Joiners Arms, Southampton

Tonight was the penultimate night of Don Broco’s 13 date UK tour in promotion of their latest (4 star rated in Kerrang) six track mini album CD ‘Big Fat Smile’, the tour included a ‘Sold Out’ show at the Garage in London. The band have played Southampton Joiners several times before and have built themselves up a good following of fans with their previous energetic performances.

As usual with the Joiner’s Arms a great line up of support bands were put on in addition to give excellent value for money before the main attraction, first of these were ‘Give Me Pink’ a four piece band from Eastleigh. Lead singer Robbie stood causally on the stage with his hands in his pockets delivering the vocals in a relaxed and possibly a bit nervous style. The performance was made up of a few original songs along with a cover of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers ‘By the Way’ which featured some nifty fret work by Mike Hartley on a six string bass guitar.

Salisbury band ‘I Met Nature’ were next up, a five piece band who totally owned the stage for the 25 minutes that they were out there, their delightful rock songs with a popular twist are performed to expectant audience. Vocalist Nicole bounces around the stage zestfully while flashing shy smiles at the audience, delivering perfect vocals which is combined with her bands excellent back up, twin guitars with catchy rifts that get right under your skin. Songs from their two EP’s such as ‘Something About Lions’ and the excellent ‘Miles Away’ that would be more than at home played on any radio station.

The penultimate band ‘Forever Can Wait’ fronted by the energetically harmonious Tash Crump who with her band more than lived up to expectations with a great set of mainly self penned material including the splendid ‘Walking On Wasted Time’ and a surprise cover of the Bruno Mars recent hit ‘I’d Catch a Grenade For You’.

Don Broco’s album title ‘Big Fat Smile’ is a more than appropriate description, as each performance that I see by this band just makes me smile constantly through their set, the band are always so positive and perform each show with so much energy. Rob Damiani (Who reminds me a little of Chelsea’s Fernando Torres) certainly knows his craft as front man, reaching out to the audience at every opportunity getting people involved with the show, he at one point climbed down into the chaos of The Joiners mosh pit dancing with the fans and arranging a circle pit that featured people on each other shoulders, which was a fascinating sight.

The bands songs don’t really follow a pattern and each one is very different from the next, such as likes hardcore guitar on ‘Thug Workout’, to the very catchy ‘Beautiful Morning’ and new number from the EP ‘I’m Good’ which has a wonderful rolling guitar hook. The set although only six songs long was something of a masterpiece that has been crafted and delivered in such a way that every person in the place could not have failed to be moved by in some way by it. I am sure very soon the world will sit up and take notice of this band as they have so much to give.

Set-List
Thug Workout
Top Of The World
Beautiful Morning
Do What We Do
I’m Good
Dreamboy

Videos

I Met Nature

Forever Can Wait

Don Broco

http://www.myspace.com/TheGiveMePinkBand
http://www.myspace.com/imetnature
http://www.myspace.com/forevercanwait
http://www.myspace.com/donbroco

Words and pictures by;

Dave Chinery (Chinners)

http://www.wohomusic.net
http://www.mudkiss.com
http://www.facebook.com/DAVIDCHINERY
http://www.youtube.com/user/CHINNERSROCKS141169