Burnt Dennis & The Injunctions
Friday November 6th
The Princess Alice, Middlesbrough

Returning to The Princess Alice last night were Indi Lo-Fi stalwarts Burnt Dennis & the Injunctions. With their blend of original quirky alternative pop, they once again showed how it should be done, and left the young guns quivering in their wake.

By no means everyone's cup of Earl Grey, Burnt Dennis are one of only a few local bands who can be truly classed as Original. Sure, there are influences you can glean from particular songs, but there are no direct comparisons to be made; you can't, for example, say they sound a bit like The Clash & The Buzzcocks, (or anyone else in fact) because quite simply, they don't.

Playing to a MiniDisc backing tracks, the Injunctions showed just what a good time you can have on a stage with an audience in front of you. From the first huge staccato bars of "Grave Robber's Arms", they strutted confidently through from the sublime "What Were You Thinking Of", to a slow tempo impromptu version of the superbly cynical "Toy Town" with no backing track.

It's a great pity Burnt Dennis & Co don't gig more often, because my advice to any young band coming through would be to go and see these guys live; they'd learn a hell of a lot.

That said, they are due to return to The Alice on March 12th next year shortly before their appearance at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium on March 20th for the Reading game.

Michael Baines; the man behind Burnt Dennis, Woolcraft & founder member of highly acclaimed local band of the 90's Spit The Pips, is a local treasure, that doesn't seem to get the credit or plaudits he deserves. Without doubt one of the regions finest & prolific songwriters and true to his roots; and after all these years, still showing the rest of us how it should be done.
Fantastic stuff.

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