High Voltage

Watching Dogs play live, it is almost unbelievable to find out what position the London five-piece find themselves in. Six years and two albums after the original line-up formed, and with strong accreditation from fans including Paul Weller, who performed on Tall Stories from under the Table (2007), the group is still struggling to gain recognition on the main scene. A recent pledge group on Facebook saw Dogs sell posters, lyrics and collectable CDs, simply to find the funds for their forthcoming EP.

Playing the atmospheric, but modestly-sized, Moho Live, you can't help but wonder why they aren't enjoying a bigger and better fate. The band, and most notably lead singer Johnny Cooke, storm the stage with an incredibly enigmatic presence. They are using this tour to promote their new 'We are the Dogs' EP, and even though the die-hard Dogs fans are keen to hear their old favourites, such as Tuned to a Different Station, London Bridge and Dirty Little Shop, the new stuff commands the same passion, aggressive rock and desperate lyrics to keep their followers entertained.

Going to a Dogs gig is like some sort of reunion for people whose only thing in common is their love of the band. Fans, although admittedly limited in number, travel from all over the place for a chance to see them and the result is a frenzied mosh pit at the front, not a traditional one of mindless jumping, but one where strangers are quite happy to pogo about in mutual respect and understanding of their shared passion.

The new songs go down well, with Long Walk Home and Twenty-odd Wrongs among the stand-out tracks. They are melodic and passionate, with a heaviness somewhat absent from the current mainstream scene, apart from notable exceptions like Biffy Clyro. But it's the old favourites that go down the best. The venue is torn up by the end of the Sunday night gig as three tracks from 2005 debut album Turn Against This Land reward the captivated fans. Given time, the new songs are sure to render a similar affection and demand.

You can't help fearing, as Johnny and the other lads leave the stage, that their die-hard crew of fans will be the only ones to hear their forthcoming efforts, and that would be a crying shame.

Dogs are destined for, and deserve, more success than many of their peers are enjoying. Go on, give them a listen.

TAGS: Dogs, Moho Live

Words by: Lisa Gray