October 23rd, 2007 at 4:31 pm
On 9/15, Liz and I went to see The Reverend Horton Heat at The Meridian. It was a good show, as always. I think I’ve seen the Rev. something like 12 or 13 times, from 1994 to present.
The band that opened up the evening (playing in the Meridian’s smaller room) was a local rockabilly outfit called The Octanes. They were good and tight. Next up, in the big room, was a band called The Phantom Rockers. They were okay, I guess, playing mostly rockabilly covers of ’80s pop tunes. The British singer made a lot of homophobic and misogynistic comments, so that was uncool. (I saw him in the bathroom after their set. He tipped the attendant $50 and said, “Now I can piss anywhere I want to.” He then went into a stall with some other dude; I think it was drug-related rather than sex-related, but who knows?). Interestingly, the Rev. thanked the next opening band (”Give it up for The Gore Gore Girls!”) and neglected to mention the Phantom Rockers. The Gore Gore Girls were pretty good, but weren’t really my style (I can’t really define what their style was/is…sort of rockabilly, I guess, but not quite).
Then came the Rev. As usual, the show was great. They didn’t play everything I wanted to hear (no “Nurture My Pig” this time), but they did do a few covers that they referred to as “the history of music.” It was totally rad. Their new drummer was great, as their drummers always are, and the Rev. of course surfed atop Jimbo’s bass. Good show all around.
Here’s the set list:
- Big Sky
- Baddest of the Bad
- Five-O-Ford
- I Can’t Surf
- Wiggle Stick
- 400 Bucks
- Pride of San Jacinto
- Callin’ In Twisted
- Revival
- Indigo Friends (hadn’t heard this one live before, it’s awesome)
-The History of Music- - Greensleeves
- Rock This Joint
- That’s All Right
- Folsom Prison Blues
- King of the Road
- Paranoid (sung by the drummer)
-End History of Music- - Bales of Cocaine
- Marijuana
- It’s Martini Time
- Jimbo Song
- Galaxy 500
- Bad Reputation
- The Devil’s Chasing Me (yay)
-Encore- - Cowboy Love
- Psychobilly Freakout
- Big Red Rocket of Love / Drum Solo / Bass Solo
Here are some excellent pictures of the show, courtesy of The Bald Heretic.
Good show, as they always are. Probably one of the top 3 Rev. shows I’ve been to.
