Diamond Rugs kicks off tour at The Pinhook with Gross Ghost

Photos by Justin Weber

On Sunday night, Diamond Rugs – a meld of Black Lips, Deer Tick, Los Lobos, and several other bands – kicked off their first tour at The Pinhook in Durham.

The semi-super group didn’t waste any time trying to project a rowdy bar band image by kicking things off with a cover of Dire Straights’ “Money for Nothing.” With seven musicians on stage including trombone and bari saxophone players, the energy level was high. It’s clear these guys have a lot of chemistry together.

With only a handful of folks in the crowd, the band seemed to be in rehearsal mode. They were pretty loose and goofing around. When they played, “Totally Lonely” they actually played part of the recording because Justin Collins, who sings on the track, wasn’t able to make it to the show.

From the bluesy to the ska-flavored, Diamond Rugs has an enjoyable mix of songs that can break down the walls of a stiff crowd.

Opening the show were locals Gross Ghost. They had the yeoman’s work of warming up a sparse audience. They ripped through seven songs including a new track called “Golden T.”

Every time Gross Ghost plays live, it’s impressive how powerful and noisy they can sound without completely obscuring their catchy melodies.

Gross Ghost set list
Architect
Leslie
New Stories
Meltdown
Golden T (New Song)
Ones I Love
Devious
Sooner or Later
You Tell Me

Diamond Rugs set list
Money for Nothing (Dire Straights Cover)
Hungover and Horny
Big God
Hightail
Out On My Own
I Took Note
Country Mile
Totally Lonely
Gimme a Beer
Call Girl Blues
100 Sheets
Blue Mountain
Motherland
Tell Me Why
Christmas in a Chinese Restaurant