by HoneyBee
Last night I stopped by the Rhythm Room to hear a band I've been hearing alot about, The Mother Truckers so I thought it was about time to go check them out! As I walked into the bar it was very low lit, with just the neon signs around the bar. The bartenders were great! I don't think I had to wait more than two seconds till one of them at least say hey and head my way.
  The show started off with some locals from Tempe, Arizona called the Maricopa County Prison Band. The band consisted of 4 guys, each playing a different instrument. I think my favorite instrument was the washboard.. Yes this guy actually had a washboard strung around his next, tapping and running his fingers up and down the board. He also had his right foot tapping a tambourine on the floor. It was very amusing to watch these guys putting all these sounds together. The drummer had this Honkey Tonk southern voice that made you want to tap your boots to the beat. One line of their songs I really got a crack out of was "You like my Farmers Tan..". Now that was something to laugh about, seeing 4 guys singing about a farmers tan, now that's just awesome! I met with the guys after the show, and they were really cool to chat with. Some were even fans of our DrunkenHillbilly website. I asked them if I could take a photo for the site, and they gave me their best poses to be posted all over the internet. Thanks guys:)
Next on the list was a 3 person band also out of Tempe, called the Flathead. They had a  single drum that set a nice tune for every song with two other guitar players. What was unique about their left handed guitar player, was that he took a right handed guitar and just flipped it upside down. When you looked at him it looked different on how he was playing cause he was stroking upwards instead of downward. The Flathead's sound have been described as "Everything from Rig Rock or Cow Punkabilly to Hillbilly Motown". It was just nice seeing 3 guys get up their and enjoying themselves.
Last but not least, these 4 folks from Austin Texas The Mother Truckers took the stage. This group has been described as, "Traditional Country chord progressions, with edgy lyrics, harmonies & face melting guitar solos...." And that's excactly what they were. The lead guitarist Josh Zee (vocals, lead guitar), was all over that guitar. While the bass guitarist was just a bobbing his head slowly enjoying the beat. While Teal Collins (vocals, ukulele & guitar) sang her heart out. The dance floor at the Rhythm Room started getting more and more crowded with people having a good time. All I could see was dresses twirling all over with couples dancing away, like all eyes were on them. It was nice seeing people enjoying themselves on a Wed night, and making every moment count knowing they still had to get up in the morning for work. This was a group of musicians that that enjoyed every last note they played and sang. It was nice seeing the crowd feed off their enthusiasm. I was once told "you can tell how good a band is by their guitar player", and he did just that.
 
The show was a blast, and you can guarantee you'll be seeing me at anyone of these bands shows in the future. I'll just try to remember to tab out next time before going home, so I don't have to run back the next day to grab my credit card;)..
~HB~ |