Review Of The Dirty Heads Performance At The Rapids Theatre
When I realized in July that The Dirty Heads who produce a fusion of addictive alt-rock and reggae and achieved placement at the 93rd spot on the Billboard's "Hot 100" chart in 2010 were coming in September to Niagara Fall's Rapid's Theater, I was giddy with anticipation. Thankfully, Dustin Bushnell a.k.a. "Duddy B" (guitar) and Jared Watson (vocals) delivered a performance that was well worth the wait that brought me to my feet to dance, rousing me from lethargic loafing, beginning with a bouncy opener band called Chef's Special from The Netherlands who began the event with a relaxed tempo that the DH quickly ratcheted up once they took the stage. Although the band has released four studio albums since 2008, Jared mostly focused on tracks from two albums, Sound of Change'(2014), and 'Cabin By The Sea'(2012) which he spit in his signature style: fast, hard, and rhythmic. As I drove home after the show finished, adrenaline continued to course through my veins, leading me to question just how wild the after party must have been.
The crowd was much more swollen than other reggae acts I've witnessed including Pepper and Iration because DH's music is perhaps more palatable to fans outside of the dedicated "reggae-head" mold because of their alternative rock vibe, though Iration's pop influences expand their fan-base as well. It did share similarities demographically with Pepper's concert earlier this year at Rapid's with muscular bro's in T-shirts and tank tops but also with hippie girls in loose fitting pants like those I saw at Iration's gig at Cleveland's House of Blues and Buffalo's Town Ballroom. This audience was somewhat older with late twenty somethings, thirty somethings, and forty somethings as opposed to Buffalo's Canalside shows which are more heavily populated with fresh-faced, college-age revelers. I wonder if transportation and the modest cost of admission presented an obstacle for the starving youth.
If they want to, music aficinado's can check out a video which drops today which captures the DH recent show at the Red Rocks in Colorado. The video consists of live performance of ‘End Of The World” and is narrated by Jared Watson (vocals) who explains the unique experience of performing at the venue.
