You can literally smell the anticipation. A cocktail of beer, fags, sweat and low ceilings provide the perfect atmosphere for the loud, dirty, soulful garage rock that defines Detroit's The Von Bondies.
They've toured this side of the pond already of course, but in Dingwalls, The VB's really have found a spiritual home for their furious blues-tinged rock 'n' roll. Even the insolent cool of sassy axewoman, Marcie Bolen, is momentarily broken by the incessant heat. "It's so hot in here, I can't even hold this guitar", she opines. She may well have had trouble grappling with it, but boy can she play. In fact, despite their back-to-basics rock, The VB's strength lies in superior musicianship and their ability to work as an indestructible unit. From the pounding rhythms of sticksmith Don Blum to the shouty vocals of Jason Stollsteimer, The VB's prove correct the old adage about doing the simple things well.
Undoubtedly they have been fortunate beneficiaries of the hype surrounding fellow Detroit rockers The White Stripes, but this explosive quartet deserve the accolades that will surely not be long in coming their way. Indeed, their Jack White produced debut album 'Lack Of Communication' takes on an impossibly rawer edge in a live setting. The MC5-aping 'It Came From Japan' is a joyous romp that sees Stollsteimer imploring us to "all hail rock 'n' roll", while 'Please Please Man' races along at a zillion miles an hour, sending a collective jolt of electricity through the enraptured crowd.
An encore comes in the shape of a shambolic bar room boogie for which they are joined on stage by fellow garage rockers The Datsuns. Stollsteimer delights in telling us they come from the "arse end of nowhere…New Zealand". This provokes a comical display of guitar jousting, while the crowd attempts to clap along.
Then, after just 45 minutes of incendiary rock 'n' roll, we depart, eardrums on the point of collapse. When it comes to new primal rock, it would seem us Brits have plenty of catching up to do.
