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If it ain't got rhythm...
Apr. 21st, 2008 11:55 pmSaturday night was the Reverend Horton Heat show, and it was by far the best concert I’ve ever attended. (Yes, even better than Morrissey.)
My mom decided that she wanted to see the Rev again at the last minute, so it was nice not having to drive down there, especially with what happened along the way. We hadn’t been driving along I-43 for long when we saw this black car swerving around and speeding in front of us to exit the freeway. I turned around, and they had hit the two cars behind us. I watched one woman spin around so she was going to opposite way, and when she tried to right herself, she ended up spinning in circles, repeatedly slamming into the median. By the time her car slowed down, it was totaled; the entire front end was compacted and her airbag didn’t deploy, but she was still able to drive further down to where she could finally pull over. As soon as she pulled over, the other guy who was hit from behind also pulled over and was running like mad away from his car that was smoking. It definitely smelled like burning fuel. We are so fortunate that we didn’t get hit; that guy had to have been drunk, and he barely made it around us.
We still arrived 45 minutes before the first band went on, and there were only four other people standing around. I immediately went up to the stage so I could be front and center while my mom sat up in the balcony. After a while, only a few more people showed up. The Rev’s manager came out and was talking to the guy next to me who had seen him the night before in Chicago. Apparently, Nashville Pussy had canceled, and he said it must have been something big because they never cancel. Lucky for me, I can’t stand that band, so I was glad I didn’t have to deal with that. Unfortunately, the band they got at the last minute to replace them wasn’t much better. I heard they were some local Milwaukee band, and I didn’t catch their name because their equipment was turned up so loud. All I could hear were really buzzy tones come from the mike and all the amps. Their bassist was decent, and they played a cover of T. Rex’s “20th Century Boy”, but those are the only positive things I can find about them. All the rest of their songs sounded the same, and it was obvious they were amateurs due to the fact they can’t recognize when the music is so loud you can barely make anything out because it totally shot your hearing.
Next was Backyard Tire Fire. They were okay, so I don’t have much to say about them. They sounded kind of alt-country, and at least their volume was under control so I was able to get some of my hearing back. During the last song, their vocalist/guitarist’s D-string broke with most of it hanging loose, and he kept swinging his guitar around, so I was a little scared of getting hit with it. I know part of it is because I’ve had some gnarly cuts in the past just from changing strings…
Reverend Horton Heat’s set list was even better than last time I saw them, and back then they were taking requests! This time, they did a “music through the ages” type of thing where they covered “Greensleeves”, Bill Haley’s “Shake, Rattle, and Roll” (Or so I think…I’m not a huge Bill Haley fan. Sue me.) Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” with Paul doing the vocals, Stray Cats’ “Rock This Town”, Nirvana’s “In Bloom”, and when Jim threatened to do Kelly Clarkson, thankfully they played “Bales of Cocaine” instead. There was some serious ownage on the Stray Cats cover. The Rev totally blew anything Brian Sezter did with that song out of the water. As before, they played for about two hours, so they covered a hell of a lot of material, and there’s no way I can remember the entire set list. Some highlights were: “400 Bucks”, “I Can’t Surf”, “Five-O Ford”, “The Baddest of the Bad”, “Galaxy 500”, “The Devil’s Chasing Me” where the Rev’s classic bass stand trick took place, “Jimbo Song” (as always), “Big Little Baby”, “Psychobilly Freakout”, “Big Red Rocket of Love”, and “It’s Martini Time”. I’m pretty sure “Indigo Friends” might have been in there some place. If I remember correctly, the opener was “Pride of San Jacinto”, but it may have been “Big Sky”. I was just so excited to be close enough to see the stitching on Jim Heath’s blazer and the fact that they were playing one of RHH songs I play all the time on guitar that I kind of freaked out. I know I had the biggest shit-eating grin on my face the whole time because Jim would break out into a smile after looking at me and wink. I also got several winks from Jimbo…apparently he likes it when you yell at him and throw up the horns. ;) It also helped that (from what I could tell) was the only girl in the front row, and one of the few who looked rockabilly that evening. Toward the end, Jim even tried to throw a pick directly to me, but he missed and it landed in front of the gate. The idiot skinhead behind me jumped over to get it and was promptly hauled away by security.
The only things that sucked were the circle and pushpits that broke out and people who decided to throw shit. Seriously, who does that at a rockabilly show!? My mom decided to come down to the floor for the encore, and now the outside of her entire upper arm is bruised. The other guy next to me also brought his three sons, one of which looked about seven. I also had this short girl behind me keep yanking me back to yell stuff at Jim, which did nothing but earn her an annoyed face from the Rev. I know I’m about 5’11’’ with my boots on, but it’s not my fault that you got there late and can’t see. I also got hit in the head and arm with a cup of vodka, and someone threw ice onstage at Jimbo, and Jimbo was just like, “Bring it!”
I know there was a lot of fangirling here, but I’ve never been front and center at a concert before and Jim Heath is one of my guitar heroes, and to have him acknowledge me while he was onstage is a big deal to me.
( 35 Photos )
My mom decided that she wanted to see the Rev again at the last minute, so it was nice not having to drive down there, especially with what happened along the way. We hadn’t been driving along I-43 for long when we saw this black car swerving around and speeding in front of us to exit the freeway. I turned around, and they had hit the two cars behind us. I watched one woman spin around so she was going to opposite way, and when she tried to right herself, she ended up spinning in circles, repeatedly slamming into the median. By the time her car slowed down, it was totaled; the entire front end was compacted and her airbag didn’t deploy, but she was still able to drive further down to where she could finally pull over. As soon as she pulled over, the other guy who was hit from behind also pulled over and was running like mad away from his car that was smoking. It definitely smelled like burning fuel. We are so fortunate that we didn’t get hit; that guy had to have been drunk, and he barely made it around us.
We still arrived 45 minutes before the first band went on, and there were only four other people standing around. I immediately went up to the stage so I could be front and center while my mom sat up in the balcony. After a while, only a few more people showed up. The Rev’s manager came out and was talking to the guy next to me who had seen him the night before in Chicago. Apparently, Nashville Pussy had canceled, and he said it must have been something big because they never cancel. Lucky for me, I can’t stand that band, so I was glad I didn’t have to deal with that. Unfortunately, the band they got at the last minute to replace them wasn’t much better. I heard they were some local Milwaukee band, and I didn’t catch their name because their equipment was turned up so loud. All I could hear were really buzzy tones come from the mike and all the amps. Their bassist was decent, and they played a cover of T. Rex’s “20th Century Boy”, but those are the only positive things I can find about them. All the rest of their songs sounded the same, and it was obvious they were amateurs due to the fact they can’t recognize when the music is so loud you can barely make anything out because it totally shot your hearing.
Next was Backyard Tire Fire. They were okay, so I don’t have much to say about them. They sounded kind of alt-country, and at least their volume was under control so I was able to get some of my hearing back. During the last song, their vocalist/guitarist’s D-string broke with most of it hanging loose, and he kept swinging his guitar around, so I was a little scared of getting hit with it. I know part of it is because I’ve had some gnarly cuts in the past just from changing strings…
Reverend Horton Heat’s set list was even better than last time I saw them, and back then they were taking requests! This time, they did a “music through the ages” type of thing where they covered “Greensleeves”, Bill Haley’s “Shake, Rattle, and Roll” (Or so I think…I’m not a huge Bill Haley fan. Sue me.) Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” with Paul doing the vocals, Stray Cats’ “Rock This Town”, Nirvana’s “In Bloom”, and when Jim threatened to do Kelly Clarkson, thankfully they played “Bales of Cocaine” instead. There was some serious ownage on the Stray Cats cover. The Rev totally blew anything Brian Sezter did with that song out of the water. As before, they played for about two hours, so they covered a hell of a lot of material, and there’s no way I can remember the entire set list. Some highlights were: “400 Bucks”, “I Can’t Surf”, “Five-O Ford”, “The Baddest of the Bad”, “Galaxy 500”, “The Devil’s Chasing Me” where the Rev’s classic bass stand trick took place, “Jimbo Song” (as always), “Big Little Baby”, “Psychobilly Freakout”, “Big Red Rocket of Love”, and “It’s Martini Time”. I’m pretty sure “Indigo Friends” might have been in there some place. If I remember correctly, the opener was “Pride of San Jacinto”, but it may have been “Big Sky”. I was just so excited to be close enough to see the stitching on Jim Heath’s blazer and the fact that they were playing one of RHH songs I play all the time on guitar that I kind of freaked out. I know I had the biggest shit-eating grin on my face the whole time because Jim would break out into a smile after looking at me and wink. I also got several winks from Jimbo…apparently he likes it when you yell at him and throw up the horns. ;) It also helped that (from what I could tell) was the only girl in the front row, and one of the few who looked rockabilly that evening. Toward the end, Jim even tried to throw a pick directly to me, but he missed and it landed in front of the gate. The idiot skinhead behind me jumped over to get it and was promptly hauled away by security.
The only things that sucked were the circle and pushpits that broke out and people who decided to throw shit. Seriously, who does that at a rockabilly show!? My mom decided to come down to the floor for the encore, and now the outside of her entire upper arm is bruised. The other guy next to me also brought his three sons, one of which looked about seven. I also had this short girl behind me keep yanking me back to yell stuff at Jim, which did nothing but earn her an annoyed face from the Rev. I know I’m about 5’11’’ with my boots on, but it’s not my fault that you got there late and can’t see. I also got hit in the head and arm with a cup of vodka, and someone threw ice onstage at Jimbo, and Jimbo was just like, “Bring it!”
I know there was a lot of fangirling here, but I’ve never been front and center at a concert before and Jim Heath is one of my guitar heroes, and to have him acknowledge me while he was onstage is a big deal to me.
( 35 Photos )
