Diemonds Are The Meister’s Best Friend

In what The Meister (yes, sometimes I refer to myself in the third person) is absolutely and totally convinced was some kind of calculated ploy designed to make him acutely aware of the fact that his own follicles have long since departed, the long hair was flying all around the stage in headbanging glory at Detour Music Hall in St. Catharines Ontario on July 10, 2015. That’s right, Toronto’s Diemonds are on the road with their Feast On The East Tour and basically lit up the place in this second night of the road trip that will see them visit Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. A huge Diemonds fan (even sporting the Diemonds band logo as a part of his full-sleeve tattoo depicting a guitar case “stickered” with the logos of some of his favorite bands), The Meister seized the opportunity to make a four and a half hour bus/train/bus public transit journey for this event. What a trip, what dedication, well it had been absolutely forever since seeing their last concert (May 8, 2015, Diemonds @ The Hideout-yes two months with no Diemonds might as well be forever).

The female fronted hard rock band Diemonds formed in Toronto in 2006 and is currently comprised of Priya Panda (vocals), C.C. Diemond (guitars), Daniel DeKay (guitars), Adam Zlotnik (bass) and Aiden Tranquada (drums). They issued their first full-length record, The Bad Pack in October 2012 and prior to that an EP, In The Rough in 2008. Diemonds have brought their brand of booze soaked (sponsored by Jagermeister and Pabst Blue Ribbon, no less!) rock and roll far and wide opening for big names such as Slash, Steel Panther, Sebastian Bach, Doro, Jack Russell’s Great White, L.A. Guns, Teenage Head and Faster Pussycat to name a few. They have played at Heavy Mtl in 2012 (a two-day rock festival held in Montreal, Canada), Rocklahoma (2012) The M3 Festival Pre-party (2013) and they even made history being the first female fronted hard rock outfit to play in the city of Shillong, India. They have toured the US and Canada on several occasions and are hard working, relentlessly touring and always on the road.

The band is on a career high right now, recently being signed to eOne Music Entertainment and also Napalm Records, both issuing their follow-up to the well received and awesome The Bad Pack album on August 14, 2015. The new record, titled Never Wanna Die is a dedication to several tragic losses that this Toronto band suffered during 2014 and features 10 blistering tracks several of which you can hear during the current Feast On The East Tour.

The band filled the stage (almost literally based on the size of it) at Detour Music Hall after a couple of opening acts, ripping immediately into “Meet Ur Maker” and continued to take the audience on a ride through Diemonds musical history with songs old and new for the next 90 minutes. Some of the setlist selections included “Over It”, “Livin’ Tonight”, “Highway”, “Get The Fuck Outta Here”, “Never Wanna Die”, “Hell Is Full” and “Ain’t That Kinda Girl”. The twin guitar assaults of C.C. Diemond and Daniel DeKay surged each and every song forward based on the backbone of Tranquada and Zlotnik‘s rhythm section. All this presented the playground for highly attractive frontwoman Priya Panda as she owned the stage, captivated the crowd showcasing her powerful vocal style. The boys in the band recently surprised Panda when she returned home from a trip by learning a cover of her absolute favorite band, Toronto’s Kill Cheerleader which also found it’s way into the setlist this night. “I just love ’em” she announced. “I’ve seen them a hundred times. The number grows every time I tell the story,” she laughs. Check out The Meister‘s video of Diemonds latest single off Never Wanna Die with “Over It” recorded during tonight’s show below.

Diemonds have launched a PledgeMusic Campaign to assist them with the new album and it features many incredible options including tons of one of a kind Diemonds merch and memorabilia. As an example, one of the items available was C.C. Diemond‘s original stage worn jean vest complete with patches, which I almost purchased that night until he advised me that with my broader than his shoulders it may not fit well. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t calling me fat, not that he’d be wholly wrong there either! Thanks for the honesty C.C. and not just taking my money! The “Dinner Made In Your Home By Tranquada and DeKay“ has already been sold so maybe I’ll buy the “Jays Game With C.C.“ option……I notice that there’s no “day/event” with Priya available, my credit card thanks you for that!

In the Toronto area, you can catch Diemonds next as they set the stage for the legendary Lita Ford at The Phoenix Concert Theatre on August 9, 2015…..so very far away 🙂

PHOTO CREDIT: Crappy Cell Phone Pics Taken By The Meister!

Lita-Diemonds Tickets / Lita-Diemonds Facebook Event Link

Diemonds PledgeMusic Campaign / BUY: Diemonds-Never Wanna Die (Amazon.com pre-order)

Diemonds Website / Diemonds Facebook / Diemonds Twitter