Dirty Honey packs the hive at Ace of Spades
Photography and Story by: Jessica Kingsford
Dirty Honey - Ace of Spades - Sacramento
I was pretty sure I showed up to Ace of Spades last week in the year 2024, but the rockers from Dirty Honey, and their openers The Band Feel, brought all the retro vibes, long hair, thunderous drums and powerful vocals straight out of the 70s for one night of decade-bending music that made me wonder if I should be checking the merch booth for the band’s latest cassette tape.
The crowd that gathered to gorge themselves on the high-energy rock that Dirty Honey serves up were treated to the perfect musical appetizer in The Band Feel, who brought all the garage band energy from St. Louis to Sacramento. With a wall of Marshall amps stacked high behind them, not a single one of the four band members stood still for a second during their 30-minute set that included the original rock ballad “Goodbye Virginia.” These four guys are clearly working hard to put their stamp on the rock and roll scene with their tight, explosive sound that blends 60s blues and 70s rock with raw energy.
The Band Feel left the crowd hot and the stage smoking. We think it won’t be long before MFM is returning to review these rockers headlining shows of their own, and we’ll be here for it!
After a brief break to reset the stage, the lights dropped, and the crowd roared as Dirty Honey exploded onto the stage with sunglasses and rockstar attitudes playing “Won’t Take Me Alive.”
For those who aren’t listening to Dirty Honey yet (and obviously you should be) their sound has an unmistakable old school rock backbone with powerful guitar riffs and singer Marc LaBelle’s unique, distinctively high vocal range. Think Steven Tyler meets Axl Rose, throw in some influence from The Black Crowes and Led Zeppelin, and you’re almost there. Seriously crunchy rock and roll music.
It’s the nostalgic, classic sound from their sophomore album “Can’t Find the Brakes” that makes Dirty Honey stand out in the crowd. The band was definitely in the pocket with heavy rhythm from bassist Justin Smolian, tons of open snare from drummer Jaydon Bean, and distorted guitar solos getting absolutely smoked by lead guitarist John Notto.
Dirty Honey brought the heat with a set that included “California Dreamin,” “Heartbreaker” and “Dirty Mind” before putting the chill on with a duo of chicken-pickin, Dobro guitar, bluegrass acoustic jams, “Coming Home” and a cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Honkey Tonk Women.”
But the vibes didn’t stay mellow for long as the band kicked it into full gear for the end of the set. Somewhere between “Don’t Put Out the Fire” and (my personal favorite) “Another Last Time,” LaBelle pounced off the stage and up onto the bar to take a few shots, effectively moving the whole crowd around the room. The band held it absolutely down with solos up on the stage and LaBelle returned to finish with “When I’m Gone,” the song that propelled Dirty Honey to number one on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock airplay chart before they had even been signed to a label, making them the first band in history to hit that milestone without a record deal.
For an encore the band smashed cover songs by Prince and Van Halen as well as more face melting solos, while LaBelle climbed up the stage rafters Eddie Vedder-style. Rockstar’s gonna rockstar, I guess! They finished with the stupidly catchy song “Rolling 7s” before taking a selfie with the crowd. It was devil horns from wall to wall. Now, where do I get my cassette tape signed?
Music Fan Meters:
Smoke meter: I definitely detected the 420 alarm going off during the acoustic songs, but overall it was pretty mellow.
Fight meter: Nil. All devil horns and fist pumps, no punches thrown at this show.
Sing-along meter: Couldn't detect much over the blaring rock pouring through the speakers, but LaBelle did call out for the crowd to sing on a few tunes.