Last week we sent Ms. Molly Müeller to cover the Rockabilly shenanigans of Deadbolt and the Reverend Horton Heat.
Reverend Horton Heat-Baddest of the Bad [mp3]
Deadbolt/Reverend Horton Heat 01/14/10
Thursday night is a perfect night to go hang out with the tattoo-sleeved, pompadour-sporting rockabilly crowd of Denver and that’s exactly what I did this past Thursday night at the Ogden Theatre. Welcome to a sold-out night of cute boys in wife beaters and dolled-up girls in vintage dresses, stiletto heels and sleek up dos embellished with flowers. The night kicked off with local favorites Reno Divorce, a band strongly influenced by Social Distortion, Colorado darlings the Descendants and headliners Reverend Horton Heat. I didn’t get to catch Reno Divorce on this night because I had to work late, but I can tell you this punk rock outfit from Denver always puts on an entertaining show and should be added to your list of must-see local bands. Up next…San Diego’s own Surf/Rockabilly villains, Deadbolt. If you are unfamiliar with this band I suggest you buy a CD, lower the blinds, make yourself a Mai Tai or two and get ready for some mesmerizing surf-influenced voodoo magic. The set list included Voodoo Trucker, a song that that showcases Deadbolt’s smooth but super-strong baseline complimented by singer Harley Davidson’s surreal and downright eerie vocals. This is a band that makes you (or at least me) want to be a chicken-fried-steak-eating truck-driving-son-of- a-bitch. The performance of “Tiki Man” (my favorite because it’s about Tahiti) featured a fabulous Polynesian drum solo. The self proclaimed “scariest band in the world” drifted into a performance of “Billy’s Dead,” a song that informs an unknown party that their friend Billy is cold to the touch and probably dead. I’ve spoken of street cred before…this band draws all of the members of the venerable Helldorados Car Club. In fact, vocalist Harley is a member. This is old school shit that you have to see live to truly enjoy. Before I get into the headliner review, let me give you some background. I can’t count how many Rev shows I have seen since the early 90’s. In fact, The Rev himself (a.k.a. Jim Heath) dedicated an entire show at the Starlight in Ft. Collins to “the beautiful blonde in the front row;” Ah yes, that beautiful blonde was me. The Reverend Horton Heat, always the class act, started their show with “Now, Right Now” from 1996’s album It’s Martini Time; I’m thinking great…different opening song for once but looks like is going to be more of the same old same old same old that I’ve come to expect from these Dallas bad boys. First of all, Thursday’s nights show was peppered with several songs from their latest album. Second of all, I was leaning against the stage…THE STAGE…and no one was slamming into me, hurting me, or making me feel inadequate because I don’t have enough tattoos. Strange! I left the theatre that night with not a single bruise! While no one wants to hear the same set list over and over for an entire decade, the shows highlights were the Reverend Horton Heat standards such as “Galaxy 500,” “It’s Martini Time” and crowd rousing, tongue-in-cheek “Bales of Cocaine.” The show took a turn and the Rev noted that people in Denver still have their Christmas lights up (very embarrassing for me; their bus was parked right in front of my house and I still have my Christmas lights up; I’m a very, very busy girl.) They went on to play a remarkable rendition of “Greensleeves” and then Jimbo and The Rev exchanged instruments (I’ve never seen them do this before) and Jim Heath played the stand up bass while Jimbo rocked the Rev’s beautiful orange Gretch guitar. I was very skeptical going into this show because the past few shows have been disappointing. Here I am, however, dusting off my extensive collection of Reverend Horton Heat cds and looking forward to my next taste of this seemingly white trash rock and roll that’s far more complex and clever than most people think.Molly Müeller
i drove up to that concert on my harley davidson. it was such a great show! those guys are crazy awesome live!