In a fortuitous piece of timing which has had guitar music fans salivating in anticipation, this weekend Dubai hosted the regional debut of not just one hip, hyped European indie-rock act — but two.
On Thursday (May 12), retro-flavoured UK band Black Honey played at Casa Latina, for thriving underground club night Bad House Party.
Kicking off with the surf scamper of Spinning Wheel, the Brighton-based quartet served up a sharp-edged set of hummable, spirited pop tunes — spiky guitar textures never overwhelming the sense of melody, or fun. There was a rumbling crest of anticipation to fan favourite Corrine, lead singer Izzy B Phillips never flinching her aura of artful poise for a second — you can see this band going far.
A day later, on Friday (May 13), raw rockers Teleferik were the latest guests for left-field concert series The Other Side, hosted at And Lounge. A classic power trio, the Parisians served up a twisted stew mixing vintage blues-rock with the barbed bite of punk and grunge. The perfect foil to guitarist Arno Vincendeau's driving rhythm/lead attack was flamboyant frontwoman Eliz Mourad, of Lebanese descent, who unleashed primal howls in a mix of English, Arabic and French — see charged closer Bombs and Rockets.
If Black Honey’s set was defined by its keen ear for a hook, Teleferik’s mined the subterranean, primal world of groove; this was music for the soul — deep, dark, dirty and dangerous.
And while Black Honey wrapped their set following a tight, encore-less 45 minutes; Teleferik were coaxed back onstage after a sweat-soaked hour — to play two songs they’d already done. The British band left the crowd wanting more — the French offered more than they had to give.
Deeper comparisons are futile, these are two bands doing very different things — but both doing them very, very well.
A couple of years ago, the idea of seeing two upcoming European guitar acts, in a single weekend in Dubai, would have been pretty absurd — and much of the thanks for this sea change goes out to the two courageous promoters who are making all this happen. Bad House Party hosted their first international concert just 14 months ago; The Other Side is only ten months old, but has already welcomed more than a dozen edgy acts from the region, and beyond. In the past year, the indie live music scene has literally been turned upside down.
Without these brave folk our evenings out risk looking far much less colourful — and we as concertgoers must ensure the scene continues to thrive. Don’t take these rays in the dark for granted. Love them, nurture them, mother them, smother them — and make sure you keep going out.
