Ferocious Dog (+Dan O'Farrell) Talking Heads 18.03.17

Ferocious Dog (+Dan O’Farrell) Talking Heads // Live Review
18.3.17

A room filled with topless, sweaty, middle-aged men.
Ales of all kinds being drunk faster than I could finish one lager.
Mohicans and leather jackets took over.

Ferocious Dog were back in Southampton. The last time this Nottingham 6-piece came to Talking Heads, vocalist, Ken Bonsall claimed, “We only played to 80 people”; now, the place was sold-out and rightfully so. With the crowd creating a festival vibe and making everyone feel welcome amongst their drunken, punk attitudes, the night promised to be a good one.

Dan O’Farrell was the support for tonight and is a Southampton based singer/songwriter. By touching upon important subjects with a satirical twist, amongst sugar-coating them with his light-hearted melodies, it could be argued that the approach was a bit contradictory. With that being said, the crowd loved him and were indulged within the liquid of his talent, listening intently and soaking all the information being given. Stand out track, ‘Your Facebook Feed Is Not The World’ contained repetitive lyrics that reinforced the idea that social media is not our universe and one should look up from their screen and enjoy their surroundings. “Somewhere in Malaysia, a worker staggers home from 16 hours” O’Farrell chants, whilst comparing the idea of helping someone through Facebook against the reality of physically helping someone.

Ferocious Dog came on shortly after and were ready to play to an energetic crowd. With sweaty men starting an immediate circle of chaos, the overall feel in the room was a safe one and one to be admired. After introducing two new members earlier this year it’s fair to say that it was unnoticeable that 1/3 of the group were new. The synchronicity between all members was phenomenal and matched the sound of their recorded tracks, with a more energetic back-bone. With an ever-growing following of dedicated fans, Ferocious Dog never seem to disappoint.

If one was to roll The Pogues and The Levellers into a spliff, the beautiful smell thus would be that of Ferocious Dog. The Folk inspired tracks had every person enjoying the incredible energy being shared round the room; there was not one person in the room not smiling. Stand out track, ‘Freethinker’ had the best crowd response creating a boisterous atmosphere that continued to welcome anyone with open arms. Standing by the door allowed me a funny insight to the repercussions of the executed mosh, with handfuls of men coming back to the point of entry and requesting re-drawings of the entry cross on their hands due to it being sweated off or washed off with a downpour of beer. Ah.
Thank you, Ferocious Dog, for a splendid evening.

Beers. Beers. Beers.