Kick-Ass Music On A Friday Night!

Last Friday was the 6th Anniversary party for The Bottletree Cafe here in Birmingham and it seems they had a show that was booked with me in mind. My all time favorite band is Southern Culture on the Skids and I try to see them every time they come to town. The last time I saw them was a couple of years ago so I was ready for another dose of SCOTS goodness. To make it even better Bottletree booked a band called Banditos as the opening act. To say they were good would be like saying water is wet. Allison and I absolutely loved watching them play and are planning to catch their next show in town.

Once Banditos left the stage my favorites hit the stage running and put on a great show as usual. It was full of the usual Rockabilly/Surf/Country fun that they always bring as well as the required antics of getting the crowd involved. There was even a Cramps cover tossed in and some Link Wray as well. I was lucky enough to get there early and be right up against the stage for all of this fun, although that spot did lead to me getting a hard shot right to the eyeball with a chunk of chicken during 8 piece box. Even with the pain that caused I still had a great time and can't wait for the next show. Allison had to get up early and go to work Saturday so I didn't get to hang out after the show but I did pick up a shirt on the way out. Check out the pics and get ready for your next chance to see either band. The stage lighting at Bottletree is pretty basic so the stage lighting is not good for pics. I got a few of them to come out OK, but I finally gave up and made the rest black & white so that you can actually see their faces.

BANDITOS

Banjo player and sometimes singer.

This girl was crazy on stage and a lot of fun to watch. The bass player stayed in the dark background and looked like he stepped right out of a Dave Mann painting.

I think I saw her face for a total of 3 minutes the whole show.

The rest of the guys.

FINALLY got a look at her without hair aall in her face. Damn she can sing though!

The lead singer and he has a great voice as well.

The lead guitar player. This guy could wail on that telecaster and sings as well.

 SOUTHERN CULTURE ON THE SKIDS!!!

Dave is a great drummer, the man doesn't even sit down, he just stand there and plays his ass off!

The always lovely Mary singing her song.

Another shot.

I love all the expressions Mary gets while they play. Sometimes it's just the way she looks and sometimes it's her acting silly. I'm telling you this is one of the most fun bands ever.

Mary acts along with a lot of songs, in this case she was acting up and saw my camera so she posed just for me ;-)

This lady is at EVERY SCOTS show I go to and has gotten to know the band quite well over the years. Mary asked her to get up on stage with her and help sing "House of Bamboo".

At this point in the show the lights got redder or something because my pics are so red I tried to make them look good and had to give up and convert them to B&W. I kinda like it because they seem more dramatic to me.

Mary again.

Singing something else.

I TOLD you she makes faces!

Once again.

Looking all dramatic in this one.

Rick and Mary playing their show.

Rick giving it hell on that Danelectro. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Rick Miller is THE most under-rated guitar player in music today.

AND he's quite the showman.

You can tell Rick still loves to play shows.

Classic Rick guitar face.

Having a good time during 8-piece box.

Girls love to get on stage and throw stuff.

Doing a jig. right around this time is when I caught the chicken chunk with my eye.

After a couple of songs for an encore they left the stage and we headed home. Like I said, they are a fun band and a lot of fun to watch. Check em out when you can.

This Day Last Year....

I was getting ready to go see my all time favorite band play at Zydeco. Southern Culture On The Skids is a great band that have been playing for a couple of decades and they are even better now than they ever were. If you don't have fun at a SCOTS show then you are a loser. Rick Miller is one of the most underrated guitarists playing today, Mary Huff lays down some killer and super solid bass lines and Dave Hartman plays drums just as good and as complicated as most drummers except he plays them standing up! Unfortunately for me they are playing in N.C this year but I'll still blast them a couple of times today and then go home and groove to a few of their videos on youtube. Maybe I'll even download their new CD Zombiefied, or at least go ahead and order the disc. Back to the bikes tomorrow, but TODAY WE DANCE!

The very first video ever released by SCOTS. It's a fun song and appropriate for Samhain/Halloween.

My favorite Bass Player, in her Halloween finest. Yeah I've got a crush on her. It's OK, my Wife knows and just shakes her head thinking how silly I am

Rick playing the Alabama guitar the Music in Alabama group took around to various shows all year letting bands play it while their picture was taken for the group to use to promote music in Alabama. By the way Rick said he was dressed as Fee Waybil in case you couldn't tell.

Dave giving the drums hell in his Waffle House uniform. I guess he was late getting off from his day job and had to rush to the show.

I was dressed as an extra in a 60's Biker flick. Yeah, it was cheesy but I was in a rush to put something together. Hey, the damn blonde wig got me noticed by you know who ;-)

During Camel Walk these girls were tossing Little Debbie oatmeal pies into the crowd.

The title song from the new album . It's actually an album made for Australia years ago that is being released here with a bunch of new songs added. This video was the contest winner to make a new video for the song.

Back the the bikes tomorrow. I made a new sissy bar for the softail that I can show you pics of.