Tuesday 28 May 2019

On Stage: A Giant Dog + The Molochs + The OBN III's @ Paradiso Tolhuistuin



For quite some years Paradiso has been organizing the London Calling festival, that grew from a festival for unknown Britpop bands into a two day festival for promising new indie bands anywhere in the world. The last couple of days they even added an extra night the day ahead to warm everyone up. That's a lot of fun too.

A Giant Dog + The Molochs + The OBN III's at Paradiso Tolhuistuin Amsterdam, May 23 2019

Even better, this night is slightly different with some indie rock and punk bands, just the way I like it!

The OBN III's


It's still pretty quiet when The OBN III's start the evening. Yeah, that's a weird name, but it actually makes sense when you know Orville Bateman Neeley III is the frontman for this band. And a frontman with a capital F he is! Or actually, all capitals because he spends more time off the stage and walks around the small crowd until his mic cable decides otherwise. Their music is seventies The Stooges kind of punk, straightforward rock songs, with plenty of energy. The band is flexing their muscles, especially Neeley who keeps challenging the audience like a young Iggy Pop. In a more crowded room later at night when booze has been flowing freely for a while, he would have completely turned the place into a wild party. That is not happening tonight but it's a lot of fun nevertheless.

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The Molochs


At least we got a good warmup so we are more than ready for the next band. This group definitely got their sound down, a blend between The Stone Roses and The Smiths. Nice clear ringing guitar lines, a groovy bass and drums. But these guys looks really pale on stage and lack any form of energy. It makes their songs go dead and there simply is not a spark in sight to light it up. In the end it even gets weary and the show seems to last forever. Too bad when you clearly have enough skills to write good songs.

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A Giant Dog


Fortunately the last band of the evening is here to get us back on our feet again. The band is described as one of Austin's thrilling bands, but that's an understatement. When the innocent looking Sabrina Ellis steps onto the stage and the band gets going, she turns into a wild animal. She's all over the place with little pirouettes, the best vogue dancing ever and one big ball of energy. On top of that, her voice is amazing and she's able to belt out her lyrics effortlessly while bouncing around stage.



It's as if you're watching a young Kate Bush on speed played fast forward. I am convinced I even spotted some Kate Bush in one of their songs but I can't get that cleared up. And boy the songs are great as well, heavy glamrock, punk and rock 'n' roll, all played by an active tight band that put all their heart in it. Definitely one of the most exciting live bands out there at the moment. I'm going to keep an eye out for them and listen to their records for sure.



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This was a fun night. I was planning on going to at least one of the London Calling nights but in the end didn't make it. This night was a good alternative though.

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