Red Flag on a Saturday Night with Dirty Honey and the California Dreamin’ Tour
–by Randy Thompson and Vicki Lee
–photos by Greg Artime
Red Flag was the destination of choice for an evening of rock and roll with Dirty Honey on Saturday in downtown Saint Louis.
Neither one of us had attended a concert at the Red Flag in Midtown. It is an interesting venue that gives a sense of space that was somewhat deceiving initially. The building accommodates around a thousand guests and just opened in 2021 at the end of the pandemic. It has high ceilings, a decent sized stage and freight containers that serve as soundstages, green rooms and concessions. The space is interestingly industrial with good acoustics.
Mac Saturn, first act of the evening, hails from Detroit, the motor city as illustrated by the dice hanging from the mics and the song “Mr. Cadillac”. Mac Saturn is a straight ahead five-piece rock and roll band. They exuded a great deal of energy on stage and had the audience riding with them from the beginning.
They delivered Pink Floyd vibes with the sass of the Stones and their own signature sound delivered with excellent vocal skills by the lead singer, Carson Macc, who strutted, spun, and leapt for the audience. They set the stage for the power of the upcoming bands.
Dorothy was next up and is a power rock outfit out of Los Angeles, headed by lead singer Dorothy Martin. Supported by a drummer, Jason Ganberg, lead guitarist, Devon Pangle, and bassist, Elliot Lorango they quickly had the audience where they wanted them on songs such as “Down to The Bottom”, “Raise Hell” and an artfully crafted cover of the Eurythmics song, “Sweet Dreams”.
Dorothy has a commanding vocal presence while the band as a whole has a blues soul with a hard metal edge. While some bands hammer, Dorothy drills, they definitely upped the ante with their set.
When Dirty Honey took the stage, the audience was primed and ready. The opening song was “Gypsy” on which the lead singer, Marc Labelle and his crowd bonded immediately. The band (Labelle, guitarist John Notto, bassist Justin Smolian, and drummer Corey Coverstone) brought professional polish that completely engaged their exuberant fans.
The guitar volume seemed to wash out the lead vocals initially. It felt to us as though the guitars searing notes and the frequent solos made for a sometimes disjointed and uneven presentation.
Technically and visually exceptional, Dirty Honey interacted very well with their admiring audience and are a powerful and crowd-pleasing act especially on songs like “The Wire” and “Another Last Time”. They more than exceeded their fans expectations with some truly virtuoso musical moments.
Be sure to check out the gallery of photos after the setlists below.
Mac Saturn Setlist:
Diamonds
Persian Rugs
Ain’t Like You
Law Machine
Mr. Cadillac
Plain Clothes Gentleman
Dorothy Setlist:
Down to the Bottom
Ain’t our Time
Raise Hell
After Midnight
Sweet Dreams (Eurythmics cover)
Black Sheep
Flawless
Made to Die
Dark Nights
Dirty Honey Setlist:
Gypsy
California Dreamin’
Break You
Heartbreaker
The Wire
Scars
(bass solo)
Tied Up
Down the Road
Last Child (Aerosmith cover)
No Warning
Another Last Time
(drum solo/guitar solo)
Let’s Go Crazy (Prince cover)
When I’m Gone
Rolling 7s
