Being Had and Loving It

With all the great bands in Richmond, a key selling point is being unique. It's still hard to fathom, though, how a bunch of punk rock musicians became The High Street Lowlifes. Although the tattoos remain, gone are the ripped t-shirts, electric guitars and spiked hair. Instead, you have stiff-collar shirts, dress slacks and vests, and derby hats, representing high society of the 1940s. Their music is in a style that predates rock and roll, rockabilly or rhythm and blues.

Jacques Vest, Charles "The Kid," Papist Chris and Nathiel Benton play a range of old instruments, including steel acoustic guitars, banjos, ukuleles, washboards, harmonicas, saws, bass fiddles, and most important, kazoos! And even though they play in 1940s style, they cover almost anything, including The Misfits and other punk and heavy metal songs. But based on their slogan and album title, "You've Been Had," they're not taking it seriously. It's old style music with humor and gimmicks. The band hails from Petersburg, but do most of their shows in small clubs around Richmond and even played the Edgar Allen Poe Museum. (pictured)

Seeing these guys with the kazoos had me rolling on the floor with laughter.

-- Forest George

The Dirty Truth Opens for Dickey Betts

Dickey Betts and Great Southern performed an excellent show at The National. Since I was filming the opening act, The Dirty Truth, I was both out front and backstage. It was truly electrifying to watch a living legend up close playing that mixture of Southern rock and blues that made the Allman Brothers famous.

Hobby Wright, the frontman and rhythm guitarist for The Dirty Truth, said it was "a great honor and opportunity" to play a 40-minute set on the same stage as his hero and influence, Betts. They played like there was no tomorrow. The band acquired some new fans who shared their appreciation outside while they were waiting to catch a glimpse of Betts at the end of the night. "They're going places," one guy said.

Meeting a hero and then having your band open for him earns bragging rights forever.

-- Forest George (photo credit, Betts and Wright)

Royal Pain: Simply Unique

Royal Pain provides a unique, abstract way of listening to music. Linda Sheridan and Rachel Garfi created a strange world of self-produced goofy costumes, blinking tiaras, bubble machines, and off-the-wall covers. Both play great music together, with Sheridan on rhythm guitar, sharing vocals with Garfi.

Sheridan’s perky and admittedly warped personality captivates. A gem in the Richmond music scene for years, she once covered the rare German rendition of The Beatles' “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” (“Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand,”) with her unusally low bass singing voice and steady guitar. This, along with her high-strung nature, provides only a glimpse of her unique character - filled with heart, soul, and humor. Andy Kaufman, Gilda Radner and maybe even John Lennon would have appreciated her style and genius.

Garfi, a newcomer to the music scene, sings much like Terri Clark and Gretchen Wilson, and sometimes plays straight man to Sheridan’s wackiness. She can, however, provide wild and zany moments herself, including singing an acoustic country cover of Britney Spear’s “Toxic,” with funny between song banter.

Other interesting covers the fantastic princesses perform are Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Sprit,” Outkast’s “Hey Ya,” Terri Clark’s “Girls Lie Too,” and The Dixie Chicks' “Earl Had To Die.” They have and will continue to make an audience laugh. They are truly a Royal Pain and their royal kingdom needs to be heard live and in person. Check your local princess for more details.

-- Forest George (photo credit)

Sucking Sound

What is it with the sound guys these days? So many good venues, so many good bands – but the sound guys, excepting a very few, all need some painful but absolutely accurate criticism. And here it is.

The best show I’ve heard in recent years was Tinsley Ellis at some show down by the river. Tinsley Ellis is a hard driving blues guitar slinger accompanied by bass, drums and keys. The sound guy was local (I asked), not a dedicated traveling-with-the-band sound guy. The mix was awesome: volume perfect, everything clear and articulate. Another fantastic sound mix was Aimee Mann a couple years ago at Lewis Ginter. Her voice was front and center, but all guitars and drums and bass were articulate – and absolutely perfect volume! Another great mix for a solo acoustic act was Steve Poltz at Hyperlink Cafe. At first, it was too loud and the bass strings were too pronounced and muddy. But within two songs the mix was adjusted to perfection: low volume with perfect crystal clear articulation of voice and strings for a small and intimate audience.

Contrast those mixes with these mixes. Last night at the National (which I love as a venue!) the North Mississippi Allstars played a great show. But the mix sucked! First, it was too damn loud for the space. Secondly, the kick drum was louder than any other instrument. That’s fine if you’re fifteen years old at a Hanna Montana show and all you want is to feel the air thump your chest so you can tell your friends about it at school. But come on soundmen – when you can’t hear cymbals, or even more important for North Miss Allstars flavor of music, the snare drum – it’s a problem. The bass guitar is similar to the kick drum: again, the emphasis is on the low register sound waves so that the sub-woofers really thump – but there’s no articulation, and you can’t hear the bass as much as feel it. I left after five songs – not because of the music, but because the mix was unpleasant and unenjoyable. Another terrible mix was Government Mule at Innsbrook. The bass and kick were so pronounced that Warrne Haynes was wailing on a solo – but you couldn’t hear it! I commented to the mix man. His response was, “Sounds fine right here.”

A bad mix sucks for two reasons. First, the audience doesn’t enjoy the show. You can tell when everybody stands around but nobody is playing air guitar and air drums and dancing. Secondly, the band looks out and they see an unresponsive audience – that sucks. “What’s wrong with this Richmond crowd, man – they just stand there…”

So, venue management – take the time to attend some of your own shows and check out your sound man. Sound guys – get the mix right at a low volume on the first couple songs and turn up a little during the night.

-- Tyrone Lawrence

They Were Great

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