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Review: 'HOMEMADE SIN (WITHOUT AN BAIRD)'
'London, Shepherd's Bush, Bush Hall, 10 Nov 2017'   


-  Genre: 'Alt/Country'

Our Rating:
This gig is the second half of wrong line-up or band name issues week and unlike the issues Manitoba NYC are having of a legal nature, Homemade Sin is missing Dan Baird who is recovering from a nasty bout of Leukaemia.

However, Homemade Sin being the kind of band who really do believe the show must go on, have recruited Joe Blanton from The Bluefields (where he plays with Warner Hodges and Dan Baird) to sit in for Dan until he's ready to get back on the road next year. Also, filling in on bass (and a musician who hasn't even met Dan Baird yet apparently) they have Sean Savacool as the rookie pick who had to learn 60 songs ready for the tour he's playing on.

Anyone who would like to help treat leukaemia by donating platelets in the UK can find their nearest Donor centre here: Blood Platelets Donation Centres UK

We arrived in time to only hear the last verse and a bit of Otis Gibbs' opening set. Great beard, but didn't hear enough of his music to comment sadly.

So the Dan Baird-less Homemade Sin came onto the decent crowd of a diehard following with Warner E Hodges taking on the role of band leader or co-captain with Mauro Magellan on the drums as they kick off with a pretty rocking Shake It Till It's Sore with Joe looking like the kid in the candy store trying not to go the full Jack Black orgasmic OTT performance and thankfully keeping it just right.

We then got Joe giving us the Dan report while Warner tried to sort out his guitar and amp. I think he might have got his scarf caught in the headstock or something. While he was still struggling with his guitar set-up, they gave us the first Georgia Satellites tune of the evening, Up All Night that sounded damn good even as Warner pulled faces at the sound.

After some more fiddling and dealing with his tuner and pedal board issues we had lift off and great sound and Warner making sure Joe could sing that he didn't have a god damn lick of sense on (is it called) Pot Of Gold? Joe then told us some of his history with Dan and the Georgia Satellites before they took us all the way back to Red Light for a good sing along from most of the audience.

With the Rookie getting a bit of stick between songs for being so young, they went into Two for Tuesday about them loving CCR, a band his parents probably rocked too. This rocked pretty damn well and Joe was really sounding great. Ah, they had another pop at Joe as he was the only member of the band not in need of a Younger Face, but his bass playing was getting increasingly funky in places and he plays like his life depends on being able to meet the boss when they return to the States.

Mon Cheri was a sing along romp as always. Before they tried to make sure we were Knocked Out Cold, but no it's not another song about wrestling, well not that kind of wrestling anyway. They all looked like they were having a blast playing it either way.

They were loosening up and having fun with the normal band rules of no set lists and just play what you feel and try to nail all the classics like Myth Of Love to make us all sing and dance along to it as they did. Rail Road Steel was amped up like an express train going full tilt.

Things got more countrified for a Ghost On The Road that suits both Warner and Joe's styles even as they start to fill us in on the History they have back home in Nashville. They also tried to figure out who to Blame it on in Six Years Gone.

By this point in the evening Mauro was in need of a big headband to keep his hair out of his eyes while driving the band through Julie and Lucky, which had some very funky bass going on with it. I Love You Period started out real loose before coming together for a huge great sing along.

Then to celebrate the birthday of Dr Rock who'd travelled from (I think they said) Denmark to see the band, they played Happy Birthday to him before getting properly punk on Get Loud played a furious pace. Don't Pass Me By sounded just like the power pop tune it really is.

After much denigration of the Rookie about how many years before his birth Warner originally recorded it, they did a great version of White Lies, the old Jason and the Scorchers Nugget.

Then they started ramping things up with a roller-coaster ride through Sheila that managed to morph into Bo Diddley's Pills before they got all our feet stomping as they asked Do You Wanna Dance? Of course we did, just as much as we Wanted to be Sedated by dear old Sweet Marie before she could shake her Tush at us before Shelia could truly be a part of the night. It was a great medley.

The Bluefields song Shake 'Em On Down was next and is not the old blues classic or the Peter Laughner Tune for that matter but a damn fine cowpunk stomper. After some more Rookie Baiting and a tale of a short lived music venue they played Right Back Where I Started which - although written about a trashy venue - still sounded great played in a hall with Chandeliers.

They then let Joe Savacool open the one song he already knew when he joined the band, Keep Your Hands To Yourself, and after a damn cool bass solo intro they just had everyone singing along and having a blast as they had all night long.

They closed with the only Reggae cover of the night as they did a super cow punky version of Toots and the Maytals' Country Roads - you think it's A John Denver tune, maybe? But it's always a reggae tune to me and they played just the most joyous version of it with band intro's and thank you' and the odd shout out with Warner playing in the middle of the audience and Otis Gibbs singing backing vocals.

It made for a wonderful rampaging end to another great Homemade Sin who will hopefully be back at full strength soon. But hell, even at this strength they are still unmissable.
  author: simonovitch

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