Article & Photos by: Linda Carlson
Cincinnati, OH – If you catch a Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs show this tour cycle, consider yourself quite fortunate. For the July leg of the tour, the band is playing nine cities in the Midwest, then moving on to Toronto for a single show. The band are promoting their latest album, Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits, which dropped last month.
Campbell is an icon in the rock industry, well known and well loved, garnering fans worldwide during his storied 40+ year career with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Later, he toured for a few years with Fleetwood Mac. These days, his creative focus is centered on The Dirty Knobs.
Campbell started The Dirty Knobs in 2000 as a club band side project. The current lineup includes guitarist Chris Holt, bassist Lance Morrison and drummer Steve Ferrone. Ferrone, from Heartbreakers lore, recently stepped in for Steve Laug, who has taken on a gig as tour drummer for AC/DC.
The band has been busy. Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits follows the band’s first two albums, 2020’s Wreckless Abandon and 2022’s External Combustion.
The band opened the evening with “Wreckless Abandon,” and then leaned into songs from their new album. The set was peppered with plenty of fan favorites as well, closing with the Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down a Dream.”
- Wreckless Abandon
- So Alive
- Angel of Mercy
- Dare to Dream
- Innocent Man
- Fuck That Guy
- Don’t Wait Up
- Hell or High Water (with Shannon McNally)
- Even the Losers (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers cover)
- Hands Are Tied
- Shake These Blues
- I Still Love You
- All or Nothin’ (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers cover)
- I Need to Know (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers cover)
- Sugar
- In This Lifetime
- Southern Boy
Encore:
- You Got Lucky (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers cover)
- Anyway You Want It (The Dave Clark Five cover)
- Runnin’ Down a Dream (Tom Petty cover)
The crowd was thoroughly engaged, with most standing throughout the show. Though Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits was only recently released, fans were well-acquainted with the album’s first single, “Dare to Dream,” and Campbell had the crowd shouting “DARE – TO – DREAM!” emphatically throughout each chorus. Campbell had dedicated the song for the night to “Dana and Dennis,” who had gifted him a light with the song title on it during the evening’s Meet ‘n Greet session.
Campbell was conversational with fans, which added a sense of camaraderie to the performance. He joked that when he checked the evening’s setlist, he hadn’t realized that the songs kept alternating between six- and 12-string guitar, so there would be quite a few guitar changes during the set.
He also brought out opener Shannon McNally to perform several songs with the band, including “Hell or High Water,” which Campbell said really benefited from the infusion of a female voice.
McNally’s opening acoustic set, by the way, was a lovely collection of songs that set the evening’s mood beautifully. Although a New York native, her music channels a soothing southern style that is both captivating and calming. Campbell and Holt joined her for the last song of her set, “Gold Dust Woman.”
The Dirty Knobs’ website (link) doesn’t currently list any performances beyond the Toronto show on July 16, but check back to the site for future dates.
As well, check the photo carousel below for more photos from the Cincinnati show.