Ferocious Dog Album Launch at the 100 Club: A Night of Folk-Punk Frenzy

May 30, 2024 rocknews

It’s easy to walk past the entrance to the legendary 100 Club on London’s Oxford Street, but once inside, you can feel the history of the place. Tonight, folk-punk stalwarts Ferocious Dog were here to celebrate the launch of their eighth album on the stage where everyone from The Sex Pistols to Glenn Miller has performed.

The Cloverhearts

The evening kicked off in riotous style with Australian Celtic-punks The Cloverhearts. Influenced and inspired by the slew of ’80s skate-punk bands and a healthy dose of Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly, their set got the 100 Club jumping. Vocalist Sam Cooper jumped and gyrated around the stage, leading his troops through a high-energy set of what he describes as “blaring bagpipe anthems and twisted tin-whistle tunes.” We thought of it as ‘folky Green Day.’ Trust me – it works! What a start to the evening!

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Ferocious Dog

Ferocious Dog appeared to a huge roar from the “Hell Hounds” in the crowd. The lineup of Ken Bonsall, violinist Jamie Burney, Kyle Peters and Nick Wragg on guitar and bass respectively, percussionist Luke Grainger, and Sam Wood on everything else from banjo to accordion filled the small stage and launched straight into ‘Merthyr Rising’ from the new album. We, of course, got the whole of ‘Kleptocracy’ along with a smattering of classics from their self-titled 2011 debut, 2021’s ‘The Hope’, ‘From Without,’ and a sole tune from the ‘Red’ album in the shape of ‘Spin.’

“FUCK THE TORIES!” shouted Bonsall, referencing their own merchandise and mirroring the feelings of the audience. By the time ‘Iron Mike Malloy’ was underway, the mosh pit had grown and threatened to spill onto the stage. Us photographers were being thrown about, and although it was all in good spirits, Bonsall felt he had to calm things down. “These are my own teeth. I’d like to keep them,” he pleaded, which seemed to work. The pit calmed, but the crowd was no less energetic, enthusiastic, or vocal.

The rest of the 21-song set went by in a blur, as the band commanded the stage and thrilled their audience. Old classics ‘Mairi’s Wedding Pt.2’ and ’Slow Motion Suicide’ finished what was a memorable set, and the crowd poured out into the Oxford Street night.

Ferocious Dog’s followers are loyal, and there was no way this new material was going to disappoint. But objectively, it IS superb. It fits neatly with their older catalogue, and we can see songs like ‘Blood Soaked Shores’ and ‘The Protest Singer’ becoming live staples.

Ferocious Dog continue their Kleptocracy tour across England throughout May and June. Catch them if you can!