I have been a bit slack as regards gig reviews lately, due to not wanting to assess the same old outfits, and have been even slacker in catching up with my mates band DILE. Dennis 'The OI' Matthews is at the helm of this outfit and despite his traditional propaganda I have always missed out on giving his crew a viewing. Well, after many moons I finally caught up with the outfit and this is my take on the evening’s events.

I arrived at Oliver’s Bar at 8.00pm sharp, entered free of charge due to good old Dennis bunging me on the guest list and duly picked up a free CD. The bands last CD I gave the award of 'Album of the Year' in 2009 and so this one was slightly anticipated as being another good do. Maybe, maybe not - bright or shite one thing is for sure - when my digits tap out a review I will be as truthful as ever (so sayeth OMD). As a side note, for any of you wondering where my OMD tag came from - look no further than Mr Matthews - the vulgar vicar that christened this old Fungal fucker.

The venue in truth was pretty empty when I arrived with not more than 10 punters in the place. The layout seemed nice enough and a cool Fosters was enjoyed whilst assessing the arena. Mr Davies arrived and joined me in a tipple and the lengthy wait for the first band was had. With temperatures seemingly soaring and the perspiration pouring it was a relief when The Janice Graham Band hit the stage. I knew sweet fuck all about these guys and as such expected the same. When the set was done I was left undecided due to a busy mix of ska, jazz (yuck), reggae, soul and other flavours. A lot to take in on an initial viewing and with a sound that was far from decent I thought the band were nothing more than 'OK'. I have seen many skanky bands over the years and the current scene has some absolute storming outfits out there, many of which have far more stage presence and zest than what I saw tonight. This however is a young unit and they do still have some fairly exciting moments and an abundance of sonic potential. 20 minutes with a wanky sound ain't no way to judge a band so I think a solid 'pass' is best here. Sorry dudes but hopefully next time I can give a better representation of my thoughts. It is shit trying to review bands on so little evidence - bah!

A middling break, another jar and DILE were up. In this instance I expected much but was sobered by the thoughts that the sound may do no favours. DILE coped well and gave an energetic set filled with solid song after solid song and so did in fact please me no end. The crowd was involved from the word go and all components contributed to the final noise with perfect precision. Harmonies, chants, rants and general breezing moments all combined to make this a delight and as the set progressed the interest grew. Many punks say DILE are crap - but they are wrong - many others say DILE are great and with those I must agree. The 'Anthem' bopped along, 'Rude Boy' cruised with attitude, 'Eh Up Rasta' smoothed it down and 'Perry Boys' lifted the spirit. The whole set was a real entertaining treat and remember that word - 'entertaining'. A key ingredient and a word to sum up the greatest aspect of DILE. Unfortunately I couldn't hang around for the encore as I had a lift arranged but I'd seen enough to convince me to mooch for more and catch up with the bands first two albums as well.

So due to a manic lifestyle and a lust for keeping my family happy, seeing new bands and chasing bugs and seeking out the 'shrooms I have been missing a real good band. Entirely my loss and apologies to the players for not catching up sooner. I can't do everything and no doubt will miss many more DILE shows but I will be trying that 1% harder next time.

Check em' out dudes and forget your musical restrictions and keep it eclectic and mix and match your melodies. That's 2 all time new bands for Fungal as well - will I do my annual 50?  Well perhaps I will. Perhaps I wont but if they are all as good as DILE I'm going enjoy trying either way.

review by OMD (11 July 2010)