Priya Panda purchased new white leather pants to kick off Diemonds' Loud N' Nasty cross-Canada tour on Saturday. Evidently this did not limit her mobility, as she swayed and strutted sexily, howling her staccato Axl-inspired phrasing through a concise set of tunes from their In the Rough debut. Stuffed into awfully tight pants himself, the stylishly malnourished CC Diemond provided his usual vaguely iconic riffing, thrusting towards an adoring contingent of rock and roll ladies who appeared more than open to his suggestion. The highlight was bassist Paul Mancuso's take no prisoners vocal turn on Dee Dee Ramone's "The Crusher."
Most Diemonds media coverage can't help but focus on Panda's extreme sex appeal. It should be noted that her charm goes beyond the immediate hormonal reaction she provokes in males. She glares over the microphone with large brown eyes and manages something strangely familiar to the Dylan death mask. Her natural stage presence is considerable. Men desire her yes, but women admire her. This should help Diemonds develop the countrywide fan base they covet.
These shiny, image-conscious Diemonds have screeched to the converted for the past couple years. The sycophantic Bovine faithful in their highly appropriate Bad Company cut-offs jostle for room on the Diemonds bandwagon because they sound like the bands immortalized in their too-tight t-shirt collections. It will be interesting to see how they are received in towns like Sault Ste. Marie where small crowds of hardcores and punks with a lot of suburban rage to exorcise in one night will make up their audience. With familiar-sounding crowd pleasers like "Highway" and "Free N' Easy," expect tour stops big and small to feel Diemonds' sleazy brand of noise.
Most Diemonds media coverage can't help but focus on Panda's extreme sex appeal. It should be noted that her charm goes beyond the immediate hormonal reaction she provokes in males. She glares over the microphone with large brown eyes and manages something strangely familiar to the Dylan death mask. Her natural stage presence is considerable. Men desire her yes, but women admire her. This should help Diemonds develop the countrywide fan base they covet.
These shiny, image-conscious Diemonds have screeched to the converted for the past couple years. The sycophantic Bovine faithful in their highly appropriate Bad Company cut-offs jostle for room on the Diemonds bandwagon because they sound like the bands immortalized in their too-tight t-shirt collections. It will be interesting to see how they are received in towns like Sault Ste. Marie where small crowds of hardcores and punks with a lot of suburban rage to exorcise in one night will make up their audience. With familiar-sounding crowd pleasers like "Highway" and "Free N' Easy," expect tour stops big and small to feel Diemonds' sleazy brand of noise.
