The Darts – The Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh
Having worked their way across Europe in the past few weeks, Arizona garage rock band The Darts
brought the heat to Edinburgh’s Voodoo Rooms tonight in a fast-paced, non-stop, fun-filled
performance.
The band: Nicole, Farfisa organ and vocals; Lou, guitar; Christina, bass and Mary Rose
(AKA Beef) on drums, are showcasing their new album, Snake Oil, and are delighted to see that a
packed room of enthusiastic punters have come along to see them do their thing.
Opening with My Heart Is A Graveyard from 2017, it’s immediately clear that we are in for a full-on
experience. From the relative safety of her seat behind the drum kit, Beef keeps the beat nailed
down. Elsewhere, Nicole seems hellbent on dragging Christina and Lou into her own personal
whirlwind of chaos as she flays her Farfisa organ, dragging it across the stage and subjecting it to a
level of abuse that it surely could never have imagined when it rolled off the production line in 1968.
Lou and Christina roll with the punches and carry on regardless, delivering a setlist full of top tunes.
Things slow down albeit almost imperceptively for Love You 2 Death which featured in the Peaky
Blinders TV series; the pace may have dropped but the intensity is increased. While the setlist is
understandably heavy on songs from the new album, Nicole seemingly never stops writing and we
are treated to new songs from the already-in-the-can new album, Pour Me Another and Your Show,
in which Lou dishes out rhythm riffs and lead licks with equal aplomb.
In no time at all we are into the encores although The Darts eschew the formalities of leaving the
stage and coming on again. A cover of The Trashwomen’s Batteries (”Who needs boys when you’ve
got batteries”) and My Way (not that one) bring the evening to a sweat-soaked close.
If you’ve witnessed recent episodes of organ abuse, The Royal Society For The Protection of Farfisas
would like to hear from you. But remember: snitches get stitches. Stay schtum and we’ll hopefully
see The Darts back again soon.
John Scott
Photos by John Scott @Upstage Photography
