By Ben Rhudy Jun 13, 2007, 16:05 GMT
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. Home-sickness didn’t prevent the band from shifting the next few songs into high gear with the super-catchy “Kick Me to the Curb” and “My Best Friend’s Hot.” Throughout both songs, Luis kept leaping around like an animal and attempting to kick Ogden’s bass.
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. The group wrapped up the tight, fun set with arguably their most popular song “Because I’m Awesome.” As each member literally crashed together in a grand finale, the cheering crowd seemed to think “awesome” was an understatement. Overall, I was really impressed with the musicianship and performance of the spunky pop punk trio, despite the annoying technical difficulties and small crowd. In fact, all of the trouble the band encountered throughout the night only inspired them to play faster, shout louder and jump around more.
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:Date Time Place
Jun 22 8:00P Del Mar Fairgrounds W/ Joan Jett & the Blackhearts Del Mar, California Jun 28 7:00P NYC Festival W/Joan Jett & the Blackhearts New York, New York Jun 30 8:00P Satyricon Portland Jul 1 8:00P El Corazon Seattle, Washington Jul 3 8:00P Johnny B's Medford, Oregon Jul 4 8:00P Uptown Night Club Oakland Jul 5 8:00P Blue Lamp Sacramento, California Jul 7 11:00A WARPED TOUR! Salt Lake City, Utah Jul 8 11:00A WARPED TOUR! AND SURFSIDE 7 In Fort Collins Late Night! Denver/Fort Collins, Colorado Jul 9 8:00P Atomic Cantina Albuquerque, New Mexico Jul 11 11:00A WARPED TOUR! Phoenix, Arizona Jul 12 11:00A WARPED TOUR! Las Cruces, New Mexico Jul 13 11:00A WARPED TOUR! San Antonio, Texas Jul 14 11:00A WARPED TOUR! Dallas, Texas Jul 15 11:00A WARPED TOUR! Houston, Texas
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