The Hooten Hallers & Joe Buck Yourself Saturday, March 31st $7
THE HOOTEN HALLERS
A two man hillbilly death wagon for rent, iron frame, big ass loud engine, dual exhaust (shoots flames), custom EVERYTHING.
The Hooten Hallers once ended a show as singer John Randall soldiered through a final guitar riff with blood from an inch-long gash above his eye streaming down his cheek, coagulating in his mountain man beard. Meanwhile, Andy Rehm vomited into a beer mug. He never skipped a beat on the drums. It was a typical show for Randall and Rehm, who’ve been hurling whiskey-soaked hillbilly rock at Columbia…, Missouri audiences for more than three years.
Their performances take crowds on a bipolar-coaster ride through manic rage, tongue-in-cheek sorrow and drunken merriment. It’s visceral music that speaks to folks’ primal urges, beckoning them to dance, drink, scream or screw. You could call the Hooten Hallers alchemists. Randall’s electric guitar and Rehm’s abbreviated drum kit (just a snare, kick drum, floor tom and cymbal), unite to produce a staggering amount of raucous, synergistic sound. That sound is crowned by a gritty howl from Randall that often escalates into triumphant screams. Rehm’s back-up falsetto puts many a lady vocalist to shame. Together, the Hooten Hallers produce a wholly uncontrived kind of music with a passion that matches its purity.
Built on a foundation of rock ‘n’ roll and whiskey, their music is part rhythm-and-blues and part hillbilly soul, but with a gloriously raw edge.
JOE BUCK YOURSELF
His is a one-man band project. He stomps a bass drum, plays guitar and sings — and how. It’s hard to pigeonhole the style of music that is uniquely Joe Buck Yourself. It’s a little rock, a little country, a little punk and a whole lot of attitude. Buck seemed to feed off the crow’d energy and appeared to enjoy us (and Roanoke in general) as much as we enjoyed him. After the show, he was more than gracious about hanging out with the fans, signing autographs, taking pictures and doodling artwork on copies of his live DVD. If you’re not scared of punk mixed with your country, check out Joe Buck’s most recent CD, “Piss and Vinegar,” at joebuckyourself.com. I picked it up at the show, put it on my MP3 player and have kept it in heavy rotation.