Review by Shawn Perry
Dirty Honey photos by Joe Schaeffer
The much-vaunted, eagerly-awaited Young Guns Tour landed close to a gun in Nashville: Mammoth WVH. Just days after celebrating a Grammy nomination for Best Song, Wolfgang Van Halen announced that his band would not be performing the remaining six shows of the tour as members of his team had tested positive for COVID. That left co-headliner Dirty Honey an opportunity to add a backer, expand his set and end the tour on a high note. They took the ball and ran with it. By the end of the night, Dirty Honey pretty much had the Nashville crowd in his hands.
Although fans were able to receive refunds due to Mammoth WVH’s cancellation, the sprawling and sprawling Marathon Music Works venue, which had mostly standing room only, was three-quarters full. Naked Gypsy Queens – a Nashville-based hard rock quartet hired to warm up for the remaining shows – took to the stage at 8:00 sharp, trying to win over audiences of all ages. For the most part they succeeded.
Over the course of 45 minutes, Naked Gypsy Queens pulled numbers from their recently released EP Georgina. Vocalist/guitarist Chris Attigliato did his best to work at the forefront, broadcasting his sombre vocals over the rest of the band—guitarist Cade Pickering, bassist Bo Howard, and drummer Landon Herring—while they toiled a heavy pull. Imbibing the blues with soulful lust, the quartet’s set came to an abrupt end, but it left a lasting impression. At least enough to attract a crowd to the merch table during the break.
Just after nine, Dirty Honey came out with “California Dreamin’,” the first single from their self-titled debut. Smooth and stylish rocker was a perfect opening line as the crush shuffled forward with each hook-fringed riff echoed by guitarist John Noto’s nimble fingers. Singer Marc LaBelle immediately took control with his powerful howl and cool head. It would serve him well throughout the night.
Today’s set was a mixed bag of half the songs from the 2021 album, all six from the group’s 2019 self-titled EP, and a handful of covers chosen to keep everyone on their toes. Newer songs like “The Wire” and “Tied Up” paired well alongside energetic favorites like “Heartbreaker” and “Scars”. Then, when no one was looking, they slipped into their scruffy, roving cover of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy,” which they debuted on an ice-covered lake for the 2022 NHL Winter Classic.
Early on, LaBelle said, “Sorry, Wofgang isn’t there. But we can play longer.” This was met with shouts of approval. He later asked for inquiries and audience participation. When a few hooligans got a little wild on one side of the stage, the singer nonchalantly dampened the ruckus and got everyone back into the groove. Sporting a wide-brimmed hat and a confident swag, LaBelle definitely has all the attributes of a classic rock ‘n’ roll lead singer and frontman.
Meanwhile, his bandmates – guitarist John Notto, bassist Justin Smolian and drummer Corey Coverstone – each grabbed a few minutes in the spotlight to show off their insane skills on their respective instruments. There’s no denying these guys can play – together or on their own explorations. Notto strummed a few chords of Led Zeppelin’s “Ten Years Gone,” fired off the last of his fiery arpeggios, and the group went into a rocket-fuelled burst on AC/DC’s “Shoot To Thrill.” The church was in heaven.
The core set ended with “Rolling 7s,” the group’s crunchy Top 10 hit of 2019. Dirty Honey returned for a one-song encore, teasing the amazed faces with bits of Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way” and ” Sweet Emotion” before kicking off the full month on Last Child. As they took their final bows, it was clear that Dirty Honey was at a turning point and moving up into the big leagues. When they conquer Europe on bills with Guns N’ Roses and KISS this summer, there’s no telling where they’ll go. Most likely it will get bigger and better. Or maybe dirtier and sweeter. We will see.
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