Two Sunday's ago my buddy and I went to the last concert of this years edition of the UP+DT Festival, this gig would be the Reverend Horton Heat show at the Starlite Room. There were four bands on the bill but we only caught the last two. That being Mad Bombers Society and the Reverend.
By the time we got to the venue the place was packed, but we managed to get there in time to catch local ska band Mad Bomber Society. I was surprised to see a ska band on this bill, but then it's always good to have a diverse line up. For a band that don't do a whole lot of shows, they sounded really good. Lead singer Rich Bomber sounded great as did the rest of the band, which included a bass player, drummer and two horn players, sadly I don't know the name of these musicians, but nonetheless they all kicked ass. The crowd was really digging the band, dancing and singing along. It was nice to see Mad Bomber Society get such a good response from the crowd. A great performance by them all.
Mad Bomber Society at the Starlite Room.
Now it was time for the last band of this years UP+DT Music Festival the Reverend Horton Heat. This was my second time seeing the Reverend, the last time being in 1994 when they opened for Soundgarden here in Edmonton.
I'm not the biggest fan of rockabilly, psychobilly, or as The Rev calls themselves country-fed punkabilly, whatever you want to call it, I have always had a soft spot for the Reverend Horton Heat, one of the few rockabilly bands I can tolerate. What they do, they do it well. So I was looking forward to seeing them play a headlining show this time. The Reverend Horton Heat who hail from Dallas, Texas is made up of The Reverend (Jim Heath) on guitar and vocals, long time bass player Jimbo (Jimbo Wallace) and newest member Arjuna "RJ" Contreras on drums, who was amazing. Reminded me of John Bonham the size of him and the way he played.
The band opened the show with instrumental song "Big Sky", why is that every rockabilly band has to open with an instrumental. Then into an oldie "Baddest Of The Bad". One song they did that really made me laugh and was happy to hear was "Cowboy Love" from their 1996 album It's Martini Time. They ended the set with the Motorhead song "Ace Of Spades". What bothered me the most during the show was how long Jim Heath's stories were, very long winded to the point that a few people in the crowd myself included were shouting "play a song". I swear about 20 minutes of the hour and a half show was Jim telling stories.
For the encore Reverend Horton Heat did a cover of the Johnny Cash song "Folsom Prison Blues" and then we had to put up with a drum and bass solo, which were a total waste of time and not very good. Between the stories and solos the band could have done at least five more songs. All and all I didn't think it was a great show, it was alright but nothing special. To me I think Mad Bomber Society gave them a run for their money. Good times!!!
Reverend Horton Heat at the Starlite Room.
A big shout out to the organizers, volunteers, bands and venues for what I hope was another successful UP+DT Music Festival.
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