When I arrived at The Rhythm Room to catch The Hooten Hallers, I didn’t really know what to expect. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen openers Black Mountain Moonshine before but, even if I was just catching them, I’ve never seen them in a setting like this. Hell, I hadn’t even been to The Rhythm Room in years. But what a show to return to this well known and established venue for.
Folk punkgrass rockers Black Mountain Moonshine took to the stage and immediately had the crowd bobbing along, young and old. I can’t imagine doing that in a newer heavily punk and rock influenced band but they sure do it well. Perhaps it’s how well that Ethan Minney marries their folky sounds with punk on mandolin that makes it work across the board. All I know is that he slayed so hard on the mando that he broke a string towards the end and kept right on destroying. Drummer Art De Baca is such a driving force behind the band’s energy that I’m surprised they aren’t breaking strings left and right. With Alec Rodriguez on bass, he had us eating out of his hands. More so than before, Luz Gamino really captured my focus on his acoustic and it didn’t hurt with Eric Dent soloing next to him on lead guitar.
Whiskey Kiss was up next with their brand of sweet rockabilly. I’m not gonna lie and tell you that I follow the genre but what I heard and saw was downright outstanding. Yes, their rockabilly sound stands out but what pulled me in was how well they moulded it with swing. On top of that, honestly, these cats know how to rock. I dig horns and was thrilled to discover that their trumpet player, Bruce Legge, is amazing. If that’s not enough to catch your attention, singer Niki Mercier wooed the crowd with her seductive voice. Yet, the showstopper of Whiskey Kiss’ set, for me, had to be their upright bassist, Nick White. Not only did he stand out by how well he pounded away on the bassline but I caught him showing off his balancing skills as he stood on the side of his bass while playing for what seemed like an eternity. I’ve seen other bassists do similar feats but goddamn!
Wrapping up the insanity was The Hooten Hallers. If you just walked in on a Hooten Hallers set not knowing anything about them, you’d take them for an in your face blues band that crawled out of the muck of the bayou in New Orleans, screeching the misery and triumphs of surviving Hurricane Katrina. But, in all honesty, this dark, gothic and borderline chaotic rhythm and blues band hails from Columbia, Missouri. They opened their performance with a bang, with the assistance of drummer Andy Rehm to blast out heavy blues rock with just enough zydeco, mostly coming from frontman John Randall, to really set the mood. Almost as much as The Hooten Hallers crashed down upon us with a barrage of jubilation, they were able to mellow us out in a mire of despair.
The Hooten Hallers’ abilities to play various instruments seemed to adjust the crowd for what we were about to be getting into. Randall’s raspy vocals really stood out to me, reminding me of a southern Tom Waits who really added an element of gospel. He only intensified the scenario bouncing from his five string lap steel to those moments that he went to town shredding on guitar. Rehm automatically draws attention by being a stand up drummer, literally. What he lacks in drum pieces, he makes up for, above and beyond, in skills, energy and performance. The man only rocks one cymbal, and well, but what really grabbed me was his attention to focusing on his floor tom, which works for both the band’s blues and rock aspects. The Hooten Hallers have no bass player, but one wouldn’t notice with Kellie Everett rocking both baritone and bass saxophones. One moment, she’s squealing away on sax while you’re tearing it up on the dance floor and the next, you’re swaying as she’s hypnotically serenading you. And last but not least, Paul Weber was killing it on harmonica all throughout the night. If that wasn’t enough, partway through their performance, he answered my prayers and proved the rumors true by busting out his tuba, accompanying Everett beautifully. Hell, even when he was blasting away on harmonica, they were quite the pair. If none of that was enough for the crowd, The Hooten Hallers closed out the night with their version of “Fuck the Police,” a crowd pleaser called “Leave Me Alone,” which left none of us feeling alone.
~Garyn Klasek
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