The Dirtbombs; Davila 666 @ Knitting Factory

The Dirtbombs; Davila 666
@ Knitting Factory
Brooklyn, NY - February 25, 2010

After a relatively lengthy gap since their last New York performance (15 months), the Dirtbombs made what I think was their Williamsburg debut on a late, snowy, Thursday night at the recently relocated Knitting Factory. In a much more important first, yours truly saw a changed Dirtbombs line-up for the first time in his fandom as Zach Whedon now patrols bass to Mick's left. The kid is a Dirtbombs natural, following and anchoring in all the right parts, and he can take a solid leap off a drum kit. The band went to the well for this special free show that had a couple of corporate sponsors - delivering a "this is how we do" set in their more rollicking, stuck-in-thee-garage mode of things that they change up with the more towering, rock-your-world mode they were in on the last major tour. The appearance of "What You Got" was the highlight of the night, and this ought to be a future set-list standard, especially considering the extra stompy opening. A cover of the ol' "Daddy Rolling Stone" was on the bill too which made for a pleasant surprise.

Davila 666 are Puerto Ricans from Puerto Rico who play garage rock. The sloppier Black Lips-esque stuff went on a bit too long, but the more tight, chord-focused purer punk songs were borderline excellent. I can't tell if they are singing in English or Spanish. It's all "awargahawarhaha". Which, when you think about it, is the universal language of garage punk anyway.