IF THIS AIN’T THE DAMN TRUTH, I DON’T KNOW WHAT IS!!
During SXSW Weekend in Austin, bands in vans infiltrate Dallas coming or going to play one of the largest music and film festivals in the Southwest. Without a doubt, this festival draws bands from all over the country and the world, playing in the festival or not, and is regarded as the place to be over the third weekend in March.
Having gone to SXSW a slew of times, it is definitely a must do or must experience at least once, for any music professional. That said, these bands that flock to Texas for this weekend try and maximize their time here and book shows in Dallas and any city they can play in on the way to Austin and further south on Highway 45.
One band that made the trek is THE DAMN TRUTH, a gritty four-piece rock band from Montreal, Canada. I encountered the band over YouTube one evening while chatting with a publicist on FB Messenger. Well, I’ll rephrase, a messenger window popped up and the message read, “Want to hear the most amazing band?” I of course typed back in record time, “Of course…duh!” Instantaneously, a link to YouTube came over and as I clicked and the player loaded, I wasn’t fully prepared for what I was about to experience.
Now look my Lovelies, I must tell you that there is no exaggeration to this story. And if you are a regular reader, you may think “Eegads, she’s always over the top excited for every band she writes about.” My response to that thought, if I could hear them would always be, “Well, duh…!” I go gaga for the bands I love and I write about these bands because I like them and want others to connect with their music as well. I’m not going to write about bands that I don’t like – what would be the purpose in that. And I’ve mentioned this rule of thumb that I follow, but I’m just reiterating for the sake of clarity.
As the video started with a slow motion walk through a party, a twangy little guitar tone eeked out of the speakers, drawing my attention to the music and not the shiny OMV for The Damn Truth’s single, “Heart Is Cold”. Once that vocal pierced the echo in my open, concrete loft, I literally almost vomited. Seriously. I stood in the doorway of the closet paralyzed by this woman’s voice that was so crisp, strong, perfectly pitched, grainy, and so full of emotion inside the notes she sung, I had a physical reaction to what I heard.
Don’t act like me describing what I experienced from her music in the form of vomit is a bad thing. It isn’t a reaction that happened because of something inside of me that was coming OUT – it was a vibrant reaction from what was going IN that made me feel like I was going to hurl.
I probably listened to “Heart Is Cold” 6 times standing there in the doorway, beating out words on my phone keyboard back to the publicist that sent over the music in the first place and still had the same reaction.
Fast forward to February of this year, I find out that THE DAMN TRUTH will be appearing in Dallas as they come North from SXSW in March. Needless to say, seeing the band live and up close was something I had to look forward to for the next month or two. I was honestly a little nervous because what if they weren’t as good live as they are on their record? What if the other instruments couldn’t puncture my soul like the record of “Heart So Cold” did? What if I didn’t see what I heard? *sigh* I don’t know why I thought that anything but power and energy would be present.
Let me just say, THE DAMN TRUTH is a reckoning on stage. Their set is absolutely, like being possessed for 45 minutes while a constant stream of an invisible spell is cast out from all four musicians in one continual pipeline from the stage to the audience’s ears. It is surreal how Lee-la’s voice is conjoined with what the band is playing, and it all comes out and floats to the center of the room and falls down on an audience like honey dripping from a beehive.
This band performs with a cohesive substance holding them all together tightly on stage. My initial “what if’s” were kicked to the curb instantly. Even though their set time was pushed up to way early due to what seemed to be a scheduling conflict, and they played for virtually the press that was invited to their show, sans a few stragglers from the street. It was a shame that their set was moved up because they would have enthralled more people than they did. I was a little put off for them that they were at the mercy of the club because it isn’t like they could just rebook the show, they’re from f’ing Canada. Like they could just pop down and make up the oversight. I felt like it was disrespectful to just assume it was ok for the show to be moved up to a time where there weren’t any people downtown and they fans that were coming had a rude awakening when they arrived and the band had already played.
But shit happens, right? And it seems that there are forces beyond our control that put people, places and things, in the right times. The show was over and as my ears were still soaking up the magic that was in that room like a sponge growing as it soaks up water sitting in a sink. I was blown away by the organic sounds of the guitars and bass and the dynamic of Tom Shemer (guitars) and Dave Masse (bass) and how they bounce off Lee-la on stage is really fucking good, and the chemistry that cause a reaction in all of your senses is remarkable.
This band is the real deal. What makes THE DAMN TRUTH even more of a joy to watch is the honest fun they’re having together, doing what they all feel contributes to their destiny, and because they love making music. Dave Traina (drums) keeps the wildness of the music nice and neatly lassoed together. This band should have a huge presence in the “New Bands To Check Out” folder that you keep. They’re continuing their tour at the end of April (please follow and like them on their socials: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube
Oh, and if you’re wondering by chance if I threw up somewhere during their show, I didn’t. I felt like I was being given the heimlich maneuver with every chorus or verse, though, I will say that. I’ll note here that seeing this band live should be your number one priority while they’re touring. And if they’re not coming to your part of the planet, then wait patiently because I am sure they will add it soon.
Til Next Time – MRML – Cherri
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Cherri Bird
