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While not as a contentious issue as the great Hagar Vs Roth debate, or on the same scale as who would win a wrestling match between God and Lemmy, the case of John Corabi Vs Glenn Hughes as ultimate vocalist for the musical collective The Dead Daisies still throws up some heated debates. It’s either Team Corabi, or Team Hughes, or an ass full of splinters from sitting on the fence.
With Hughes being such a larger-than-life figure – he is after all known as “The Voice of Rock” – his presence in a band often renders it an extension of a solo project and distracts from the band of brothers ethos that a group of touring musicians should have.
John Corabi though, he’s a team player. A voice equal in stature to Mr. Hughes, he is a better fit for The Daisies, and the outfit that first saw light in 2012 are stronger with Corabi back at the helm. That’s just this reviewer’s opinion, but judging by a lot of chat generated by the return of Corabi; it’s a popular opinion. And with the band back to a five-piece, and new album ‘Light ‘Em Up’ tucked under their arms; The Dead Daisies are packing them in on a 12-date UK tour that ends in London on September 21st.
Making it a real-value-for-money ticket are two exciting, energetic, younger bands with contrasting amounts of experience. Opening the bill are LA’s The Bites, and if you are familiar with the scene in Pulp Fiction where Uma Thurman gets the shot of adrenaline and explodes back to life, multiply that four times and you have The Bites.
A band built for the live stage; The Bites perform like it’s their last night on earth. Led by frontman Jordan Tyler, The Bites are that shot of adrenalin hammered into the hearts of everyone who ventured out of the bar to see what all the fuss is about. With their debut album ‘Squeeze’ released last year on Earache Records, The Bites have already impressed UK audiences with a handful of well-received live shows, and Earache has got them back over to these shores to capitalize on the buzz that surrounds them.
Constantly spinning, leaping, and offering up high-kicks, the wise-cracking Jordan Tyler’s livewire performance sparks memories of catching Dave Lee Roth in his prime. And the Van Halen connection continues with a bombastic run-through of the debut album’s title track ‘Squeeze’ which adds a hint of British Glam here and there. Tyler is hard to take your eyes from, but the Bonham-esque sound from the hard-hitting Mark Hylander, along with the fiery riffs and huge stage presence of guitarist Jono Richer mean that it’s not all about Tyler. Even bassist Zack Currier gets in on the act and doesn’t seem to have gotten the memo that bassists are supposed to be the quiet, stationary ones of the band. It helps that The Bites have total bangers such as ‘Fire In Hollywood’ and ‘Do Me a Favour’ in their repertoire and once the last notes of the short set fade away, a lot of the audience turns about-face and heads to the merch desk to splash the cash and say Hi to their favorite new band.
Get to the venue early, and skip the bar until the interval, because The Bites will blow you away.
It’s easy to forget that The Treatment have been around in one form or another since 2008. Arguably one of the most difficult UK bands to follow on from, The Treatment are vastly experienced at this rock & roll game. With Tom Rampton making the mic stand his own since 2017, the English quintet are as settled as they have ever been over their 16-year career and are in the form of their lives. If only you could make them out through the wall of red that greets their arrival onstage.
Even without any grandiose production, The Treatment are one of the strongest visual bands on the circuit today. The frontline of brothers Tagore and Tao Grey on guitar, alongside towering bassist Andy Milburn, and the magnetic Tom Rampton, are a constant blur as they cover every inch of the stage. Propelled forward by the steady-as-a-rock drum work from Dhani Mansworth, hair flies everywhere and poses are pulled as the band attempts to make eye contact with everyone. Easier said than done because it’s baffling why the lighting that wasn’t exactly the best for The Bites has now got noticeably worse for a band that are a joy to watch.
With the current album ‘Wake Up The Neighbourhood’ forming the lion’s share of the 45-minute set, The Treatment are not hanging around. Gathered around Mansworth’s kit with their backs to the crowd, the band are masters at building anticipation, and once Mansworth counts them in, they turn and explode to life, and assault the stage. As the set-opener ‘Let’s Wake Up This Town’ states, The Treatment “…are here to kick in your door…” and that’s exactly what they do for the entirety of their set. With new songs such as ‘When Thunder and Lightning Strikes’ and the rarely-played ‘Man on a Highwire’ especially standing out, it’s heads-down, full-on, high-energy rock and roll. And it is bloody brilliant. The kind of set where you could imagine the headliner standing in the wings watching on and realising that they will need to bring their A-game to match the intensity.
After paying homage to both The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin with their choice of intro music, returning powerhouse drummer Tommy Clufetos counts the band in with his sticks and The Dead Daisies launch into the title track to their new album ‘Light ‘Em Up’, which also just happens to act as the opening track to said album. Corabi looks right at home with Doug Aldrich on one side, and Daisies founding member David Lowy on the other. New bassist Michael Devin (of Whitesnake fame) also looks at home and plays like he has been a member of the band since its inception (especially his pulsating bass licks on the glorious new track ‘I’m Gonna Ride’). Corabi though, goddam it is great to have him back.
The Thin Lizzy-like ‘Rise Up’ is an early highlight, and provides the perfect opportunity for Aldrich and Lowy to lock into their synchronized groove, with Aldrich proving time and time again that he is a bonafide guitar God of the highest caliber…his riffs on ‘Dead and Gone’ are enough to shake the foundations. Corabi is having a blast. Whether he is coaxing some participation out of the crowd (on glorious moments such as ‘Make Some Noise’), joking that ‘I Wanna Be Your Bitch’ is about “…a crazy bitch that I used to date…”, or just soaking up the atmosphere onstage; he is having a ball and seems to have slotted back into the line-up seamlessly.
Glenn Hughes’ tenure with the band is not skipped over and two cuts from 2021’s ‘Holy Ground’ – ‘Unspoken’ and ‘Bustle and Flow’ – are aired to a great response (as is 2022’s ‘Born to Fly’). ‘Bustle and Flow’ has that Aerosmith pole-dancing factor to it, but ‘Unspoken’ in particular stands out, not just because it sounds way heavier with Corabi’s added grit, but more because it is the perfect opportunity for Tommy Clufetos (now considerably less hairy than his days with Sabbath, and Ozzy) to give his kit a proper pummeling. Sitting high up on his stool, and battering his kit to death (Corabi later describes it as “…punishing the drums…”) Clufetos is incredible to watch, and it’s a testament to him that most stay for his impressive drum solo rather than the standard of heading to the bar.
Cover versions have always played an important role in the history of The Dead Daisies, and tonight it’s a cover-heavy set. Lowy’s Aussie heritage gets a nod with a stunning rendition of ‘Take a Long Line’ by Aussie legends The Angels (find it on the new album) and after the imaginative way of blending band introductions with a few short bursts of famous songs such as ‘Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap’, ‘Seven Nation Army’, and ‘Join Together’, the band enters the home straight with a jaw-dropping closing 30-minutes or so of covers and original material (‘Mexico’, and ‘Long Way to Go’).
Muddy Waters’ ‘I’m Ready’ will feature on an album of blues covers to be released next year; ‘Fortunate Son’ is the perfect cover for The Daisies simply because even though the roots of the band are Aussie-based, they are a fantastic American rock band, and like Creedence, Grand Funk Railroad, and Aerosmith before them, they have the blue-collar, blue-army spirit to a tee; SAHB’s ‘Midnight Moses’ is introduced by Corabi as “…Scotland’s national anthem…” and yep, it is hair-raising. Ending with arguably The Beatles’ greatest-ever rock song, ‘Helter Skelter’, The Dead Daisies send the crowd out into the night with a smile on their face, and throats hoarse from all the singing. Job. Done.
Catch The Dead Daisies on one of their remaining UK dates:
17th MANCHESTER – O2 Ritz
18th SWANSEA – Patti Pavilion
20th BRISTOL – O2 Academy
21st LONDON – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
EUROPE – NOVEMBER
01 – Metropool Enschede NL
02 – De Casino Sint Niklaas BE
03 – Gruenspan Hamburg DE
05 – Essigfabrik Cologne DE
06 – Technikum Munich DE
08 – Bibelot Poppodium Dordrecht NL
09 – RuhrCongress Bochum DE
10 – Z7 Pratteln CH
11 – Élysée Montmartre Paris FR
13 – Palac Akropolis Prague CZ
15 – Barba Negra Budapest HU
16 – Simm City Vienna AT
17 – Gibson Frankfurt DE
Tickets are on sale HERE:
www.planetrocktickets.co.uk/article/the-dead-daisies/
https://thedeaddaisies.com/light-em-up-world-tour-2024/
Review – Dave
All images – Dave Jamieson
