As main support for The Swellers, DANGEROUS SUMMER are the sore thumb of the Give It A Name Introducing Tour. There’s a notable lack of substance with many of the acts on the bill: a supposed showcase for the emerging fresh talent of the alternative punk scene. This is probably best revealed by the band on stage directly before Dangerous Summer proudly declaring “this song is about going out, getting drunk and getting fucked up” before following that with a song known as Party All Night.
Being the first band to arrive on stage to look like they’ve actually spent more time writing songs than crafting the perfect haircut, there’s a lot of pressure on Dangerous Summer to raise the bar this evening. Named after an Ernest Hemingway novel, you expect there to be a little more going on with this particular group of youngsters from America. Unfortunately they don’t quite deliver.
Their myspace page reveals a manifesto throwing back to “the days when music was charged with hope and contained a much-needed brand of sincerity”. Whilst obviously commendable in an age where the majority of mainstream music appears to be recorded with a knowing wink fixed in place, onstage this translates into a very workman-like performance.
Dressed in matching black jumpers and t-shirts, it’s clear Dangerous Summer are keen to let their music stand up for itself. As with the majority of acts who aim to deliver heatfelt guitar music with sweeping choruses (think Jimmy Eat World or Brand New as starting points), there’s very little that sets this band apart musically. These kind of emotive groups hang on the essence of the singer: someone who sells the intensity of the song and can deliver the knock-out couplets that grace the homework diaries of 15 year olds across the globe.
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While on record, singer AJ Perdomo’s voice is as sharp as crystal, here it is lost amongst an extremely poor sound mix that favours brute force above any subtlety. There are moments where we gain a glimpse of the potential of the band, such as when during Northern Lights the band take their foot of the accelerator and Perdomo’s refrain of “I’m not afraid to watch you change me” is briefly allowed to reach the back of the room. However, these incidents are few and far between.
Interestingly, there are people here that seem absolutely convinced about Dangerous Summer and utter the lyrics back to the band in an act of quiet devotion. Sadly, for those fresh to the group this evening, there’s simply not enough to get involved with.
Maybe it’s something about the exuberant American attitude that doesn’t quite translate to a Monday night in Stoke (when Perdomo chirps at the static crowd “you guys are crazy”, you actually wonder if he’s at a different gig), but Dangerous Summer fail to ignite this evening. That said, they still hold onto more than enough promise to emerge as something special by the end of this lengthy UK tour.
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