Gig review: THE DUST CODA- Dingwalls, London, 28 October 2023

November 5th, 2023 by andynathan

Rather more quietly than some of their other contemporaries in the New Wave of Classic Rock movement, The Dust Coda have been building a name for themselves, and 2023 has been a busy year, with a second straight top 40 album in ‘Loco Paradise’ and a slot on the second stage at Guns’n'Roses at Hyde Park show, which I had to miss, fearful of losing a hard-won decent viewing spot. However, combined with a surprisingly thorough and complimentary feature in Classic Rock, it all made it an opportune time for me to catch a headline show, having previously only seen them at a couple of festivals over the years.

This London show which closed the tour also gave me a chance to reacquaint myself with the support band Doomsday Outlaw who I last saw them many years ago supporting Graham Bonnet. At that time they were tipped for the top, then their momentum stalled for a while, but I noticed that this year’s album ‘Damaged Goods’ received some excellent reviews.

In the intervening years Phil Poole has grown his hair and toned down some of his mannerisms, but his powerful and soulful vocals remain the focal point, and among a number of line-up changes, lead guitarist Alex d’Elia, incongruously looking like a member of Cinderella or Dogs D’Amour, was an excellent player with a lovely tone. After opening with ‘In Too Deep’, ‘Turn Me Loose’ showed their style has evolved, with a distinctly lighter feel than I’d remembered them before, owing much to AC/DC, Aerosmith or The Quireboys.

‘If This Is the End’ was an impressive ballad while ‘Blues For a Phantom Limb’ and ‘One More Sip’ (Phil joking he had to be talked out of calling the song by its chorus ‘drink myself to death’) had a southern bluesiness as well as a darker lyrical slant. A recent single ‘Runaway’ also hit the mark while closer ‘Bring You Pain’ was rather more ragged but just as enjoyable. It was a short set but one that definitely piqued my curiosity especially with the shift in musical direction more to my liking.

With The Dust Coda playing to a two-thirds full Dingwalls, opener ‘Rock’n’Roll Paradise’ was a hard and heavy rocker, but also with a slow section and singer John Drake switching from his powerful primal howl to a falsetto. It was an illustration of how they are hard to pigeonhole, with blatant influences not obvious (also removing those easy short cuts we reviewers rely on!) and a variety of approaches even within a song, let along from one to the other. ‘Come the Night’ was another case in point with a lengthy quiet intro before the second half of the song burst into life.

However even on the more balls out numbers like ‘Limbo Man’ and ‘Jimmy 2 Times’, looking out from a balcony onto the pit nearest the stage I was struck how muted the crowd was, with few people even seeming to be singing along (and don’t get me started on those I heard loudly chatting). John had a gruff and no nonsense manner and the band lacked the showmanship (or, to their detractors, cheesiness) of contemporaries like Massive Wagons and Those Damn Crows to lift the crowd.

The new material formed the bulk of the set and ‘Love Sick’ was a piece of Americana closer to Blackberry Smoke and Robert Jon and the Wreck, albeit rocked up from on album, and ‘Streets’, written about the pandemic, was another reflective song. ‘Free All the Dancers’ rocked heavier with some Slash-like riffery from guitarist Adam Mackie yet still boasted another of those quiet codas (pardon the pun) that they seem keen on. ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’ (no not that one) again had a different feel with a yearning in John’s voice during a slow intro but eventually bursting into riffs with the intensity of Sabbath or early Rush.

In the latter part of the set the songs were more straight ahead turbocharged, garage inspired rock n roll, with ‘Call Out the Dogs’, then ‘Down in the Valley’, with a snatch of ‘LA Woman’, Adam taking on the task of namechecking band, crew and fans, and audience participation to which the crowd belatedly responded.

‘On Fire’ boasted another slow intro and a mighty, dark riff, and John showed with his solo that he is equally as capable as Adam as a lead guitarist. A treat for confirmed fans was a rarity in the equally aggressive, ‘Edge of the Knife’ before the gig closed with another fun crowd favourite in the catchy ‘Road to Hell’, Adam going to the edge of the crowd to pull some great low slung poses. It showed a directness that some of the more adventurous material had lacked.

It had been a mixed evening but the unusual and original mix of sounds confirmed my view that the Dust Coda offer a deeper experience and a longer exploration will pay its rewards.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
RIOGHAN Hands (Inverse Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)