The 12 Bar lives at the end of Denmark Street. Always welcoming, always real, the kindly staff and punkabilly decor makes it feel like that fabled ‘home from home’ that is oft described but rarely experienced. Fielding all manner of incredible bands from all walks of the musical sphere, the 12 is a great venue.
The mood inside and outside is one of anticipation. I’m here to see The Dash, getting in an early bird show in a run of gigs to support their upcoming single, “3 Times More”. Sponsored by Wunjo Guitars (which lives on the very same street we’re on tonight), The Dash have the faith of many behind them. Looking for all the world as though they had been teleported in from another time, the band are Rock ‘n’ Roll. Crammed together on the tiny stage, they check the mics and play a chord together, before singer Marc gently proclaims ‘We are The Dash’, and we’re off.
Opener My Darling tears out of the bricks without hesitation. The band clearly have some fire in their guts tonight, and give it everything from the get go. The 12 Bar’s infamously tiny stage can barely contain the fury, the boys push their square foot of space to its limits and beyond. By the time we hit 3… I realise I haven’t taken my eyes off the stage since the boys set foot on it. Tearing along with total abandon, the chorus is armour-plated, burrowing directly into the mind.
It is here that The Dash make sense. Theirs is an older youth, a youth that knew bubblegum was a genre, a youth that saw The Ramones as kings amongst men. The impression is given that they would give just as much playing at Knebworth as they would playing to an empty room, and in that they are to be commended. More like a gang from a bygone era than a band, they give it everything, never turning from the crowd, with even Marc’s offstage excursion being front-facing.
Slow number “Sleep With Lightning” is dispensed with heart, and the relentlessly catchy thickness of “Fell In Love With(The Back Of My Hand)” closes the set without a single dip in energy. Talking to bassist Ev after the show, he says: “We love the music we play-we’re music lovers, and we want other people to love it as we do. There’s no greater joy than playing.” On the strength of tonight alone, the band clearly love to play.
In as many ways as it can be imagined, they embody their name to a tee. Go and see them when you can, and pogo madly. Excellent.
Follow The Dash:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wearethedash?fref=ts
Website: http://www.wearethedash.com