'Snake Oil' for the house: The Darts put on a vamp-and-roll show
Review of the Friday night Rebel Lounge show that kicks off a big Darts summer
HARK!
I hear...legends in the making...
(Photos above and below by Kelly Sahr.)
HARK!
I hear...the funnest rock band in the Valley...
The Darts rock-and-vamp show
No shows in six months?
No problem!
For The Darts, it was just like riding a bike–or maybe a revved-up scooter.
Friday night, Nicole Laurenne, the organist, singer, songwriter and general wild-ass of the band, looked slightly nervous as she told a Rebel Lounge crowd it was the first time The Darts last played more than a half-year ago. Indeed, the once-busy band was nearly silenced by the pandemic, with only about a half-dozen shows over the last two years.
And that guy sitting behind Laurenne at the drum kit was, well, a guy. As in male. Clearly, a something does not belong here moment.
So, substitute drummer sitting in for a usually all-female band that hasn’t played in a half-year and planned to try out new songs: Recipe for disaster, right?
Naw.
The Darts were loud, raucous, confident and on point, with Laurenne flanked by guitarist Meliza Jackson playing guitar and singing, Christina Nunez on bass. Former drummer Rikki Styx has left the band, with Rose Gonzales coming in from Chicago to record with The Darts last week; apparently, she couldn’t make the show, so enter Mike Hill as the pinch-drummer.
Before talking about how he and the band did, let’s set the scene:
Surrounded by mom-and-pop restaurants and auto shops, the Rebel Lounge is a smallish club that–if you’re not paying attention–you could easily miss the modest sign and zoom by on Indian School Road just east of Highway 51.
Parking at the Rebel is free but limited. If you’ve never been, it’s a bit of a maze to find the entrance, but that’s all part of the fun…
By showtime, the basement-type club with low ceilings and a stage about the size of a loading dock was nearly filled.
Dead Canyon played high volume, straight ahead rock, playing every song like it's their last moments on Earth. A little Southern-fried rock in the Valley.
Check out my video of a song (excuse the feedback) from the Dead Canyon set here.
Off-camera, a pixieish, fit woman in shorts and hiking boots, is dancing to everything–even the song intros. The last DC song starts slow then picks up the pace for a crazy guitar solo, Dweller on the Threshold. Now that was something to dance to…
The Darts get down to business
(Read the HARK Valley interview with the band about their new album here.)
No nonsense: the band somberly sets up gear and sound checks 20 minutes before the set. All in black, favorite color of the sly, Addams Family-friendly band. As its Facebook page notes: “If Elvira & Wednesday Addams did shots of snake venom at a bachelorette party, that's The Darts.”
In a leather skirt, kicking off her shoes to bounce around the stage (the horror!) and provocatively climbing all over her keyboard, Laurenne calls to mind Cher’s old “Vamp” song: “She was a scamp, a camp, and a bit of a tramp, she was a V, A, M, P... vamp.”
Judge for yourself by clicking here to see my video of the Rebel set.
It was a crazy energy set, Nicole jumping around on every song, an Energizer Bunny hopping to the infectious, garage-meets-Goth beats with underlying dark humor lyrics.
With Laurenne’s organ notes surfing on the guitar and bass lines, the music is virtually impossible to listen without moving around, as seen in the crowd, from head bobs to wild dancing.
Drummer Hill was sitting in after only one practice with the band–but if he missed a beat, I missed it. He played with muscular efficiency.
Jackson and Nunez were absolutely stoic, only cracking smiles when Nicole gets in their faces and messes with them.
The Darts romped through a 10-song playlist, mixing in new songs like Snake Oil (also the title of the upcoming album) and Love Tsunami with Love You to Death and My Way (both from the 2019 album I Like You but Not Like That.)
After launching in 2018, The Darts played dozens of shows, around Phoenix, the country and Europe.
Friday night’s show likely gives them the confidence that, though there are songs that need a little tweaking, the band still has it, as they prepare for a big U.S. tour followed by shows in Europe:
After The Darts, there was still plenty of rock looming at the Rebel Lounge, as Surf Through Death power-tained a sizable following with reach-in-your gut, sludgy grunge. Very serious, Black Sabbath-y stuff, with a hint of Les Claypool.
Nothing terribly new, but solid mosh pit fuel–and musicianship ranging from solid to intensely artistic.
Check out the new Surf Through Death album here.