That Was The Show That Was: Dirty On Purpose | Middle East

Good music sells itself. This is a position we champion in discussions of the state of the music bidness. But the idea has other applications. Take for example Saturday night's set from dreamy Brooklyn rockers Dirty On Purpose. Not long after we arrived midway through the powerful opener "Mind Blindness" -- from the band's solid 2005 EP Sleep Late For A Better Tomorrow [review here] -- guitarist George Wilson bemoaned that his amp had been dropped and was acting up. Not long after guitarist Joe Jurewicz broke a string. Finally, to add insult to injury, a string on DJ Boudreau's bass gave way.

The completely unpretentious quartet self-deprecatingly laughed off the bad luck. And with good reason, as, ultimately, none of it mattered. Good songs sell themselves, and watching Dirty On Purpose overcome the obstacles the evening hurled at them didn't detract from the music in the least. If anything, how the foursome managed the chaos as they unfurled tunes decked out in distortion, reverb and tremolo spoke to its confidence.

Dirty On Purpose has a relatively small catalog considering that the band has been around for several years. But it is a testament to the quartet's solid songsmithery that Saturday's performance flowed like a hits collection. Even the seemingly more popular tracks from last year's full length Hallelujah Sirens, "Car No Driver" and "No Radio" -- which are not among our favorites, although the latter cut pleasantly reminds us of The Flaming Lips gem "Kim's Watermelon Gun" -- were delivered with an intensity that won us over.

We would have liked to hear more of the ballady tunes, such as "Lake Effect" and -- what is arguably their best song -- the old chestnut "Practicing For Having Sex." But it is hard to complain when a band effortlessly brings eight bracing rockers to the plate. A scan of the full set list is at left, and you can view a collection of pictures we shot at the show here. The band will release an EP Like Bees later this fall on North Street Records, which also issued the Dirty On Purpose's prior two platters. According to this video interview with Filter, the new set includes one new song, "The Audience Is Listening," two outtakes from Hallelujah Sirens [review here] and a new recording of one of the band's earlier tracks penned by Mr. Wilson. "The Audience Is Listening" was recently performed for a WOXY.com radio session and you can snatch an MP3 of it here; we recommend you do so, as the song is as strong as anything else in the band's oeuvre.

Dirty On Purpose -- "Light Pollution (Demo Version)"
Dirty On Purpose -- "Mind Blindness" -- Sleep Late For A Better Tomorrow
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[buy Dirty On Purpose records from Newbury Comics here]

Dirty On Purpose: InterWeb | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

Previous Dirty On Purpose coverage:
Show Us Yours #2: Dirty On Purpose
Review: Dirty On Purpose | Hallelujah Sirens
Review: Dirty On Purpose | Sleep Late For A Better Tomorrow

A Few More Tour Dates:

10/04 -— Pontiac, MI -— Eagle Theatre
10/05 -- Chicago, IL -- Empty Bottle
10/06 -- Minneapolis, MN -- 7th Street Entry
10/11 -- Washingtom, DC -- Rock & Roll Hotel