Feb
14
Written by:
carrie
Monday, February 14, 2011
On first impressions this five piece band from Birmingham certainly look the part as they take to stage for tonight’s entertainment at the Dublin Castle. Suede jackets, suede boots and there’s even an ultra stylish flat cap donned by guitarist James Amphlett that most couldn’t pull off. It’s a classic Indie look and it’s refreshing to hear that tonight their style is definitely followed up with an unyielding set of Indie songs.
The third act on and following a highly energetic performance from the previous act, the Dakota Beats instantly quash any fears that the energy levels would drop.
The evolution of their set is reminiscent of a spark evolving into a flame ball with each punk infused rock song acting as the fuel to the fire. This was mirrored by the 50 or 60 strong crowd who with each passing song appeared to be enjoying proceedings more and more as the duration of the 30 minutes moved along nicely, no doubt helped by the conveniently placed bar to the far side of the perfectly atmospheric room.
When lead singer Daniel Harris introduces a song mid set he steps up to address the audience and simply says; ‘this one’s called Fire Desire’. It’s a standard introduction, but the song that follows is by no means of standard quality. ‘Fire Desire’ is a catchy Indie tune with the potential to hook Indie kids across the country and reel them towards the dance floor.
As the set moves along in a seamless manner, there’s clear evidence that front man Daniel Harris has the charm, energy and personality to be a successful front man. His trademark stare and double finger point out to the crowd somewhat reminds me of Ian Curtis, the irony being that every other aspect on show is of a much more positive vibe than that of Curtis’s band Joy Division.
The rest of the band cohesively perform at a fantastically frantic pace on songs like ‘Sir Frank James’, offering the crowd a slice of tasty Punk pop pie to satisfy the appetite. Both lead guitarist Thomas and rhythm guitarist James add a full bodied oomph to proceedings and as brothers; you can tell they have played together on many occasions. The same can also be said of the rhythm sections of Richie Campbell on bass guitar and Mark Grigg on drums.
Towards the closing of the set a group gathers close to the stage for a dance, a sign that the band clearly connected with the audience in a way that had most donning their dancing shoes and in some cases quite had them literally twirling to the beat. Noted by the lead singer, his beaming grin and positive aura spilled over throughout the closing numbers to the set with great effect.
Considering tonight’s concert is outside of their home town of Birmingham and given the songs on show is unlikely to be known by many, the crowd’s reaction is quite an achievement. One thing’s for sure, the Dakota Beats offer delightful Indie pop fun and that cannot be a bad thing.
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Copyright ©2011 Phil Fitzpatrick