Several of my friends booked a show at White Water last night, so naturally I had to go. Little Rock’s own, The Reds, Drunken Angels, and Kevin Kerby & Battery, were playing. I regretfully missed The Reds, who I feel ought to be a great band. The three members that comprise the group have been in several other projects over the years, and hopefully they will have another show sometime soon, as I would really like to see them perform. Nonetheless, the rest of the night was nothing to shrug about.
I paid the cover and walked in as Drunken Angels were setting up. Mind you, these guys have been around Little Rock for a long time, but the band itself had only played two shows prior to this one. Mikey Hayes and Travis Hill both say that they, as a band, aren’t all that great. I beg to differ. The demos they have posted on Myspace are good. I mean, I went in to listening to them with a slight bias, but what I heard impressed me. So naturally I was looking forward to see how they would measure up live. Let’s just say that they kept me smiling and tapping my feet along to the beat the whole time.
Every once in a while I’ll learn something new at a show, and this one didn’t disappoint. I did not know that they had three vocalists. Hayes was the primary vocalist of the night, but Tracy Sanchez, on drums, and Hill shared in the duties as well. The highlight in my eyes was when Hill quickly apologized to any Bruce Springsteen fans & Matt White for the cover he was about to do. He wasted no time and jumped in to “Atlantic City.” I personally thought it was not a bad cover and hope to hear the cover at a future show. The instrumentation was to a tee, even if the vocals were a bit dwarfed by it. I didn’t think it made all that much difference though because each man was putting his heart in to playing, and that made for an excellent third gig. I’m awaiting that illustrious fourth concert.
Kevin Kerby & Battery came up next. I actually don’t know whether or not this was directed to LRLM, but on at least two separate occasions, Kerby called the songs they had just finished playing ‘blogworthy.’ So Kevin, if you’re reading this, I got your really “subtle” hints.
As I have said before, Kerby is a pleasure to see as a solo act, but when he brings the men of Battery to back him up, they pack one hell of a punch. Kerby & Battery have immersed themselves completely in rock ’n’ roll. I have trouble envisioning them as anything else. No other genre would fit their personalities and, I’m glad they aren’t trying to make the leap to some other completely different type of music.
That being said, Kerby has a loud and distinct voice. It’s the kind of voice that penetrates your thoughts and allows you to see in to his world. A lot of his songs are about life, his surroundings, and other every day things. His voice pulls you in, and it’s almost like you were sitting there on the porch with Kerby or you were up late hours drinking with him. Kevin also has a knack for involving the audience in his antics by telling jokes and doing other silly things. He is an entertainer or many sorts and the rest of the band seems to fully support that especially when they all start to joke around. Kerby really has found his match with Battery and vice versa. They compliment each other so well, and I’m glad they have been playing more recently. Keep your eyes out for more of Kerby’s dancing and shenanigans because he and Battery will be returning to a venue near you really soon.
-L
P.S. I chose the show's poster because of the pure ridiculousness of it. I mean, who doesn't like pirate bananas?
Who exactly is Joe Buck? I say he’s half man, a quarter demon, and a quarter all around badass. I was talking to one of my friends prior to this show, and he said don’t miss it. He told me I was in for something he couldn’t quite explain and that one just had to see Buck perform to get a feel for him. He hails from Nashville, TN and travels around the states in an RV with his girlfriend and their dog. Naturally after hearing this, I had to go see him.
I walked in to White Water later than normal, coming from a Magic Hassle show, and was promptly greeted by a darkened room with nothing but red lights on the stage. Joe Buck walked up to the stage, grabbed his guitar, and sat down behind his bass drum. With a self-proclaimed style of hellbilly punk, Buck launched in to his songs as a one-man music machine.
Buck snarled and swore his way through his nearly hour long set. Profanity does not bother me in the least, but I must say he is the most profane artist I think I have ever seen perform. He spastically played guitar and kept the beat going with his drum the entire time. I’m not a musician, but I know that it takes some talent to do so well for that long of a time. With that said, I loved him.
Most of his songs are hateful and angry, but in a weird way I wouldn’t expect anything else from Buck. His Myspace songs give you a brief glimpse in to his world, but one cannot get the full picture without seeing him live. I honestly wasn’t expecting what I saw, but his set was fantastic. The thirty or so people at WWT gathered near the stage, threw up a few rock signs, and danced along to his set. I had been tired before, but any notion of going to sleep after seeing Buck quickly went out of my mind. He knows how to get a crowd pumped full of energy and keep their attention. I had an awesome time and hope to see him travel through Arkansas again in the future, but that will take some time because he is about to embark on a European tour, which I think is an amazing opportunity for him.
--L
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