By the time Fozzy took the stage at The Electric Ballroom in Camden, Pistols At Dawn and The Hot Damn had fully energised the crowd with two exciting and accomplished sets.
The Hot Damn – Pistols At Dawn
Electric Ballroom, Camden – 22 February 2024
Words And Photography: Razorrhead Productions
The Hot Damn!
Hailing from the UK, The Hot Damn! are an eccentric rock band filled with energy, hype, and non-stop fun. With a debut album on the way, the band hit the stage to show everyone what they are about.
Their sound is a great combination of classic rock/pop and there are some clear elements of country. Dance Around, About Last Night, and Can You Hear Me Now set my mind racing. Their movements on stage invite a pleasant, fun atmosphere as their faces are constantly smiling, clearly enjoying themselves as much as the audience.
There is so much to love. The interesting guitar tones, with the use of classic rock fuzz, chorus, and some weird harmonics, are awesome. Crisp, clear, energetic vocals by Gill Montgomery are backed up by bassist Liz Hayes. The powerful attacks by drummer Josie 0’Toole and the crazy antics performed by lead guitarist Laurie Buchanan are spellbinding.
Early in the show, The Hot Damn! ask the audience if anyone has heard of them before. There follows a few shouts and screams from the crowd. They then ask if no one has heard of them before, which is followed by a larger reaction from the crowd.
It is clear that this band is still fresh and needs to create a bigger following. However, after tonight’s excellent performance, it will be no surprise that this band has just achieved a lot more followers and dedicated fans, including myself.
For their last song, they ask the audience to put their middle fingers in the air to their track Didn’t Like You Anyway, which is a fitting monument to the lyrics this song provides.
“With enough energy to power a small city and the tunes to match,” MetalTalk wrote on our first encounter with the band almost one year ago. “The future for The Hot Damn! is as bright as their brightly glowing neon outfits.”
Paul Monkhouse was right. This is exactly what they achieved with their sound here tonight.
Pistols At Dawn
First, we have Pistols At Dawn to give us a preview of what is to come for the night. Formed in 2015 in Atlanta, GA, they have gained huge popularity across the US and Europe. This tour with Fozzy was a good opportunity to support their latest release, Ascension, which is available worldwide.
As the show is set to begin, the light dims, and a sudden guitar melody filled with dive bombs and pinched harmonics appears through the empty stage speakers. The guitar melody is somewhat similar to the likes of famous guitar virtuosos such as Steve Vai and Joe Satriani.
Where could this awesome guitar sound be coming from? Well, none other than lead guitarist Devin White as he appears on stage in the darkness with his red glowing Schecter guitar.
Soon after, the rest of the band appeared on stage to kick their set into full gear.
Pistols At Dawn is a great young band that has their future ahead of them. Stylish, catchy songs that have a habit of sticking in your head, raw emotions from each member, and fantastic vocal lullabies that are performed by their lead vocalist Cris Hodges fill the venue.
It was a treat to see this band come from the US to give us a raw performance that was, quite frankly, very memorable.
