Dum Dums, Rosita and Caffeine @ The Garage,
13th April 2000

There were people outside The Garage from before six, but who can blame them as, sure enough Steve and Josh were there to chat, sign autographs and distribute kisses to the fans. This is not strange for the Dum Dums. They really seem to like their fans and not just on an ego boosting level either. They can often be found on their internet message board, thanking individuals for posting messages or going to gigs and it doesn't stop there. Rather than hiding backstage (granted, backstage at The Garage is about four foot square), Josh came out the front to watch Caffeine and ended up moshing with the fans and generally being completely 'normal' (I put this in inverted commas 'cause he was probably telling gullible fans about Stu's lack of pubic hair or something equally as odd).

That's the beauty of the Dum Dums really. They are real people (although it has been said that Steve looks like he's made out of plastic!) writing songs about stuff that effects real people. It's no wonder they're becoming so popular, they seem to have something for everyone, hence the presence of high cheek-boned media people, pop fans, indie fans, skaters, sparkly people and loads of others besides. What's more they've added a huge dose of humour to the traditional 'teenage-angst' guitar pop, meaning that the fans can relate, whilst taking a light hearted view of things at the same time.

Not surprisingly there was a huge air of excitement about this gig (their first proper London show since 'Everything' and children's TV appearances won them their strangely diverse fan base). In fact, the excitement was so strong that even the truly terrible Rosita couldn't dampen people's spirits!

It was evident from the start that the crowd were going to love the Dum Dums pretty much regardless. Everyone knew who they were, the lyrics to 'Everything' and, whether they admitted to it or not, had a favourite band member. Tonight, mine was Josh, who was on top form, informing the crowd that they, like L7 were going to auction off the drummer for sex! 'Cute' Stu was then made to stand on his drums whilst a few pre-pubescent girls started to pool their pocket money! Mr. Doyle's unique brand of humour also led to his describing 'Hole in Your Heart' as being about sleeping with your dad and then revealing the 'world exclusive' (well, he seemed to think it was) that having sex can get girls pregnant!

You could almost hear the serious music journalists making scribbled notes about irony and flashing idiot boards (again), but the crowd laughed tirelessly, sung along to every chorus and pogo-ed as hard as they could. You get the feeling that this will be what the band judge the gig on. Not what the press say, but the fans' reaction. In fact, Josh is probably writing a long list of personal 'Thank Yous' to everyone who went as we speak!