{"id":8663,"date":"2012-05-11T07:53:52","date_gmt":"2012-05-10T21:53:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/?p=8663"},"modified":"2012-06-21T15:52:56","modified_gmt":"2012-06-21T05:52:56","slug":"the-dirty-pearls-%e2%80%93-gramercy-theatre-new-york-city-5-may-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/2012\/05\/the-dirty-pearls-%e2%80%93-gramercy-theatre-new-york-city-5-may-2012\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dirty Pearls \u2013 Gramercy Theatre, New York City – 5 May 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Dirty Pearls \u2013 Gramercy Theatre, New York City<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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5 May 2012, by Paul Miles<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Photo Gallery:\u00a0http:\/\/rockshots.paul-miles.com\/Music\/Dirty-Pearls-Gramercy-Release\/22860566_nhs5DF<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Rarely do I get pumped for an album release gig these days, but I\u2019ve seen The Dirty Pearls a few times now and I feel hooked. Having paid their local dues, with a good tip, these kings of the New York City rock scene are now well-primed to take things national and beyond. So I celebrated Cinco de Mayo by avoiding Mexican cantinas as I made my way to Gramercy Theatre on 23rd<\/sup>\u00a0Street, where I joined about 600 revellers at this sold-out event to toast their debut full-length album\u00a0Whether You Like It Or Not<\/em>. The slip cover of the ten-song CD features a devilishly delicious shot of fashion model and DJ Sky Nellor walking over a New York City manhole on a cobblestone paved street in Manhattan. It evokes to me, \u201cYou\u2019re about to be whipped by the devil\u2019s music from the streets of NYC and it\u2019s going to turn you on.\u201d I was ready.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"\"<\/a>For those yet to be introduced, The Dirty Pearls hail from Manhattan\u2019s Lower East Side \u2013 Rivington\u00a0Street to be precise. A shot of the street features on the cover of the Beastie Boys’ old album\u00a0Paul’s Boutique<\/em>, and their founding member Adam Yauch (\u201cMCA\u201d) had passed away the day before this show. But it\u2019s the rock bar St. Jerome\u2019s on the street that serves as the clubhouse to The Dirty Pearls and their mates, affectionately dubbed the Rivington Rebels, as amply scripted in ink at the top of their front man Tommy London\u2019s arm. Lady Gaga used to hang with this posse and tipped her hat to them in the song\u00a0Heavy Metal Lover<\/em>\u00a0from her latest album by singing, \u201cDirty pearls and a patch for all the Rivington Rebels \u2013 let\u2019s raise hell in the streets, drink beer and get into trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Once inside the venue, I caught special guests Star Killer, fronted by the darkly charismatic Jasin Cadic, who directed and starred in The Dirty Pearls\u2019 video for\u00a0Who\u2019s Coming Back To Who<\/em>\u00a0(that also features the last footage filmed inside legendary NYC club Don Hill\u2019s.) Displaying strong camaraderie between the bands, Tommy London came out and sang on a cover of Muse\u2019s\u00a0Uprising<\/em>, which turned out to be Star Killer\u2019s final song for the night. Then it was time for Breedlove to take the stage \u2013 the most flamboyant alternative nerd character I\u2019ve witnessed sing a few songs solo to a backing track. When the final tracks from DJ Ian El Dorado finished, the night\u2019s hosts JennCity (Kittie, Suicide City) and Tim Martinez brought on the moment everyone was ready for: The Dirty Pearls.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Hitting the stage with the fast-paced opening and title track of their new album\u00a0Whether You Like It Or Not,<\/em>\u00a0The Dirty Pearls sent a clear message with their lyric, \u201cWhether you like it or not, I\u2019m coming for you. There\u2019s not a single thing you can say, or anything you can do.\u201d With their front man telling the crowd that \u201cthis is not a gig, it\u2019s a party,\u201d they followed it up with\u00a0Caffeine And Gasoline<\/em>, which is set to be their next video. With the crowd\u2019s thirst for a good time rock\u2019n\u2019roll show now being quenched,\u00a0Static<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Mayday<\/em>\u00a0were next as the band\u2019s two guitarists displayed dexterity with their Les Paul\u2019s \u2013 Tommy Mokas with his gold top and Sunny Climbs with his sunburst. Looking somewhat like a cheeky metalhead, bass player Dougie Wright showcased his flexibility by dropping to his knees and bending all the way flat on his back while playing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As Tommy London threw his aviators into the crowd, Star Killer\u2019s Jasin Cadic joined the band on stage to help sing an older favourite\u00a0Bruises<\/em>. Tommy told the punters that the night\u2019s performance was being dedicated in memory of Edward C. Zacharewicz, who died during the week after enthusiastically supporting many bands striving on the NYC rock scene for years. He spoke about the need for a scene and how great it is that all genres come together in NY to rock and have fun with mutual respect. At the end of the song he dropped to his knees,\u00a0thankful\u00a0to the fallen and those in front of him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"\"<\/a>A last-minute inclusion to the album was a ballad titled\u00a0You Got Me Where You Want Me<\/em>\u00a0and as the band slowed the pace, Tommy encouraged the crowd to just listen to its words. Effervescent drummer Marty E. Concussion, now proudly endorsed by Paiste Cymbals, caught his breath before his singer took some pictures of the crowd on a Flip camera. They then launched into the sweet sounding\u00a0Love Sick Love<\/em>, a contagious power-pop track on the new album that was originally released on their\u00a0Volume 2<\/em>\u00a0EP in 2008 as\u00a0LuvSikLuv<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Bring On The Night<\/em>\u00a0was up next with Tommy London singing \u201cSaint of the city on the prowl\u201d and \u201cFast times at Rivington High\u201d while the other Tommy soon reeled off a guitar solo from the steps at the side of the stage. The band treated the crowd to another favourite in\u00a0Sucker For A Sequel<\/em>\u00a0that first appeared on their self-titled EP five years ago, with a refreshed version now included on this album. The amount of time that\u2019s transpired to finally release their full-length debut prompted their front man to tell the crowd, \u201cThis is our\u00a0Chinese Democracy<\/em>\u2026 except it has good songs on it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Perhaps the strongest song on the album was up next:\u00a0Who’s Coming Back To Who<\/em>, which had the crowd smiling and singing along, before they went into their main anthem\u00a0New York City Is A Drug<\/em>. With Tommy wearing the song\u2019s upright syringe logo \u2013 that\u2019s perhaps intentionally reminiscent of an NYC skyscraper \u2013 on the back of his sleeveless leather top, they finished their set on a high. After playing every song on the release, they thanked the crowd and left the stage, once drummer Marty had tossed a drumstick to the crowd.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"\"<\/a>The Dirty Pearls have supported the likes of Kiss, Bret Michaels, New York Dolls and Andrew WK, and testimony to their hard work at making a gig more of an event and a party, it\u2019s easy to see why they\u2019ve now sold-out this venue three times. The local crowd loudly demanded them back for an encore and soon Tommy London was back on stage, sporting the album cover t-shirt available from merch booth. The band launched into a cover of Aerosmith\u2019s\u00a0Sweet Emotion<\/em>\u00a0with Tommy Mokas having some fun\u00a0with his guitar and\u00a0talk box. At one point during the song a woman in the front row removed her big guns from their holster and brandished them to Tommy\u2019s delight, who ended proceedings by hitting a mock home run as the band left the stage.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>On the way out, I picked up a copy of the new\u00a0Whether You Like It Or Not<\/em>\u00a0album, and as expected it contains heaps of fresh, modern rock songs that are just as good as anything new on the radio today and will stand the test of time. It was produced and mixed by David Kahne, best known for producing\u00a0the 1995 Grammy Award winner for Album of the Year\u00a0\u2013\u00a0MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett<\/em>, who has also produced the likes of Paul McCartney. And it was engineered by Joe Barresi, who has previously engineered albums by the likes of Kyuss, L7, Fu Manchu, Tool, and Wolfmother. So the sound has a certain stamp of pop sensibilities combined with a hard rocking edge to them, which is just my cup of tea: hard rock with memorable melodies that soon have you singing along. The album was also recorded at\u00a0Avatar Studios in NYC, more famously known as The Power Station in years gone by where Madonna recorded her\u00a0Like A Virgin<\/em>\u00a0debut, Bowie recorded\u00a0Let\u2019s Dance<\/em>, The Boss recorded\u00a0Born in the USA<\/em>, Roxy Music recorded\u00a0Avalon<\/em>, and the Stones recorded\u00a0Tattoo You<\/em>, to name but a few classics captured in this Hell\u2019s Kitchen studio. Tommy London recently started his own label Rivington Records that will release music from bands in the scene and elsewhere, with this album from The Dirty Pearls\u00a0being the label\u2019s first.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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No doubt the band and the Rivington Rebels kicked-on late into the morning, celebrating a great night, a great album, and a great release party. True to the band\u2019s promise beforehand of \u201cbe there, or hear about it later,\u201d I\u2019m sure those in attendance will be talking about this night for quite some time. So get your copy of\u00a0Whether You Like It Or Not<\/em>\u00a0and be sure to check out The Dirty Pearls for a healthy dose of real, live rock\u2019n\u2019roll.<\/p>\n

www.thedirtypearls.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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About Paul Miles<\/strong>
\nOur U.S. Contributor Paul Miles (www.Paul-Miles.com<\/a>) is the author of five paperbacks on the world\u2019s most infamous rock band: Motley Crue. The pages of his\u00a0Chronological Crue<\/em>website (www.CrueTime.com<\/a>) have been read well-over five million times. His best-selling book\u00a0Sex Tips from Rock Stars<\/em>\u00a0was published worldwide (Omnibus Press, 2010www.SexTipsFromRockStars.com<\/a>) and has been reprinted in foreign languages. Paul Miles is also a New York City-based freelance rock photographer, specializing in live music photography that captures the true spirit of rock\u2019n\u2019roll in action from some of the world\u2019s greatest performers.<\/p>\n\n

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