Live at The Brudenell Social Club, Leeds 20th November 2025
Two years on from their last Leeds show, The Damn Truth are still putting on a Damn Good Show. Walking on to ‘White Rabbit’, the message I get is that they see themselves as in the tradition of Jefferson Airplane and I get it. If the Airplane hadn’t headed off into the Starship twaddle, that great voice and great, non-stereotyped sound would be a parallel to what I hear tonight. The Damn Truth are hard rock but not genre-defined hard rock and not pigeonholed into blues-rock formulae. Sure, there are guitar solos but they are in the service of the music. There’s even a drum solo but, with an integral and punchy drummer, it’s totally deserved.
Defining features of the sound are Le-La Baum’s amazing voice. Capable of shouting and hollering, it also carries the melody of strong choruses, impacting emotionally. Tom Shemer’s guitar is tuneful but also stinging and thrilling as he spins and leaps with energy. The bassist leaps and poses, with a solid thrumming sound underpinning the solidity of the sound. The stage is mysteriously dark much of the time but the visual aspects still play a big part, with all three front people interacting with each other and throwing their physicality into the musical pot.
Songs are longer than average and build to natural crescendos, working in new material with a lot of old favourites. ‘Lonely’ gets a swampy blues sound, followed by the epic ballad ‘Only Love’. An early single, U2’s ‘Love Is Blindness’ pops up on the encore before ‘Devilish Folk’ sees a mass singalong and Shemer plays a Neil Young-esque crunchy but lyrical solo. The Damn Truth know how to work an audience without hitting cliché and they do a great show, moving hearts and confirming the crowds affiliations.
As a unit, this Montreal band are incredibly solid, working together to push emotions through songs while hitting the body with hard rock impact. An exceptional live band.
Support tonight came from the six-piece band, Parker Barrow. Out of Nashville, Tennessee, their front woman is utterly winning and the blues-rock really polished and full of crushing riffs. It’s a main band performance, even going for an extended jamming breakdown with alacrity. The funky organ sounds and slide guitar add a lot and the effort from the band would have intimidated many main bands – lucky The Damn Truth are so confident.
Here’s a review from two years ago: