Gig review: THE DAMN TRUTH – The Grace, London, 26 November 2024

I saw The Damn Truth last Summer at the Islington Academy and was impressed. Eighteen months later, the Montreal rockers were back in town, playing to a sold out The Grace, and put in an even better show.

The band bounded on stage and struck quite a statement in their vibrant ‘70’s west coast garb. I’m pretty sure I once owned a pair of curtains similar to the bassist’s shirt. But it was Lee-La Baum on vocals and rhythm guitar with Tom Shemer on lead guitar alongside who really owned the stage.

As last year, the opener was ‘This Is Who We Are Now’, and it set the tone with a hard-driving rhythm overlaid with strong vocal hooks. ‘Full On You’ followed in double-quick time, again the big chorus was nailed with a powerful, characterful voice by Lee-La Baum. Seriously one of the best female voices in rock right now. Already, Tom Shemer was up on the wedge serving up the lead breaks from the lip of the stage. A pose only slightly undermined by a mate next to me who said he was reminded of Noel Fielding from Bake Off…

Next up, ‘Love Outta Luck’ was a new track and came across as rawer and tougher than the more established material. In a good way.

‘Lonely’ is a bluesy ballad and was wrung dry for all its audience participation qualities by Lee-La who brought an enthusiastic response for the crowd. ‘Only Love’ followed quickly, advertising with a sledgehammer the band’s commercial/melodic hard-rock credentials.
‘Look Innocent’ has become Tom Shemer’s moment. As at the gig last year, he jumped down from the stage and lapped the room without missing a note of his solo and this time unencumbered by the guitar lead that nearly caused his downfall previously.

Another new one in the shape of ‘The Willow’ followed and was well received, before PY Letellier on bass stepped forward to chat to us about how much the band meant to him what it meant to play gigs like this. The assembled punters gave him a warm cheer and Lee-La commented, ‘Hmm. Must let him talk a little bit more in future!’

‘Devilish Folk’ has become a bit of an epic. From the album of the same name, the band worked hard make bring a widescreen feel to this track and the sheer musicality shone through. Shemer again throwing wild shapes and holding poses from the front of the stage.
The third new track of the evening is delivered in the shape of ‘I Just Gotta Let You Know’ and then ‘Get With You’, packed with reverb guitars, distorted vocals and a screaming lead break.

The final track of the set is possibly their best studio cut and fared equally well in the live arena: ‘Tomorrow’ brought a towering blues riff and gorgeous melodic refrain.

For the encores, Lee-La shed her rhythm guitar and was free to dominate the tiny stage with even more energy. ‘Too Late’ was a fractured, bass driven thing that comes from ‘Dear in the Headlights’ and finally ‘Heart is Cold’, strung out with a couple of breakdowns, slow sections and Shemer twisting and contorting on the searing solos.

The band left nothing behind here and fed off the dancey, jiggy, noisy crowd who were clearly loving it. In Lee-La Baum and Tom Shemer, The Damn Truth have talented, livewire musicians. This lot should surely be playing to bigger audiences than they currently do. Here’s hoping.

Review and photos by Dave Atkinson

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)