Dirtbombs

The humid heat of nights like this one has a particular feeling with the carnal quality of the Dirtbombs' sound. The band's energy, stretched to breaking point, and the warm timbre of Mick Collins's voice blend perfectly with the audience's desire to let loose. The result is a mob of people dancing and singing at the top of their lungs, both new songs and old favourites. This is indeed a performance to remember. The electric charge that bursts from the stage is pure r'n'b essence, steeped in Motown soul with a lo-fi twist.

The band arrived in Italy to promote their new album "We Have You Surrounded", released on In The Red, bringing with them their usual dose of dynamism and frenzy. The show is part of the closing festival of Circolo degli Artisti's programme, "School's Out", and is preceded on stage by a good number of acts, all in some way indebted to the Motor City outfit. In order of appearance: I Capputtini i lignu, Le Motorama, Intellectuals and finally Margaret Doll Rods. All with a marked leaning towards garage. In particular, Margaret, former leader of the Demolition Doll Rods, performs a one woman show with guitar in hand. She presents her new solo album, pure rock'n'roll streaked with dirty, caustic blues. A bit Stooges, a bit Cramps, these are the main reference points. Irreverent and sensual, between one song and the next she jokes with the audience, poking fun at her own breasts and her need for love.

But obviously the highlight of the evening is them, the Dirtbombs, and as the minutes pass the audience grows more and more impatient. The line-up is the one from recent years: Mick Collins on guitar and vocals, Ko Melina on second guitar, Jim Diamond on bass, and finally the drumming duo of Ben Blackwell and Patrick Pantano. Finally, a roar precedes their entrance.

The start is electrifying, with the usual verve and grit as they attack the stage. The double drums are there, and you can feel it. The synergy among the band members is really strong, and everyone moves in unison. Among them, the figure of the towering Black singer naturally stands out with his booming soul voice. The former Gories man is, as always, the soul and reference point of the band. Impassive behind his dark glasses, with a mischievous little smile, he grinds out riffs between a falsetto and an electric jolt.

The setlist is the usual one: adrenaline-fuelled garage hybridised with tight r'n'b. Time and again, though, the Dirtbombs choose to bend their original blueprint into new variants: from full-on guitar fuzz to disco-punk, diving into garage-noise. It's a fairly obvious consequence that "Chain Of Love", "Underdog", "Indivisible", "Motor City Baby", "Leopardman At C&A" literally set the crowd on fire. As the temperature rises quickly and beads of glistening sweat fly through the air, the band never loses its tightness, carrying on the show as if on autopilot. They punctuate their live set with covers, and sure enough, shortly after, "Sherlock Holmes" by Sparks turns up, a track already featured on their latest album.

But it's on a cover of Inxs that the night comes to a close. Midway through the song, one of the two drummers, in full trance, leaps into the crowd and harangues the audience, urging them to keep going. Like a preacher, he delivers a genuine rock sermon. The rest of the band goes along with the bit, admittedly rather long and a bit tedious, before exploding in the finale. Amid the waves of a rock dance, Captain Collins, thirty years on, still sets the pace.

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