SLC Rock Bands Dad Bod & The Plastic Cherries Rocked the Red Dwarf with Local Support from Deacon Hill - January 10th, 2023

LAS VEGAS, NV – It seems as if January is the time when rock bands from Utah migrate a little south to rock out, because for the second consecutive week, two indie rock bands from Salt Lake City played a local show here.

This time it was psychedelic indie rockers Dad Bod and pop-fused indie rockers The Plastic Cherries playing at Red Dwarf tiki bar on Tuesday, January 10th, 2023 with support from local band Deacon Hill.

The show was put on by Dirty Rock & Roll Dance Party which is the promotion company of local Las Vegan, Brian Moy.

Deacon Hill kicked things off with their fast-paced half Brit-rock, half punk sound that reminded me of The Stooges mixed with The Rolling Stones but in a much more modern sound. 

As a fan of grunge, alternative and fuzz rock to a reasonable extent, I find it very interesting just how many younger bands are playing in these genres in and around Las Vegas.

Here I thought grunge was dead as it never seemed to gain much foothold after the 90’s, but a LOT of bands, like Deacon Hill, have sort of taken that sound and layered it onto other genres to get a pretty 90’s sound out of different styles.

The band ripped through about 6 or 7 songs and even switched singers at one point as guitarist Hill, who is the main vocalist, stepped back for a song from bassist Tejas Amaya. 

Next up was Dad Bod who have so many members that the stage couldn’t contain everyone. The band consists of three brothers (Michael Marinos - vocals/guitar, Marcus Marinos - drums and Matthew Marinos - bass) as well as three more musicians (Russell Allphin synth/guitar/backing vocals, Jonny Seegmiller - lead guitar, Michael Morgan - percussion) who combine to create a very well-crafted sound.

They have opened for some rather large bands like Grouplove and Band of Horses, and it’s easy to see why. They have a sound suited for theaters.

They busted out a cover of The Rolling Stones’s classic “Dead Flowers” which I thought was pretty spot on, to be honest, even though singer Michael Marinos mentioned something to the fact that they didn’t really know the song that well before playing it seemingly perfectly. Lead singer modesty, perhaps? 

Last but not least was The Plastic Cherries who remind me of a cross between The Cardigans and The Hives somehow…I think the band just has a general sense of wanting to play high energy riffs from lead guitarist Joseph Maddock, but they also fade into shoegaze pretty easily all with some delicate vocals from Shelby Maddock (the band is fronted by the married couple).

They have a bit of a seductive sound, a bit of pizzaz, and a bit of sincerity, but I think the thing I will always remember from seeing them live is just how many ways the band can have fun on stage.

It’s not all that often that you seen bands smile and have a good time. Usually, they are too in their own heads about how to get through their set without messing up, or the songs may just not be “fun” songs that would warrant a smile.

But The Plastic Cherries smiled and genuinely looked to be having a good time while on stage, and that always makes for a good show.