What’s new Doghouse Sam?
Five years ago since the group Doghouse Sam & his Magnatones has already gained a place in the European music scene with their instantly recognizable sound, re-interpreting the good ol’ Rhythm’n’Blues vibe. They played concerts in more than 15 different countries and won the Belgian Blues Challenge in 2015. They also made second place at the European Blues Challenge, consolidating their growing reputation having a sound that can´t be found anywhere else.
The music style of the group, steeped in the sounds of early Rhythm’n’Blues, found a dedicated audience and yielded lots of positive press. Furthermore Sam pulls it off to bring something fresh and original to the table in a scene that isn’t that big on changes. As he says, their style of playing isn’t about big arpeggio sweeps or something like that, what he dig is the more primitive approach and try to come up with strong songs that go directly to the heart.
Doghouse Sam surrounded himself with a bunch of talented artists for his shows. Upright bass virtuoso Jack o Roonie has literally been all around the world with his music. He backed up lots of big names for example Ronnie Dawson and Chuck Berry. On drums there’s Franky Gomez who’s got a very distinctive and creative style of playing rhythm which got him elected “best drummer of the Netherlands” in 2010. As a trio, Doghouse Sam & his Magnatones they are the greatest and in short, these guys are all about heart, fellings, honesty and hard work on stage.
And with that same effort and dedication they presented yesterday their last album, Going Places, in Muziekodroom, the concert hall of the PXL. The admission was free and it could attend whoever wanted, whether you were a student or not, the truth is that the environment was not very young, only a few students, the age of the rest of the people did not drop below 30 years. Before starting the concert there was a room in which you could drink a beer or whatever you wanted, but it was everything. quite expensive.
The concert began half an hour late and the opening band lengthened one hour, so until 10 Doghouse Sam and his Magnatones did not appear on to the stage. It was noticeable that people were waiting for them, because since they appear the people were very encouraged, Sam, the singer and guitarist, did not stop animating the audience from the minute one, encouraging them to clap the palms and to dance as much as they wanted. The beginning was strong, with a moved song wich produced joy, then continue to maintain the pace and leading people to euphoria. It must be said that the Belgian public is not the most animated in Europe, their dance movements are based on moving their heads while holding a beer in their hand, there is no place for hip movement. Even so, from the beginning of the concert there was an atmosphere of joy and good vibes that they managed to maintain during all the time that lasted. The acoustics of the room was very good and the sound could be heard perfectly, the room was not huge but enough to accommodate a minimum of 100 people, and although they did not fill it at all, the room was quite full and with just a few places to spare.