Dirty Honey Deliver a Sweet San Diego Performance

The 2022 Young Guns Tour featuring Dirty Honey and Mammoth WVH rolled through the House of Blues San Diego on Tuesday March 1st. This relatively intimate downtown San Diego venue was packed to the rafters with tons of eager fans aiming to see one of the most exciting rock and roll tours currently traversing the US. Both of these young acts are invigorating additions to the rock music landscape and it was a pleasure to catch them up close and personal before their almost assured ascent to bigger venues like arenas, amphitheaters, and festivals.

The Young Guns Tour features a rotating co-headlining lineup and the opening band in San Diego was Mammoth WVH. This solo project spearheaded by multi-instrumentalist Wolfgang Van Halen has evolved into an exciting live band featuring a diverse and talented lineup of musicians. Featuring touring guitarist Jonathan Jordan, drummer Garrett Whitlock, and bassist Ronnie Ficarro, and of course Wolfgang Van Halen on guitar, vocals, and keyboard the band seemed to be firing on all cylinders. They played a ton of great selections from their debut album 2021’s Self-Titled Mammoth WVH. In addition the band tackled a tough cover, the Alice In Chains classic “Them Bones,” delivering a faithful and powerful rendition. Wolfgang, the famous namesake of this group is clearly a talented live performer with an impressive display of musical talent. He can shred on guitar and keyboard and possesses an incredible singing range as well, playing all the instruments on the debut album. It will be exciting to watch this young artist develop his stage skills even further, he has all the talent available to blossom into whatever kind of artist he wants to become. It will be amazing to see where his career goes in the future and who he might collaborate with.

LA based rock and roll revivalists Dirty Honey headlined this particular night of the Young Guns Tour and put on an insanely enjoyable live show. Seemingly stepping back in time the band delivers many clear nods to classic rock that feel extremely authentic but yet new and exciting at the same time. Singer Marc LaBelle, guitarist John Notto, bassist Justin Smolian, and drummer Corey Coverstone are completely in sync as a band, their skill as performers and experience together shine through in everything they play. It’s so refreshing to see a young band like this already have that spark and intimacy in their performance that can make live rock and roll so exciting. Favorites from their set included “California Dreamin” “When I’m Gone” “Rolling 7’s” and another impressive cover, Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy.” It’s not often a large crowd stays through the end of a show on a long Tuesday night but Dirty Honey proved they were worth it.

Can these two bands “save rock and roll?” Only time will tell. In the meantime catch this awesome tour while you can, and keep the faith.

Dirty Honey