A very familiar local musician stepped back on to the level 2 stage this evening. Vocalist and frontman extraordinaire Don Palmacci brought Red Dollar back to Esquires for the first time since May 2006. Taking scope, recharging the batteries, or writing new material, whatever caused this gap it was really good to see this quartet back here again. They also introduce their new bassist Ben.

Although they have been away, Red Dollar still ply that 'easy on the ear' agit-rock, which they firstly demonstrate on the sparkling "Domino Effect". It nonchalantly and confidently blows any musical cobwebs right away.

After this initial burst they tone the atmosphere down a touch with both "Portsmouth" and "Why Can't We All Just Get Along?". The former is a lyrical triumphant 'hands in the air' anthem that seems to epitomise these returning heroes whilst "Accents" is a prelude to songs that tell of the collective fighting of life's struggle.

The less than evident Red Dollar sarcasm rears its head on "Beautiful Mess", but the mood soon lightens with "F.Y.I.", the band's first ever composition. It also compliments "Eon", which is serenely performed.

The final song sees Red Dollar reach an angry conclusion with the rallying call of "Start the Revolution". It's a zenith as always with tons of angst and gusto.

At its conclusion there are demands from the crowd for an encore. Mr Palmacci strikes a deal with his fans. He explains that in the past he has witnessed bands perform a song at the start and finish of their set to compare the crowd's reaction. The boys duly reprise "Domino Effect". I can report the deal paid off!

Martin Stapleton - Bedford Esquires

RED Dollar, an indie-rock band whose lyrics are loaded with messages about the world we live in, will appear at The Horn in Victoria Street, St Albans, on Tuesday, September 11.

Frontman Don Palmacci was originally part of an established act called Glorious but, along with the bassist at the time, he became increasingly aware of issues within society and decided to explore these with a new venture.

The band from Bedford, who compare their sound to U2, first played at The Horn in 2006 and have supported the likes of Enter Shikari.

The band aim to "challenge the naivety of human nature and those that wish to create the illusion of freedom," and some of the controversial lyrics include the subjects of the Surveillance Society, False Flag Operations and War by Misdirection.

Herts Advertiser September 2007

This evening opens with a acoustic performance from Mr Don Palmacci.

With his working band Red Dollar performing on a regular basis, this was a rare opportunity to see this talented and erudite performer playing a mixture of old favourites and a couple of stripped down band compositions.

He opens with 'Bitterly Sentimental' (taken from his 'As Luck Would Have It' solo album of 2004) which is performed with a confident and consummate ease. His version of the Red Dollar single 'FYI' shows him as a natural, totally thriving, with or without a band, the chorus is certainly spat out just a venomously. He brings proceedings to a close with the rallying call of 'Start the Revolution', which he admits is the ethos of him and the band, tonight it is inspiring and played with true feeling.

Review by Martin Stapleton www.bedfordesquires.co.uk

Coming in as late replacements for Mos Eisley were Red Dollar, who produce a superb power punk-pop set. Although probably playing tonight to an audience that knew very little about them, Red Dollar seemed to thrive on it. On this, which is only their second ever gig, the songs are already becoming firm favourites of mine and 2006 should be an exciting year for them.

Review by Martin Stapleton www.bedfordesquires.co.uk


Comprising Don (vocals/guitar), Paul (guitar), Billy (bass) and Danny (drums) tonight marked the debut performance of Red Dollar a hard edged local indie band. With an aggressive frontman backed up by a bunch of talented musicians, they furnish us with silky strings (when they don't snap) and ferocious and vibrant drumming. They open with a salvo of 'FYI' and 'Pythagoras Theorem' before bringing the tempo down with 'Waiting' and 'Eon'.

Before bowing out in a blaze of glory, Don throws out loads of Red Dollar notes to the crowd whilst fixing them with a wide eyed expression which seemed to say 'Love us or f**k off!'. In their final song 'Still Waiting', the guitarists give it their all whilst Don appears possessed! The crowd cry out for more but unfortunately they will have to wait until the next Red Dollar gig which hopefully will be very soon.

Review by Martin Stapleton www.bedfordesquires.co.uk


I was looking forward to seeing these and I was defiantly not disappointed. After I got over the fact their front man looked just like Jarret from Bowling for Soup I started to really enjoy their set. There energy on stage got the Squires crowd more involved. They played punky songs as well as some slower more emoy songs. This band has the perfect mix of complex drum beats, contagious bass lines and powerful lyrics and guitar music. I would defiantly recommend you go see them as soon as possible.

Review by Liam Burke www.bedfordmetal.co.uk