Mad Dog McRea plus Hobo Jones and the Junkyard Dogs, Exeter Phoenix, Saturday 17th March, 8pm
By Jenna Richards
Sweat dripping off me, legs wobbling (and not from too much booze) I left the Mad Dog McRea gig at Exeter Phoenix and realised I hadn’t has that much fun watching a band in years.
Mad Dog were brilliant. It was the first time I’d watched a full set from the unique Irish Celtic folk rock band and it was immensely enjoyable and highly energetic – hence the sweat and wobbly legs!
But both support acts were also fantastic. Promoters Midnight Mango got the billing right on the money when they put on to beautifully melodic voice of Launceston’s Rosie Vanier. Her incredible vocal range moving effortlessly from sugary pop tunes to turbulent rock. Followed by the up tempo shenanigans of Hobo Jones and the Junkyard Dogs topped with a large helping of Mad Dog McRea’s Irish charm.
And there couldn’t have been a better day to be watching Mad Dog than St Patrick ’s Day. A fact that hadn’t escaped the lively crowd many of whom arrived with shamrocks painted on their cheeks, heads adorned with Guinness hats and a large Irish flag was waved around at the front of the packed Exeter Phoenix auditorium throughout.
From self penned songs of adventure, drinking, love and life to traditional anecdotes referring to gypsies, fairies, legless pirates, black flies and wise old jungle bears the band took the audience on an engaging yet sometimes obscure lyrical journey.
The beats kept coming and the crowd kept bouncing. My normal demure head nodding evaporated and I soon morphed into some mad jiggling shape throwing lunatic bouncing in time with the rest of the crowd.
Although, if I’m honest, my decorum had all but vanished before Mad Dog McCrea even took to the stage as I found myself swept up in the madness that is Hobo Jones and the Junkyard Dogs. They boast being the world’s only skunk (that’s skiffle and punk) band and cover a range of music from Lonnie Donnagan to Led Zeppelin to Gina G!
Looking as though they hadn’t had a change of clothes since the band first started in 2003 and adorned with instruments such as the tea chest bass, washboard and the more traditional guitar some of the crowd weren’t sure what to expect from the shambolic looking threesome. But the revellers soon warmed to their unique style of performing well known tracks and the audience couldn’t help singing along and bouncing in time to the music.
Hobo Jones and the Junkyard Dog were a hard act for any band to follow. But Mad Dog McCrea’s lively performance and infectious songs stole their show back again.