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| Doghouse
Belfast Beer Festival Ulster Hall 18th November 2006 This was a strange gig indeed, as me and my sidekick "Spiky Steve" discovered when we entered the venue as Doghouse was sound checking. Not only was the show scheduled to kick off at the ungodly hour of 12.00pm midday. But the Ulster Hall had been converted into a rather large saloon bar room with a massive circular well stocked bar. Complete with lines of kegs! The giant bar was slap bang in the middle of the hall with tables along each side. This setup took up about two thirds of the available space. I love going to see Doghouse play their varied set of punk/Ska classics. That are usually accompanied by a heaving, beer sodden dance floor scrum of drunken punks, skins and spides. Which always makes for a great night out. As I've previously stated, these guy's are quality top notch musicians who can play just about any style of music. Today’s crowd however were not your run of the mill Doghouse audience. They were all ages from 9 to 90 and much more reserved and well behaved than Doghouse are used to. Buck and the boys worked hard to get the crowd going, but because it was a weird time of day for attending a gig. The very brightly lit dance floor was only bothered by a few not shy (and possibly liquored up) dancers throughout the bands shorter than usual set. Friends and acquaintances of band members took up position along the lip of the big empty dance floor, giving the band some welcomed support and occasional banter. Meanwhile the hardened drinkers who were only here for the beer, supped and sang along happily from behind. This was a massive stage for Doghouse who were dwarfed by a very large backdrop featuring a scantily clad model suggestively holding a pint of I presume real ale? The set today was very heavy on the Ska tunes broke up by some punk numbers. Much as I like a bit of Ska, I really missed the rest of the punk covers Doghouse normally do so well. The hardcore attitude Doghouse always display in the confines of a dark sweaty packed out club was absent. Presumably because this was a totally alien situation not only for the band but their fans as well. But I know only too well what this band are capable off when they are going at it full tilt and drawing from the energy of their own crowd. It was different and it certainly wasn't a bad gig. But for me that vital spark was missing. My son who was seeing them for the first time liked them so much he bought their CD and got it signed by the band (thanx!!). He enjoyed the show, so it doesn't matter what a spoilt old school punk fan like me thinks. I look forward to seeing Doghouse tear up somewhere like the Rotterdam yet again in the very near future. They will be giving 2007 a kick in the balls welcome when they play the Empire on New Years Eve 31.12.06. Joe Donnelly - Belfast 27th November 2006. |
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