Reviews, the good the bad... (and the indifferent).

Fortunately people have been saying some quite nice things about us recently. See what you think.

Review by Dave Campbell for Softcopy Magazine June 1998. Reproduced with permission

It was a glorious Friday evening in late May, England were on Sky playing Belgium in some daft excuse for a serious football tournament, and my mate Colin who works with me on the ISDX project (and who has been pestering me for weeks about this gig) wanted me to drive over to the Royal Oak in Bordon to see Dangerous Dogs Act.

"Yeah", he said, "you'll love it, great group, great music pub, gorgeous bar maids, two sets of stonking rock, and the sound will be good 'cos I do the mixing".

So I journeyed to leafy Bordon, fuelled by curiosity (could a pub rock band really be even half as good as I was lead to believe), happy in the knowledge that I would be making a massive contribution to project team moral if nothing else.

As I crossed the car park I overheard snippets of an earnest conversation between a cheesecloth wearing hippie and a shaven headed rocker on the various merits of Zappa's 'Dirty Love', clearly this was going to be no ordinary pub rock venue.

I entered the pub, just as Rob Lee missed the first England penalty of the summer, to a barrage of abuse aimed at a television in the back of a very full pub. Were all these people here to watch the football? By the end of the evening I knew that the answer was a resounding NO, - they were here to watch Dangerous Dogs Act rock the house with two superb sets of music.

I am informed that the sound check (what's that) has been delayed so that the group, and the rest of the pub, (go on Beckham....) can watch the penalty shoot out (...YEESSS!!). Before I could get my first pint, (he was right about the bar maids), Ferdinand had missed the second penalty of England's summer campaign and the group had completed the sound check.

Thirty seconds into the groups opening number, 'A Change' by Sheryl Crow, the misery of an England defeat was lifted, this was good stuff (the music and the beer), these guys really could play. Suddenly the world looked a much better place. The vocalist had a wonderful voice, the rhythm section were powerful and solid and the lead guitarist was a revelation.

His nickname seemed to be 'Rambo', and he demonstrated his undoubted talent without launching into 20 minute Satriani solos at the slightest excuse, like so many other pub rock bands seem to do.

I always feel slightly cheated by these sort of groups, half a dozen numbers each padded out with the same guitar solo played forwards, backwards and every other which way. Throw in a drum solo and the group go home with their egos re-inflated and the crowd go home deaf.

Not so with Dangerous Dogs Act, (yeah OK Colin the sound was pretty good), who ripped through about 25 numbers in their two sets. I found the inclusion of Robert Cray's bluesy 'Porchlight' a little out of place in a set brimful of numbers by Garbage, Elastica, Meridith Brooks, Republica and the like, but they played it superbly. They actually closed their second set with a storming version of 'Push It', the current single from Garbage, - some very suspect lyrics for a chart release (have you listened to it closely?).

The highlights for me were a heart stopping version of Skunk Anansie's 'Twisted', (how does their singer get those top notes?), a brilliant rendition of Gun's 'Word Up', and a version of the Girl School classic 'Race with the Devil' which had the entire pub leaping around. Hazy, rose tinted memories of the Marquee in '78 came flooding back.

The audience loved it, I loved it, and it turned out to be a brilliant evening, despite England's below par performance. I'll be back to the Royal Oak very soon and I'm sure the Dogs will too, watch out for them.

Review of '...a taste of dog...' the Dangerous Dogs Act demo tape

by Dave Trott for Venue Magazine May 1998. Reproduced with permission.

Dave Trott is a regular contributor to Venue Magazine. He plays with The Downtown Flyers under the sobriquet 'Milwaukee Dave'. He regularly reviews local live acts and occasionally reviews national bands when their tour intinery brings them to the major venues on the south coast.

Dave writes...

With a powerful recorded sound and a strong lead vocalist, Dangerous Dogs Act take the demo bull by the horns and launch themselves through five straightforward cover versions. Leading off with Sheryl Crow's "A Change" they set out to show what a fine band they can be. This really is a "Gizza gig" type demo and played in the car it provides 20 minutes or so of quality rock. Cream's "White Room" turns up again for the second time in 2 months so it could probably do with a rest. Of greater interest is the Elastica song "2:1" which has an ammended middle section and sees the mustard cut in all the right places.

back to the kennel!