Upon entering The National I admittedly had little idea of what to expect from “The Godfather of Rockabilly,” as some have referred to Jim ‘Rev Horton’ Heath.
Upon entering The National I admittedly had little idea of what to expect from “The Godfather of Rockabilly,” as some have referred to Jim ‘Rev Horton’ Heath.
The opening band was called Nashville Pussy whom I had heard good things, but then again I think people just like saying “pussy” in casual conversation. As you might imagine, the music had a raunchy southern rock sound with lyrics about drinking, sex, and pills that the crowd went wild for. The sea of dads hollered every time vocalist Blaine Cartwright drank from his whiskey bottle, at one point stopping to pour a beer into his presumably filthy cowboy hat and chugging it down (which I actually enjoyed because I’m a sucker for on-stage antics).
For those not in the know, Reverend Horton Heath and his trio, The Reverend Horton Heat, came out of Dallas in 1985 and have been entertaining crowds with their mix of country, punk and rockabilly ever since. The band released their eleventh studio album REV, their latest to date, in 2014.
Rev and his trio finally graced the stage and for those of you that don’t know what rockabilly is, imagine a fusion of high speed country and surf rock sound with Jimbo Wallace adding a big-band aspect on his upright bass. The Heat played a long set which included guest Unknown Hinson (star voice of Cartoon Networks ‘Squidbillies’) in which they played his songs. Despite his comical and creepy lyrics, Hinson is a great musician and it was very interesting to see all of them play together.
Later in the night, Heath brought up the passing of Motorhead’s beloved Lemmy Kilmister stating that, “He was a great man and he always came out to our shows anytime we were in Hollywood.'”
Nashville Pussy frontman Blaine returned to the stage to perform a tribute of “Ace of Spades” in honor of Kilmister that they completely nailed. Heath and Jimbo demonstrated their talents further by switching instruments to perform Chuck Berry’s “Little Queenie” leaving Rev on upright bass and Jimbo on guitar.
The show came to an end with Unkown Hinson returning for a finale of more bizarre, stalkerish southern styling. If you fancy yourself to be musically adventurous, I’d suggest trying to catch a live glimpse of all these folks, especially as they wrap up this tour through the end of the year.
