The Dead Daisies, The Treatment and The Bites, London 2024, review and photos by Dawn Osborne

Tonight was a super bill of three hard working bands, fabulous value for money!

First up are The Bites who have been attracting a lot of attention as the band to watch from LA. As first support there’s only time for 8 songs, six from their successful debut Squeeze, the band new track ‘Fire In Hollywood’ and one cover, a bit of a surprise ‘War Pigs’ (Black Sabbath): whilst pretty on point given the state of the world at the moment, it suggests there’s more to these boys than merely the good time songs we saw on their first album. They are, nevertheless, true to form, smiley and dialled up to eleven from the moment they hit the stage till they leave.

Jordan Tyler is full of love for the audience, even telling them he loves them in several languages. He is also a huge flirt promising that the Bites will sign anything. There are indeed giddy groups of young girls in the audience and its nice to see this at a classic rock gig where a lot of the audience is usually older. Jono joins in with wolf whistle sounds made with his guitar. I have seen this band twice now and both times I have been impressed by their vibe, energy and ability to inspire the audience to have a good time.

Next up are The Treatment who have continued to grow in strength as a live band over the last few years. They seem aware that the band is getting even better and the set is half focussed on their new material starting off with new single ‘Let’s Wake Up This Town’ and half focussed on material from previous albums. They also have tried to get away from the Poppier older material and get a bit heavier in line with the undeniable marketplace trend. Further, with The Bites snapping at their heels, they cannot afford to slouch, and the reality is they meet the challenge head on and are not upstaged, a testament to their own energy and passion for what they do.

Whilst the bands are bringing it tonight, the audience seems a bit muted, whether it’s the rainy weather, the cost of living crisis, political scandals or wars, the audience are a little bit hard to warm up, but singer Tom is not going to take that lying down, he points out that 50 percent of the crowd look ready for bed and there are a few jokey nods in the crowd. He has them clapping and singing nevertheless, and the band undeterred play the gig like its Madison Square Garden with the craziest crowd ever, enthusiasm that is hard to ignore. At times the band remind me of AC/DC in sound: they are still bringing crushing choruses and unrelenting power. By the last track ‘Running With The Dogs’  I look around and a large proportion of fists in the air from the audience tell me they have made a difference.

The Dead Daisies are also completely committed to what they do, full of professionals who know how to Rock! Glenn Hughes is a god, but if the truth be told his unique presence turned the Daisies into the Glenn Hughes band. John Corabi brings back the original ethos of the band as a bit of a supergroup having a great time Americana-style. I, for one, am pleased to see Corabi back in the band. And they are pleased to be back, bouncing on the stage! Doug Aldrich, the golden god strutting his stuff while smashing the solos, one after one. Tommy Clufetos reborn with a shorter hairdo pounding the drums, fit as a whippet, with Rock ‘n’ Roll Panache that reminded me a bit of Tommy Lee. David Lowy is the proud and modest boss lettin’ loose, while Michael Devin is the dark brooding inscrutable bass player we know from his days with Whitesnake.

The new album is a great addition to the Daisies back catalogue and they are rightly proud of it kicking off with the title track ‘Light ‘Em Up’. And then it’s a couple from ‘Burn It Down’ John picking up where he left off, that being the last album he did before he re-joined. The catchy new song ‘I Wanna Be Your Bitch’ does not suffer at all by comparison with the infectious stomping rhythm of ‘Make Some Noise’, another great song from the first Corabi era.

So having pee’d and left his mark, John then turns to show us what else he can do. Really the biggest surprise of the set was how well the Glenn-Hughes-era material worked with John singing. Completely different of course, almost apples and oranges, but totally done well and very enjoyable. The band are totally bringing it, but once again the audience are showing the typical London reserve. Not having it, John jokes that they are starting to sound like his ‘Grandmother’s funeral’ and he’s right the band are hot tonight and totally don’t deserve anything less than a totally engaged audience. Problem is, I reckon, there’s trouble in the realm, nothing to do with the Daisies, more like the general economic difficulties making it hard for people to simply forget their worries.

With a promise to take everyone back to the beginning, John also makes the only song from the Jon Steven’s era to make it into the set ‘Lock ‘n’ Load’ very much his own by playing acoustic guitar and giving his voice enough space in the song so his trade mark rasp can really be heard.

After the history lesson, two lively tracks from the new album ‘I’m Gonna Ride’ and ‘Take A Long Line’ (cover of Lowy’s previous band The Angels) sandwich ‘Born To Fly’ (the Glenn era song written in tribute to the main man’s high flyin’ lifestyle) and take us back to the here and now. This is a lead in to a medley of cover songs celebrating the present members of the band and a cue for John to roast them a little bit in between, including ‘Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, ‘Seven Nation Army’, ‘Children Of The Grave’, ‘Whole Lotta Love’ and The Who’s ‘Join Together’.

Corabi specialises in doing better versions of original songs and the final section of the show includes covers of Muddy Waters’ ‘I’m Ready’, ‘Fortunate Son’, ‘Midnight Moses’ and ‘Helter Skelter’ (also covered by Crue one of John’s previous bands) sandwiched around original Daisies’ favourites Crabby-era songs ‘Mexico’ and ‘Long Way to Go’. John takes the opportunity to announce they have already recorded an album of Blues songs, a cover record, which should come out next year.

Tonight all the bands did everything right and provided an amazing show from start to finish. The audience, on the other hand, really had to be shaken into enjoying, themselves and never truly let go. Absolutely not the fault of the band, the audience seem preoccupied with something else tonight. For those who could fully engage, they had a great time. Hope the audience being a bit reticent won’t put the band off from coming back. Things can only get better in the UK, hopefully the energy of the audience can match the energy of the band next time.

Dawn Osborne