The Dawn Parade

Commenting on The Dawn Parade's split last year, enigmatic frontman Greg McDonald claims they "lost six arms, six legs and two brains in an horrific road traffic accident". The truth is somewhat more mundane: amid a blizzard of critical acclaim from everyone from DiS to Rolling Stone, and with a record deal seemingly within arms' reach, The Dawn Parade MKI gigged itself into the ground and split up.

Thankfully, creative force McDonald adheres to the old adage ‘A quitter never wins’. So, in the smokey, sweaty confines of the Portland Arms' cellar, The Dawn Parade MKII (fronted by McDonald with Jeremy ‘The Chaplin’ Jones, Claire Pruden, Neil Rasen, and Mark Sewell) line up to face an eager audience anticipating the rabble-rousing, passionate anthems of old.

Instead what they get is a 10-song set played at seemingly 100 miles-per-hour, led by a man fuelled by heartfelt conviction and with a point to prove. McDonald drives his band on through a slew of new material which veers from the snarling to the sublime, from the bruising to the beautiful. Of the new material, the Springsteen-esque ‘Broke On Angel Street’ and a thunderous ‘World On Fire’ stand out as particular highlights, and judging by the rapturous reception they receive could soon become live favourites.

Of course, The DP don’t forget their past: a raucous ‘Wider Than The January Skies’ prompts an audience sing-along, and ‘The Dark Stuff’ sparks off a spate of pogoing which nearly knocks out several people thanks to the Portland’s low ceiling. This excitement is infectious, so much so that the audience don’t want McDonald and co to leave and the whole thing runs way over curfew.

The show crashes to a close with another newie, ‘Shine On All You Bright Young Things’, which finds McDonald singing "Ain’t there one rock ‘n’ roll band/That plays what my heart feels?/No, not them New York rich kids/I want something real." Yet McDonald doesn’t have to look any further than his own band to find this. The Dawn Parade are still ‘the real deal’, possessing passion, purpose, rock ‘n’ roll and romance. Yep, The Dawn Parade have returned alright, and it’s good to have them back.