For those of you who haven’t been to the Booking Hall in your lifetime, there will be some confusion as you approach the port of Dover. The venue is in a former train station that leans into the “dive bar” aesthetic so much they do not even have tap water. Mostly used for tribute acts like “Faux Fighters” and “Kings of the Stone Ages”. When there isn’t a tribute act or a “pop punk pizza party”, The Booking Hall has a legitimate band come through every once in a while. This time it was Electric Six.
Supporting them was an all female four piece alt rock band called The Kut. Merging smooth and raw vocals from lead Princess Maha is an unique experience live. Vocals that have a grunge style whilst guitars that are dynamic and technically sound.
The Kut gave a solid performance and had won over the crowd by the end of their set, this is not to say it was perfect. Lighting issues plagued the first few songs meaning they were performing in the dark. Bass guitar cutting out randomly too. This reviewer believes that The Kut can give a great performance but external issues did not help this evening.
Electric Six took to the stage and looked very snug, but they made it work the best they could. Dick Valentine looked both on-form and at the same time extremely sweaty. I’m sure he would say it was because of his overwhelming sex appeal but in reality the humidity was so high there wasn’t a dry body in the house. Valentine has a very unique stage presence, almost Napoleon Dynamite-esk, awkward but in a loveable way.
Whenever a guitar solo played he would hold up his microphone and compliment how good they are. Every intro to a song was the same “this is song number [insert song number here]” until he inevitably lost count and comedically made it up. Valentine has been touring for over 20 years and has defined his schtick, a stage presence that looks low effort but has the crowd eating out of his palm.
All the audio and lighting issues seemed to have been fixed by the time Electric Six took the stage. Strangely playing their mainstream hits “Danger! High Voltage” and “Gay Bar” during the middle of the set. Everyone raising their phone to film these two specific songs adds to the hilarity of the moment. They also played other fan favourites including “Naked Pictures (Of Your Mother)”, “Down at McDonnelzzz” and “Gay Bar Part Two”. They finished the encore with “Dance Commander”. Sound quality was solid and the confidence of the band as a whole shined through in the small venue.
Electric Six played a solid set in Dover, there isn’t a band that can craft and perform disco rock metal quite like them.
Electric Six played The Booking Hall, Dover on 02/04/2022
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