Doghouse Sam & his Magnatones
Magic happens when talented musicans meet
After two successful albums, Doghouse Sam & his Magnatones played an energizing concert in Hasselt to release their third one, Going Places.
Doghouse Sam’s Band consists of three musicians that have played together for over five years now. Doghouse Sam, whose real name is Wouter Celis, is the frontman of the band, playing the guitar and singing. On the upright bass is Jack O’Roonie, who has played with notable musicians like Roonie Dawson or Chuck Berry before. The drummer Franky Gomez has been elected ‘Best Drummer of the Netherlands’ in 2010.
Together they have played in more than 15 countries in this 5-year period. The first two albums Buddha Blue (2013) and Knock Knock (2015) each offer over ten Rhythm’n’Blues songs. The sound might be described as a mixture of Blues, Rock’n’Roll and a bit of Americana. With this unique style, they became winner of the Belgium Blues Challenge in 2015. This evening, they were about to present their new album Going Places.
Supporting act Ale and Alley offered a stunning opening. Between the two of them, Ale and Alley had more than five instruments, for example western guitar, mouth organ, upright bass or banjo. Defenitely an opening act well chosen.
Doghouse Sam & his Magnatones entered the stage at about quarter past ten. They were truly present from the first second on, choosing A little While, a rather fast, upbeat song, as their opening track. Frontman Doghouse Sam furthermore knows, how to keep his audience’s attention. Shouting things like ‘Make some noise’ or ‘Let’s get this party started’ surely motivated the middle-aged audience.
Frontman, singer and guitarist Doghouse Sam stands confident on the stage, making it his own. However, he does have every right to be this confident as he brings playing his blues guitar to perfection. Another Fight is just one example for a song that depends on him, as it has not just instrumtal soli, but also a capella parts. He uses his voice, which is really unique and therefore has a high recognition value, to its full capacitiy.
The upright bass player Jack O’Roonie also got the chance to prove his talent and skills. Many of the songs gave him the opportunity to let his fingers dance around the instrument. During his many soli you could see his passion for his bass, leaving the audience stunned. He is definitely as good live as he is on the audios.
Last, but definitely not least, is the band’s drummer Franky Gomez. During the whole concert, he kept a smile on his face. While he played flawless throughout the performance, the last song really revealed how good he is. With Your Next Move they chose an upbeat dance song as their closing track. Towards the end of this song Gomez got to play his solo, and this turned out to be several minutes long, including changes of tempo and rhythm. Basically, the drummer got the opportunity to run riot and he did that perfectly well.
The band sometimes reminded me of a Jazz Band, because they really played together, almost like jazz musicians who rely on improvising together. It seems like the three men were meant to play together, as they harmonize perfectly, while having lots of fun.
Time went by quickly watching Doghouse Sam & his Magnatones play their show. All of them were perfectly capable of their instruments and are definitely aware of that. It’s refreshing to see a band have such fun playing a show. A truly enjoyable concert.
