Chicago, IL – Some people have mistakingly proclaimed that “rock and roll is dead”. Well, I am here to tell you, it most certainly is not. The genre might not be as popular as it once was, however bands like Dirty Honey are out here proving to the world that rock and roll is the furthest thing from being “dead”. In fact, it’s very much alive and kicking ass at a stage near you.
The first unsigned band in history to ever top Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Songs airplay chart at #1 with their single, “When I’m Gone”, the bluesy hard rocking quartet from Los Angeles, California wasted no time is getting their audience ramped up. Opening their set with the title track from their brand new sophomore album, Can’t Find the Brakes, bassist Justin Smolian’s smooth jazzy bass runs started song off and and he was soon joined by guitarist John Notto and newest member to the band drummer Jaydon Bean in setting up the rhythm, before charismatic frontman Marc LaBelle joined them on stage for the evenings soulful vocal duties.
The evenings set would find the band mixing in several songs from their catalog along with a couple of cover songs that included Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” that had the fans in the crowd singing and dancing along, that lead to a short acoustic set that included “Coming Home (Ballad of the Shire)” as well as a country style cover of The Rolling Stones “Honkey Tonk Women”. While many thought the band might be a one hit wonder, they have proved those critics wrong with their latest single, the hard rocking anthem “Won’t Take Me Alive”, which debuted at #20 on the Billboard charts and is still rising where it sits as of this writing at #9. The band also slowed the pace for a little bit with “The Wire” and “Another Last Time”, before briefly leaving the stage. The band returned for an encore of their latest single “Won’t Take Me Alive” followed up with “Rolling 7’s” from their debut album Dirty Honey, closing out their set to some very loud applause and cheers from the audience.
Dirty Honey in Chicago, IL | Photos © Ian Bardecki
Setlist:
Can’t Find The Brakes
California Dreamin’
Heartbreaker
Scars
Dirty Mind
Tied Up
Coming Home (Ballad of the Shire)
Honky Tonk Women (Rolling Stones cover)
Don’t Put Out the Fire
Let’s Go Crazy (Prince cover)
The Wire
Another Last Time
When I’m Gone
Encore:
Won’t Take Me Alive
Rolling 7s
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Show Date: November 13, 2023
