done' morphing straight into 'Speed Demon'. With Nick Oliveri naked apart from his bass guitar, Blag down the front regularly drawling that 'The Dwarves are rock legends' and the entire band a tightly packed whirlwind of energy, this is a set which perfectly treads the line between tongue in cheek humour and full bore rock music at its most dirty and menacing. The set is heavy on classics from various points in their back catalogue, but thankfully did not mirror sets of old too closely - the shows which would end in fighting and broken instruments after no more than a few minutes have been replaced by a band who look pretty stoked to be playing music together. Oliveri ably takes vocal duties for a couple of songs but it is Blag's voice, switching in an instant from snarling rage to sarcastic croon, which gives the band their quintessential sound. Not to detract from the other members at all, Oliveri's bass playing is unmistakable in every band he has been in and guitarist The Fresh Prince of Darkness is spot on throughout. Their drummer, name lost in the alcohol fog of my evening's mental lubrication, holds together the non-stop assault right until the very last note and we are left to take our sweaty, booze addled selves home.
The next night, we tackle our hangovers head on and get in the street beers before heading back to Camden - this time to the smaller confines of The Stillery. How does the Dwarves acoustic set compared to the previous night's chaos? Well for one thing I catch the support acts, who I'd be happy to go and see on their own. As we reach the venue, Alex and Mark from Wonk Unit are just getting down to things. It is a testament to the band's ear for a hook that their songs convert so well to a stripped down, unplugged set (in fact, that is true of all tonight's acts.) Alex's a cappella introduction's highlight the poetry of his words, while classics like 'Horses' and 'She Cut Her Finger' invite plenty of sing-alongs from a crowd clearly well versed in their back catalogue.
The same vibe carries on to Duncan Redmonds' set, a clearly partisan London crowd offering plenty of opportunity for the Snuff, Billy No Mates and Guns 'n' Wankers front-man to get comfortable and chat between songs. Running jokes on belching and Status Quo are weaved into a set of songs from a variety of Redmonds' projects and some choice covers, which in this format brings to mind an acoustic one man Small Faces, but more raucous. Finishing the set with Tom Jones only widens the grins on peoples' faces!
Blag, Nick and The Fresh Prince of Darkness then take to the stage and get settled. Clearly relishing the chance for a mellower set at the end of the tour and still proclaiming themselves rock legends, the stripped down format of the night offers a chance for Blag to really enunciate every lyric to come out of his mouth. In a room consisting only of fans, many familiar faces from the night before, the set is heavy on requests and the three of them seem very much at ease. Hearing beacons of taste and decency like 'Let's Fuck' and 'Drug Store', slowed and stripped, will probably go down as one of my favourite gig experiences. Not a short set, we are offered the full extent of the band's collective imagination and we lap up every minute of it. We leave reassured that The Dwarves are young, they are good looking, and they are rock motherfucking legends...