A Little Background About The Band:
The last time this reviewer saw The Damn Truth was supporting blues rockers King King back in February. On that occasion, the band were playing the UK for the first time (in fact first time outside of their homeland of Canada). They went down very well not just with myself but the crowd who were truly won over and warmed up for the headliner. I admit I was excited to see them perform as the headline band. For those unaware, the band comprises of singer, guitarist, tambourine player Lee-la Baum, guitarist Tom Shemer, bassist PY Letellier and last but not least drummer Dave Traina. All the 3 guys seem to help on vocal harmonies too. The band have 3 albums out, the first 2012’s Dear In The Headlights, 2016’s Devilish Folk and the latest from 2021 Now Or Nowhere. The set would focus of course on the new album where half the set would come from. The band’s formation came from when Tom met Lee-la whilst both naked on a hippy commune on the shores of the Sea Of Galilee. They found kinship in music and love and when back in Canada went about forming the band. There is a definite hippy, trippy vibe about the band both visually and musically but they also bloody rock! They are about peace and love whilst also wanting people to groove, dance and headbang. So onto the performance…
Plenty Chemistry:
The band came onto the stage down the side of the audience (due to where the dressing rooms are) to the sounds of Jefferson Airplane‘s”White Rabbit” whilst Lee-la carried incense up onto the stage. They wasted no time picking up the instruments and getting into the opening song “This Is Who We Are Now” a rollicking rocker that boots you straight in the privates (all in the best way of course). Right away the smiles on the band are lighting the place up. There is no doubt they are happy to be in Glasgow, onstage blasting out music. They don’t waste any time going more or less straight into the second song from their latest album “Full On You” a slightly more laid-back track than the opener, but with a chorus that is easy to join in with, especially the line “I wish I could change you“. At one point during this Tom and Lee-la were face to face almost egging each other on, or that’s what it looked like, you can certainly tell the chemistry from the floor.
Band Lively Onstage, Dancing And Twirling:
Lee-la takes a little time to thank everyone for coming along, again you can tell how thrilled she is in seeing so many faces in the crowd, one or two it seems familiar to her from the previous show back in February! At this point, they took us back to the first album with “Too Late” which opens with bassist PY laying down a heavy groove (with a hint of a Hendrix riff in there?) whilst moving about the stage (he is very entertaining all night dancing around grinning) whilst Lee-la gets out the tambourine (she plays rhythm guitar on most songs but does switch it up a couple of times). In the crazy and heavy mid-section, there is plenty of twirling, dancing and arm waving, the sort of stuff you can see in the Woodstock movie! On “Pirates And Politicians” (the song points out they are both the same thing) PY plays both bass and tambourine, but not always at the same time whilst dancing around like a loon. Always fun to see. Near the end of the song, Lee-la showed her vocal power and wow, all I wrote on my notes was “fuck me”. “Lonely” brought the crowd into things more as we sang along with the melody line. Lee-la displayed lots of emotion in her delivery on this. She asked if “you can hear me sisters” followed by “brothers” before asking if you could “feel me” as the song dripped with empathy and compassion.
Drummer Shows His Skills, Guitarist Goes Walkabout:
“Only Love” has a real 60s feel to it partly due to the vocal harmonies especially on the “be alright” section and the style or sound of the guitar. At one point Tom and PY end up leaning on the pillar at the side of the stage (yes there is a pillar on the stage) for a few seconds before tearing around the place again. These guys (and lady) really use the whole of the stage. There was a real Janis Joplin-style vocal near the end, that pouring your heart down a microphone thing. The song also allowed for a short drum solo by Dave who supplied an excellent backbeat all night whilst also smiling away and sometimes getting onto his feet to work the crowd from the back of the stage. During “Look Innocent” Lee-la takes a few minutes to tell us a silly story of a night in Toronto involving Tom. Apparently, she tries to tell something a little different each night to let fans get to know the band members a little better. I noticed during the song that the band only really do backing vocals on the “don’t” part of the chorus whilst Lee-la did the rest. The looks between guitarist and vocalist certainly said that love was in the air! Tom also went for a walkabout in the crowd whilst soloing on this. Always good to see performers interact with the audience like that. “The Fire” features Dave quite heavily drum-wise, it almost seems quite tribal. By the end of the song, Tom and Lee-la were dancing around the stage with each other. They were having so much fun and as always that tends to be contagious.
Vocal Comparison:
“Kinda Awkward” was one of the main highlights of the set. As Lee-la was introducing the song the crowd started cheering and clapping, shouting and just generally making a racket letting them know how much the crowd were digging the show. She looked stunned and it seemed like she was holding back tears due to the love and response of the Scottish crowd. There was real warmth and chemistry going on. As for the song, I was blown away by the vocals. I don’t write this lightly but Lee-la reminded me in style, emotion and vocal phrasing (along with that magical making a sound that doesn’t need to say anything yet means a lot) of the late great Steve Marriott of Small Faces and Humble Pie fame. Just the vocal slides or even groans (an “aahhh” can go a long way when delivered with intensity and emotion) grabbed me. In that one song, I was stunned and moved at the same time. Absolutely wonderful.
Welcoming New Folks To The “Family”:
They finished the main set with “Tomorrow” which is as the kids say these days (apparently?) a “banger”. It swings, it rocks, it is very infectious. If there was any justice this should have been a massive hit single. It has that commercial, easy on the ear, good-time vibe that gets you dancing (even an old bugger like me). If this band had existed in the 60s or 70s the radio would have probably played the shit out of this. Before the song, Lee-la did the whole asking who had seen them before (quite a few) and who hadn’t. To the latter she remarked, “welcome to the family“. She went on to ask that everybody in the room should come up to the merch desk on the way out and say “Hi“, and ask for photos or a chat even if not buying anything. I can say that after the show the band were at the merch area (you have to pass it to get out) chatting, posing for photos whilst signing anything and everything put their way with a smile. I can’t remember the last time I had to queue to get out of a gig due to everyone wanting to talk with the artist.
The Encores:
They did 2 songs in the encore, but not before the almost ceremonial “here we, here we, here we fucking go” chant from the Scottish audience. Lee-la said whilst laughing that she could listen to us do that all night. The first song was a cover of a U2 track “Love Is Blindness” which showed off the band’s more sensitive side. It is very good indeed and also unusual, not an obvious choice (although the band have released it as a single) to cover. Finally “Heart Is Cold” brings the evening to an end. There is a Zep-style riff on the song at times all stomping and snarling, or at its heaviest sections at least, however, the track became a psychedelic workout with Tom and Lee-la on their knees wringing out feedback and effects whilst PY dances around the stage with his bass on the top of his head! A huge amount of fun.
Final Thoughts
The fact that it seemed everybody was happy to wait to meet the band afterwards says how much everyone enjoyed the gig. They have great songs with melodies and an attitude that is engaging. They also have a fabulous singer who reminds the listener of artists such as Janis Joplin and Grace Slick and even as mentioned previously Steve Marriott. She is so impassioned in her delivery, both heart and soul are put into it and she has style. The whole band are tight as a gnat’s ass and throw themselves into performing, again an appealing trait. They are a band that help dispel the myth that either “rock is dead” or that “there are no really good new bands out there”. Maybe some folks (including some older rock artists) should get off their arses and see what is out there. As I mentioned earlier about one of their songs but it is also true of the band, if they had been around in the 60s or 70s they would have been huge. That my friends is simply THE DAMN TRUTH!
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