Review
Live Review - The Dirty Madame
- Author:
- Review Date:
- 12/18/2007
Hey, Everybody! It’s quiz time:
1. When I go to a random rock club in LA I hear:
(a) Uber-hip black-clad brooders who send chills down my spine as they boldly elaborate on the endless sorrows that accompany my/their fruitless search for middle class love and meaning; or
(b) Whiny emo kids who think fashion is more important than songwriting, who stretch their frail tenors over an indistinguishable wash of electric guitar and keyboards and make me weep for all the wrong reasons.
If you answered (a), you don’t need to listen to the Dirty Madame. In fact, stop reading this right now and turn Access Hollywood back on, because I think John Mayer just got a new girlfriend.
If, on the other hand, you answered (b), you’ll be happy to know you aren’t alone. The Dirty Madame share your concerns and they are trying to do something about it. When I asked frontman Greg Davis what TDM is all about, he didn’t have to think. If anything, he had to hold back. So he just said this: “We’re the new architects of rock.”
On November 30th, TDM showed an eager, rock-hungry crowd at the Whisky a Go Go just what he meant. Greg, Pat, Carl, and Tyler like to pull their guitar and bass riffs in from the gutter, supply them with another shot of Jack, and kick them out onto the dance floor. It’s all the swagger and groove of Jim Morrison and all the post-glam grit of Buckcherry.
The boys were weaned on classic rock, so you’ll hear plenty of Steely Dan and Zep in the mix, but theirs isn’t an arena-rock vibe. When Greg sits down at the piano for fan favorite “Jumble Jee,” it sounds and feels like the night’s third cigarette and fourth drink—smoky and starting to swim. You bounce back and forth, you hum along, and you start trying to make eye contact just to see if She needs a partner.
TDM’s lead guitarist is Pat Moley. He and drummer Tyler Metz have been playing in various bands together for six years and it shows (one of them an acid fusion jazz outfit now thankfully defunct). The snare is crisp and timely, every movement on guitar matched in cymbal swells and thumping kicks. For his part, Moley knows his scales inside and out—but he’s not a wanker. He has a sense of melody and proportion that will pull you in rather than put you out.
They’re tight, they’re hungry, and they’re coming to a club near you: on Saturday, December 15th, The Dirty Madame will be playing the Mint in Hollywood. Get out and let rock’s new architects bring you back to a sound meant for revolution. In the meantime, check them out at www.myspace.com/dirtymadame and get a taste.
1. When I go to a random rock club in LA I hear:
(a) Uber-hip black-clad brooders who send chills down my spine as they boldly elaborate on the endless sorrows that accompany my/their fruitless search for middle class love and meaning; or
(b) Whiny emo kids who think fashion is more important than songwriting, who stretch their frail tenors over an indistinguishable wash of electric guitar and keyboards and make me weep for all the wrong reasons.
If you answered (a), you don’t need to listen to the Dirty Madame. In fact, stop reading this right now and turn Access Hollywood back on, because I think John Mayer just got a new girlfriend.
If, on the other hand, you answered (b), you’ll be happy to know you aren’t alone. The Dirty Madame share your concerns and they are trying to do something about it. When I asked frontman Greg Davis what TDM is all about, he didn’t have to think. If anything, he had to hold back. So he just said this: “We’re the new architects of rock.”
On November 30th, TDM showed an eager, rock-hungry crowd at the Whisky a Go Go just what he meant. Greg, Pat, Carl, and Tyler like to pull their guitar and bass riffs in from the gutter, supply them with another shot of Jack, and kick them out onto the dance floor. It’s all the swagger and groove of Jim Morrison and all the post-glam grit of Buckcherry.
The boys were weaned on classic rock, so you’ll hear plenty of Steely Dan and Zep in the mix, but theirs isn’t an arena-rock vibe. When Greg sits down at the piano for fan favorite “Jumble Jee,” it sounds and feels like the night’s third cigarette and fourth drink—smoky and starting to swim. You bounce back and forth, you hum along, and you start trying to make eye contact just to see if She needs a partner.
TDM’s lead guitarist is Pat Moley. He and drummer Tyler Metz have been playing in various bands together for six years and it shows (one of them an acid fusion jazz outfit now thankfully defunct). The snare is crisp and timely, every movement on guitar matched in cymbal swells and thumping kicks. For his part, Moley knows his scales inside and out—but he’s not a wanker. He has a sense of melody and proportion that will pull you in rather than put you out.
They’re tight, they’re hungry, and they’re coming to a club near you: on Saturday, December 15th, The Dirty Madame will be playing the Mint in Hollywood. Get out and let rock’s new architects bring you back to a sound meant for revolution. In the meantime, check them out at www.myspace.com/dirtymadame and get a taste.