The Dead Daisies in Birmingham, November 2018

The Dead Daisies, November 23rd, 2018 at the O2 Institute, Birmingham, UK

A very busy year, this one, for the rock veterans The Dead Daisies. In January came the announcement of the pending album Burn It Down (released on April 6) and a 26-date UK and European tour following the release. A list of festivals in summer followed by a North American tour and now, until mid December, Daisies are back for the second part of their UK and European tour.

First on the stage were British heavy metallers Diamond Head. A band that is recognised as part of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal movement and Metallica’s early influence tonight, unfortunately, were standing tonight in front of a crowd that seemed like they did not quite know who these guys are. Very disappointing for the Home of Heavy Metal!

The Dead Daisies, however, no matter what they do, seem to be getting it right. Many rock bands could only dream to have such a loyal fan base across the globe, but, for only a five-year-old band, that is great achievement. But not without a reason – whether it’s bassman Marco with his cheeky barely noticeable smile flicking guitar picks into the crowd or Corabi’s smiles prompting banters between the songs – Daisies do keep their fans close to their hearts and have their own way of connecting with them.

Tonight’s two-hour long set included pieces from the whole band’s discography as well as a list of covers, like “Join Together” from The Who, “Bitch” from The Rolling Stones, and “Stay With Me” from Faces amongst others.

The acoustic part in the middle of the set was rather refreshing. It started with “Set Me Free” from the band’s latest album, followed by Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May” sung by the band’s latest addition, sticksman Deen Castronovo. Things got emotional when John was asking the crowd to put their phone lights on for the next song, a Beatles cover “Let It Be”.

While the stage was sinking in deep red haze and things were getting plugged back in, the front man John Corabi turned to the crowd with a question: “Do you know what time it is Birmingham?” The answer to that was – it was “time to turn it up and burn it down”.

A great evening, as it always promises to be with The Dead Daisies.

And there came a promise from Doug: “We’re not gonna be back for a while, but when we are back, we’re gonna kick ass even harder!”