Fearless punk rock heroes The Dollyrots are burning a trail across the U.S. this summer promoting their Blackheart Records debut album ‘Because I’m Awesome.’ The group will be appearing alongside dozens of other bands in this year’s Warped Tour, as well as several shows in between now and then.
Anyone looking for group to inspire thunderous chants and pumping fists should definitely make it a point to see The Dollyrots on tour this summer.
In a last minute turn of events, I recently found myself in Austin, TX, face-to-face with a couple of greasy doormen at Emo’s, a popular alternative club on 6th Street. The Dollyrots would be headlining on this night, preceded by local artists Abbey Birds, The Sweethearts and Alright Tonight.
The Dollyrots kicked off the night’s set with “Out of L.A.,” a slow-paced travelogue with hushed vocals. Kelly Ogden had mentioned earlier how much the road was wearing on each of them, and how they all longed to be back home in California.
While there seems to be something so innocent to Ogden’s personality, it’s almost totally matched by her fearless punk rock attitude. She rarely tried to sing perfectly, rather choosing to push as much power through her saccharine-sweet voice as much as possible. She’s got the pipes to handle it all, that’s for sure.
As the ‘rots prepped to pay the fan favorite “Brand New Key,” Ogden pointed out that Chris’ vocal mic had been turned off the whole show. As the crowd glanced back to see an empty sound booth, Ogden decided enough time had passed and went right into the song. In a sign of pure dedication, Chris yelled every bit of his vocals from behind his band mates, even breaking through to be heard on occasion.
Closer to the end of the set, the band gave a couple of nods to long-time listeners with “Feed Me, Pet Me,” a speedy track with a killer chant-worthy chorus, and “Kiss Me, Kill Me.” The few people around were constantly pumping their fists in the air as Ogden, Cabezas and Black played as hard and fast as they could.
Anyone looking for group to inspire thunderous chants and pumping fists should definitely make it a point to see The Dollyrots on tour this summer. While their sound isn’t revolutionary in the traditional sense, the freshness, personality and down-to-earth humor they pump into every song brings them several notches above other bands in the genre.
‘Because I’m Awesome’ is now available at Amazon . Visit the music database for more information. The Dollyrots tour dates include:
Jun 22 8:00P Del Mar Fairgrounds W/ Joan Jett & the Blackhearts Del Mar, California
USA
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