Live review: Soul Asylum + James Brute at The Dome, London

Live review: Soul Asylum and Pete Brute at The Dome at The Dome, Tuffnell Park, Tuesday 9 2026

By STEVE MASCORD

IT’S usually a good policy on the day of a gig to avoid listening to the act you’re going to see. 

I’m sure you’re familiar with the theory: you don’t want the emotional heft or visceral thrill of their songs to be diminished by having heard them on your home stereo a few hours before.

That of course never stopped headbangers for decades blasting Judas Priest or Motley Crue in the carpark outside arenas from late afternoon. Once you’ve had enough to drink (or imbibed something else, some other way) … who cares?

With post-grunge college rock purveyors Soul Asylum here in north London on a Tuesday night, I wish I had listened to 1992’s Grave Dancer’s Union and 1995’s Let Your Dim Light Shine before hopping on the tube. I would have realised I knew more Soul Asylum songs than previously thought and … what’s the word? …. “comprehended” or perhaps “consumed” tonight’s show more smoothly.

We all know “Runaway Train”, right? But it turns out I was also familiar with “Black Gold”, “Just Like Anyone”, “Misery”, maybe one or two others.  This is post-grunge college rock writ reasonably large and was all over the radio 30 years ago.

Dave Pirner, now 62, was a famous man in the 1990s. He dated Winona Ryder, adorned magazine covers and billboards and still carries himself with what might be termed understated gravitas. It’s the gravitas that doesn’t care much about image and has a beer at its feet at all times.

Throughout tonight’s show he delights in telling dad jokes like the one about the two antennas getting married and the ceremony being underwhelming but the reception being outstanding. Before “Black Gold”, which he says is about the blood spilled so Americans can fill up their cars, he confesses he’s become ashamed of his country.

“We just tell people we’re from Minnesota now, we don’t say we’re American.”

And basically that’s what tonight is: a nice evening of nineties alternative rock in pleasant hall above a pub with stage that has no pit. You can just rest your beer at newish (2016) guitarist Ryan Smith’s feet and bop along. There are people down the front who know every word of every song but most of us just hum the hits.

And even though Dave delights in detailed intros to most songs, he launches into “Runaway Train” without uttering a word, straight after “Black Gold”, which I find endearing. It’s not like, say, Goo Goo Dolls keeping “Iris” to the end and Johnny Rzeznik telling all the blokes in the audience they therefore won’t be allowed by their dates to leave early.

Oh, and support Pete Brute was a singer/songwriter type whose vintage sounding material sounded a little like Chris Isaak. If you don’t think Soul Asylum are in HM’s wheelhouse then Pete most certainly is not.

And Soul Asylum’s closer, “April Fool”, was quite epic – much heavier than the on record, an cacophanous explosion of riffs and feedback. Of course I only knew how it sounded on record by listening later.

That’s because I didn’t do the appropriate prep, y’see. I won’t need to next time, of course, because now I’ve seen Soul Asylum for the first time and yes, if I get the opportunity I’ll see them again.