Bands performing with orchestral accompaniment are nothing new. Deep Purple, Pink Floyd and Metallica are just a few of those who have blended these musical styles previously. Ferocious Dog has also done this at the O2 Academy in Leeds in 2022 and York Barbican in 2023. Following the success of these shows, they are at it again at the O2 City Hall in Newcastle.
Is performing with orchestral support simply a gimmick? I understand why some may think this; we live in a cynical world, but nothing could be further from the truth. Musicians are always looking for ways to stretch themselves and continually evolve. Performing with orchestral instrumentation brings new dimensions to their music and challenges them to adapt their songs to ensure these instruments are effective and enhance their compositions.
Walking to the venue, I saw that the Hell Hounds (the collective name of the band’s fans) were out in force. As I approached the O2 City Hall, I spotted many hoodies and T-shirts emblazoned with the Ferocious Dog logo. The Hell Hounds are a very loyal bunch and like showing their love and support for Ferocious Dog. In fairness, their latest hoodie design is pretty good!
To ensure the audience was wide awake and ready to party, the support for the evening sonically assaulted us, Riskee & The Ridicule. Within seconds of them taking the stage, it was clear to see the energy and power they could pump out. Singer and frontman Scott Picking whirled about the stage like the Tasmanian Devil on amphetamines. Their grime punk attitude sits well with the audience, and they get a deserved warm reaction. ‘Kaboom!’ And ‘Body Bag’ were stand-out songs.
At bang on 9 pm, the lights dimmed, and the strains of ‘Port Isaac’ wafted across the auditorium. Ferocious Dog took the stage and tore into their set openers with gusto. ‘Haul Away Joe’, ‘Pentrich Rising’ and ‘Iron Mike Malloy’ are fully fledged, tried and tested barnstormers, which unsurprisingly got the crowd jumping about as if they had ingested too many ‘E’ numbers, limbs flailing everywhere.
‘Broken Soldier’ was the first song where I felt the string orchestra added something tangible, mainly due to the sheer volume of noise created by the openers and the raucous audience. It was at this point that I noticed drummer Luke Grainger cocooned at the rear of the stage in something resembling the crystal dome in The Crystal Maze. Of course, with the string section sitting close by, they needed a bit of protection from his pounding beats. It must feel strange if you are not used to it.
The band dispatched ‘Freeborn John’ with aplomb, a big favourite among the crowd. ‘Blood Soaked Shores’ was another track which the additional musicians enhanced. What added a string section achieved was a fuller, deeper and more rounded sound. It made the music almost feel three-dimensional. There’s also an additional emotive sound created by the string quintet, which came to the fore with the song ‘The Protest Singer’, and even more so with ‘The Glass’. This is an emotional song, but the strings elevate the melancholy to a new level.
We had a change of vocals with guitarist Kyle Peters, affectionately known as Brother Kyle, taking centre stage. ‘Pocket Of Madness’ and ‘Dark Side Of Town’ were songs I didn’t think would benefit from adding strings. And you know what? I was wrong. It added an additional dynamism that was most unexpected. ‘Criminal Justice’ was dedicated to Margaret Thatcher and her demise—a case of metaphorically dancing on her grave. Ferocious Dog is not a political band; they sing political songs. Proof of this was on display after the obligatory shout of “Fuck the Tories” from frontman Ken Bonsall. He followed this with a “And fuck New Labour” which many agreed with in the City Hall. Maybe if a party appears to care about the people they claim to represent truly, this may change. I don’t suggest you hold your breath, though…
Another of the songs enhanced by the orchestra was ‘A Place We Call Home’. A song of love between two homeless people, it has a feel of ‘One Better Day’ by Madness. Songs like this help to demonstrate the talent within the six-piece from Warsop, Nottinghamshire. Multi-instrumentalist Sam Wood, for example, can seemingly play anything with a string on it (wonder if he’s any good with a yoyo?), which allows the band to stretch their sound. Bassist Nick Wragg and drummer Luke Grainger help to keep everything tight and bouncing along. Jamie Burney brings incredible emotion through his violin, and Brother Kyle keeps the punk vibes alive and well with his guitar work. Finally, Ken Bonsall acts as the perfect frontman, master of ceremonies, acoustic guitarist and lead singer, and a damn fine lyricist to boot. I must also give extra merit points to Wragg and Wood for their excellent arrangements for the strings and keyboard.
Regarding vocal contributions from the crowd, ‘Sus Laws’ saw its chorus sang with passion and an angry love. “More blacks/More dogs/More Irish/It should be written ten feet tall/In this land of hope and glory/They should be welcomed by us all” was belted out in true anthemic fashion. Amen to that sentiment. Another live favourite is ‘Paddy On The Railway’; tonight was no exception. With its manic chorus, it is built for leaping like a loon in the mosh pit. And many people did. Cue more limbs.
As we headed towards the end of the evening, Sam Wood put down his instrument (ooer missus) and joined the crowd for crowd surfing. From where I was standing, I could only see that he was OK by following the outline of his trademark woolly hat as it bobbed and swirled around the sea of arms supporting him. Thankfully, he returned unscathed to the stage with his hat still in position.
The final song of the evening brought everything mentioned above together in one superb example. ‘Slow Motion Suicide’ is an awesome song that soars when played live. It brings together the audience dancing and singing at full throttle, beautiful lyrics, superb musicianship (especially Burney’s superb violin) and the string section just sent this stratospheric. It all blended perfectly to create something far greater than the sum of its parts. It reverberated through me, pulling on my emotions and making me feel like I was about to explode like an Icelandic volcano.
As tradition dictates, the evening ended with Mr Bonsall on stage conducting a sing-along with the audience. “Nellie the Elephant’ by the Toy Dolls blared from the stage as many of the crowd had their last hoorah, pogoing and singing at the top of their voices before heading into the night air.
Ferocious Dog are always excellent value for money live. There’s always plenty of energy, great songs and some good banter. Adding the strings tonight created an even more turbo-charged experience, in my opinion. Let me applaud the additional musicians’ superb contribution to an entertaining and lively gig. So, hats off to Alex Bradford on piano, Clair Stanley on first violin, Ben Lee and Sarah Tym on second violins, Margit van der Zwan on cello and ensemble leader and cellist Sarah Huson-Whyte.
As is usual at a Ferocious Dog gig, a local foodbank was invited to collect food, toiletries and cash donations. Hopefully, Kenton Foodbank benefitted from their attendance. Helping each other is at the core of the band and the Hell Hounds. As a Ferocious Dog song states, together, we are strong. Who am I to argue?
The band are doing an acoustic tour in March 2025 if you fancy seeing first-hand what their live shows are like. I’ll be looking at attending a couple. See you at the front.
Setlist
Port Isaac
Haul Away Joe
Pentrich Rising
Iron Mike Malloy
Broken Soldier
Too Late
Freeborn John
Blood Soaked Shores
The Protest Singer
Pocket Of Madness
Darker Side Of Town
The Glass
Class War
Criminal Justice
Yellow Feather
A Place We Call Home
Sus Laws
On The Rocks
Paddy On The Railway
Hell Hounds
Mairi’s Wedding II
Slow Motion Suicide
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