Dirty Diamond & the Gunslinger @ McChuills, Glasgow, 8 June 2013

Having watched Dirty Diamond & the Gunslinger run through an exhilarating set I had the pleasure of meeting and chatting to Alex, the Clark Gable look-a-like singer of the band, the eponymous Dirty Diamond. When I asked what bands he admires, he became rhapsodic about the great Pokey LaFarge & the South City Three from Illinois pointing out that they are a drummer-less band! I suggested that Dirty Al check out an Edinburgh band called the Southern Tenant Folk Union as they use the very same drummer!

Dirty Diamond & the Gunslinger

And so to the gig: the location is a 'hip 'n happenin' place at the bottom of High Street just off Trongate and is, according to the band's FaceBook page, one of their favourite venues. It has a Liverpool Cavern feel to it as it has a small stage at the end of an arched tunnel which is adjacent to the main bar area and so you get the sensation of being in a musty, moody music venue rather than a pub. 

The band gathered on the small stage and kicked off their hour long set of lusty, raucous renditions of self penned songs with a smattering of a few cover songs thrown in for good measure. The set list included Wolverines, the wonderful gospel driven Old Clyde River, Bellahouston Hill-billy Barn Dance, My Baby Don't Love Me Enough, Whole Lotta Shakin, John Lee Hooker's Dimples (I think!), Sex Toy, Baby Blues and Don't Crucify Me. The band chose to round off the night with a great version of Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison Blues and so ended a great night of up beat, jaunty, joyous, bluesy rock-a-billy music performed by a great local band.

Dirty Al

The band consists of the charismatic Dirty Al on acoustic Gibson guitar and vocals, and his performance was energetic and frantic in equal measure. His singing is strong, gravely, gritty and slightly rough which adds an impressive growling and howling quality to much of his singing and his rhythm guitar work kept the beat pumping along nicely. Dirty Al also performs an interesting stomping, shuffle like dance when not actually singing! Worth every penny of the entrance fee alone!

Pablo

Along with Dirty Al, is Pablo, the other founder member of the band, on livid red Gretsch electric lead guitar. His solos were crisp and colourful and his guitar playing was a notable feature of the overall sound. I particularly enjoyed the solos on Sex Toy and Baby Blues. Pablo also took lead vocal at one point and his singing, both backing and lead, was a pleasant change to the more driven sound of the Dirty Al.

Bobby

Then there is Bobby on harmonica and backing vocals. Bobby, Dirty Al's sibling, plays a cool, clean, clear harmonica which is an integral part of the band's sound. His solos were always tight and punchy and helped to fill out the songs and the lead guitar and harmonica 'duets' were a joy to listen to. He is also blessed with a lean, sinewy frame and film star looks, I'll let you be the judge of what films he would suit best!

Rice

Next up is Rice on drums. On this occasion, and due to the small stage, Rice was more of a sound than a vision, tucked (almost invisibly) away behind the rest of the band as he was! However, that is not to say that he didn't feature as his powerful drumming kept the beat pounding along all through the show. His work on the cymbals was a feature that I felt added greatly to the bluesy feel to the music on the night. He also played an intricate wee solo when it was his turn to be be introduced to the audience. Nice, Rice!

Balders

Then finally, there was Balders, the accountant look-a-like in the band, on upright electric bass who kept the bottom end of the sound tight and pounding. He threw in a few groovy moves as well and the upright bass got a fair work out into the bargain! I was intrigued to know if he can sing as he sang along with gusto to each and every song but wasn't afforded a mic! 

As for their influences, I detected Junior Wells, BB King, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Little Walter and of course Johnny Cash and John Lee Hooker. A quick check up on their quirky web site: (www.dirtydiamondandthegunslinger.com) confirmed some of these and added Ray Charles, Sir Michael Jagger, Little Richard, Keith Richards and Cliff Richard (all the Richards) to the mix!

Rice

The band appear to have a good 'look' going on, dressed as they were in trousers, white shirts, braces and a smattering of red ties. However, Pablo was bucking the trend by wearing a black waist coat, red & black tie and sunglasses, expressing his individuality in a marked way.The rest of the guys looked like a spruced up hill billy blues band and that is much of what they are about. There is a good mixture of sound and vision about Dirty Diamond and the Gunslinger, and I was thoroughly entertained on both fronts.

Balders & Bobby

So, if stirring bluesy gospel tinged rock-a-billy is your kinda thang, then I would whole heartedly recommend this bunch of guys. They play good, honest, straight from the hip music and their self penned material suggests that they have what it takes to move on to the next rung of the fickle ladder of popular music. As a matter of interest, I came across Dirty Diamond & the Gunslinger when they supported Ian Siegal back in April this year and I was moved enough to mention them in my blog of that show! Good luck guys, and I hope to see you again soon.

Finally, why not check out the band's current video of Sex Toy?

Here are some more photos I took at the gig.....