Any woman in rock can snarl and growl behind dark makeup, ripped clothes and tattoos. Posturing has become its own art form, and when everybody wants to rule the world without putting in the time to build their empire, we find ourselves in a sea of zirconium tiaras. But the color runs quickly in those selfie-pimping circles.
Brody Dalle is none of that shit. Cut from the cloth of Joan Jett and Shirley Manson, the ex-Distillers, ex-Spinnerette rocker is kicking into tour mode with a new album (Diploid Love, out April 28 – details here), a new band (feat. Hayden Scott of AWOLNATION and Paramore on drums and longtime Dalle cohort Tony Bevilacqua on guitar) and a new kind of punch. She’s still turning the knuckles inward as she hits, making sure you feel the impact, but alongside it is a seasoned balance of comfort in her own painted skin.
On their second warm-up show before heading to London, Berlin, Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands, Josh Homme’s better half took to The Casbah in San Diego with a handful of new songs and a few sorely missed gems from her previous endeavors. Making our way inside as “Die On a Rope” opened the show, I was immediately drunk on the hot electricity of adrenalized anticipation – not just for my favorite Distillers song kicking off the night, but for rock’s punk-blood queen getting back on her throne.
She’s still hungry. She still rips the fucking sky open with passion, a huntress’ eye behind the mic and an iron-throated roar always at the ready. The new material isn’t an in-your-face blur of gnashing teeth and white-blonde hair, but a groove-driven evolution of sound that sidesteps the silly preciousness of fans trying to cram her into comparisons of bands she’s been associated with, by creation or relation. In addition to the deceptively sweet chorus of “Meet The Foetus/Oh The Joy,” new songs included “Rat Race,” “Don’t Mess with Me” (featuring an anthemically awesome chorus), “Dressed in Dreams,” “Blood in Gutters” and the riotous assault of closer “Underworld”.
The Distillers jams were celebrated like old friends we thought we’d never see again, and when the strutting slice of Spinnerette’s “Ghetto Love” brought an “ohhhh whaaa-ooooohhh” singalong, the Casbah took on an air of time-slowing cinematic ebullience. The sold-out crowd clicked into place as a collective, and for half a moment the sea of iPhone screens dissipated for a moment of pure, riotous joy.
Now that’s a goddamned rock show.
Brody Dalle Casbah Feb. 17th Setlist:
Die On a Rope
Dismantle Me
Rat Race
Don’t Mess With Me
Meet The Foetus
Sick of it All
Ghetto Love
Dressed in Dreams
Blood in Gutters
Sing Sing/Bullet
Coral Fang
Underworld
Keep up with Brody on her official site, Facebook and Twitter.
Photo: Diane Darling
