Deniz Tek - Dominion Theatre, Ottawa, 18/5/2013
by Andrew Carver
published: 25 / 5 / 2013

intro
Andrew Carver watches former Radio Birdman guitarist Deniz Tek with his curent grorup the Bad Men play a fantastic set of both his classic and new material at the Dominion Theatre in Ottawa
Deniz Tek boasts one of the most interesting resumes in rock: Detroit exile, Australian punk icon for his work with Radio Birdman, emergency room doctor and U.S. Navy fighter pilot. Although he hasn’t done a lot of the latter lately, he is still working as a doctor, still writing songs drawing on his hometown history (and naming his latest album after it), and still playing some of the toughest sounding guitar around. With ‘Detroit’ fresh off the presses and the Godoy brothers - a.k.a. the Bad Men, who were also his backing band under their original name of the Golden Breed on 2003’s ‘Glass Eye World’ - and a new signature guitar in hand (modelled on his trademark Epiphone Crestwood Deluxe), he embarked on a tour of North America that took him to to Ottawa’s Dominion Tavern, likely the only venue in town where a good chunk of the staff look like they take their fashion cues from the Exploited circa 1985. Ottawa’s Voicemail opened the show. A local supergroup of sorts featuring member’s of power pop pros Mother’s Children and the White Wires, their love of the more melodic side of 1970's punk and hard rock shone through in their brisk set, which included a tight version of the Undertones' ‘Male Model’ and a cover of Rose Tattoo’s ‘Magnum Maid’, dedicated to the evening’s headliner. Although it had seemed earlier in the evening that Tek and company might have ended up playing to a crowd of a two dozen, the venue started to fill up with enthusiasts of his Birdman days (the owner of one of the city’s best record stores has long evangelized for the band, naming his business Birdman Sound and promoting the show). Tek kicked off the set with a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Oh Well’, whose verse - “I can't help about the shape I'm in/I can't sing, I ain't pretty and my legs are thin” - applies to a lot of aging rockers far better than it does to Tek. Having found their legs, the band blasted ahead with Radio Birdman’s ‘Smith and Wesson Blues’ and ‘Murder City Nights’. They switched gears with a handful of tunes from the new album, starting with ode to death ‘Pine Box’, ‘Fate, Not Amenable to Change’ and ‘Can of Soup’ before heading back down under for Birdman’s ‘Hand of Law’. Then it was back to ‘Ghost Town’, an all too appropriate ode to Tek’s eroding hometown, and the ironic ‘Perfect World’, which Tek dubbed the band’s "mini-opera". ‘What It’s For’ was the only Golden Breed song to appear, and was followed by a melancholy ‘Alone In The Endzone’. The set ended with ‘I’m All Right’ from ‘Detroit’ merging into the 13th Floor Elevators' ‘Gonna Miss Me’, Radio Birdman’s most notable cover. The encore started off with the Vibrators’ ‘Whips and Furs’, then launched into a high-energy version of ‘What Gives?’ that had the crowd singing along. A charging version of ‘Aloha Steve and Danno’ made the perfect capper of the night. Although there are too many Radio Birdman must hears to satisfy everyone, the evening was a mighty testament to the enduring power of rock and roll. Set List: Oh Well Smith and Wesson Blues Murder City Nights Pine Box Fate, Not Amenable to Change Twilight of the Modern Age Can of Soup Hand of Law Ghost Town Perfect World What It’s For Alone in the Endzone I’m All Right Gonna Miss Me Encore: Whips and Furs What Gives? Aloha Steve and Danno
Picture Gallery:-





most viewed articles
current edition
Peter Doherty - Blackheath Halls, Blackheath and Palace Halls, Watford, 18/3/2025 and 21/3/2025Armory Show - Interview with Richard Jobson
Liz Mitchell - Interview
Deb Googe and Cara Tivey - Interview
Lauren Mayberry - Photoscapes
Max Bianco and the BlueHearts - Troubadour, London, 29/3/2025
Garfunkel and Garfunkel Jr. - Interview
Maarten Schiethart - Vinyl Stories
Clive Langer - Interview
Sukie Smith - Interview
previous editions
Heavenly - P.U.N.K. Girl EPBoomtown Rats - Ten Songs That Made Me Love....
Trudie Myerscough-Harris - Interview
Doris Brendel - Interview
Beautiful South - Ten Songs That Made Me Love...
Dwina Gibb - Interview
Kay Russell - Interview with Kay Russell
Pulp - Ten Songs That Made Me Love...
Barrie Barlow - Interview
Sound - Interview with Bi Marshall Part 1
most viewed reviews
current edition
Davey Woodward - Mumbo in the JumboNigel Stonier - Wolf Notes
Wings - Venus and Mars
Kate Daisy Grant and Nick Pynn - Songs For The Trees
Only Child - Holy Ghosts
Neil Campbell - The Turnaround
Philip Jeays - Victoria
Darkness - Dreams On Toast
Suzanne Vega - Flying With Angels
Charles Ellsworth - Cosmic Cannon Fodder
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart