17 October 2026
The now 59-year-old Boston singer-songwriter EVAN DANDO endured a long, troubled life/career with drug addiction and mental health issues. Nevertheless, in between several collapses, he managed to create mesmerizing music. Eleven albums (from good to great) with THE LEMONHEADS, plus one top-notch solo album, the enthralling Baby I’m Bored LP.
Last year, following reports of Dando being back in healthy shape, The Lemonheads delivered, after almost 2 decades and 2 albums with covers (2009 and 2019), their first LP with new material, bundled on Love Chant. A notable and acclaimed return with a series of bona fide pop tunes.
The album’s promotion tour brought them to Brussels last Tuesday.
The first thing we noticed when Dando hit the podium was that he looked like shit, as if
he was recovering from a nasty hangover. For the greater part of the gig, while he sang and played, he was staring at the ceiling as if the lyric sheets and the setlist were pinned to the ceiling instead of lying next to him, where they had actually been placed by a roadie.
“I think I see my lyric sheets up there”
He regularly exchanged incomprehensible words between songs with
his two lemonheads, drummer and bassist, seemingly to decide what
to play next.
It all looked chaotic, but Dando never, besides a couple of hiccups, really lost control and rushed through the set like a whirlwind, like if he needed to be somewhere urgently.
And? His cranked-up guitar riffage, his reliable bandmates (who never lost an eye on him), the super setlist and the whole venue ambiance, combined for a terrifically punky rock night out.
Lots of lemon pearls such as Into Your Arms, Big Gay Heart, A Shame About Ray, Confetti,
If I Could Talk To You and My Drug Buddy, several covers (Graham Parsons’ Return Of The Grievious Angel, Smudge’s Tenderfoot and The Outdoor Type, Townes Van Zandt’s Rake, among others) and 4 from the new album (In The Margin / Togetherness Is All I’m After / Deep End and Roky).
Welcome back, big gay heart.
Big-time return on record
and on stage.
Hey Evan, your lyric sheets are here.
Always keeping an eye on Evan.
LOVE CHANT
.