Tuesday ACL Pre-Show 2008

So, I flew in to Austin from Dallas with a little tail wind and beginnings of a head cold. Hopefully this doesn't last long. Deb and Linda had my room all ready to go and after some good hot wings we were off to the Saxon Pub for The Band of Heathens. What we didn't realize was that Bruce Hughes, who used to play with Bob Schneider not to mention Poi Dog Pondering, was the next act on the bill. How cool is that? 

The band of Heathens is a three guitar three vocal country rock band with plenty of harmonies and great guitar licks. Along with the guitars bass and drums they added a keyboard player (with lots of organ) giving them a lot more funk to the sound. I've never heard them without the keyboards and honestly, I don't think I need to. They had a great sound with him and I hope they keep him in the band. This was a very nice way to  start the weeks activities. 

Bruce Hughes had a typical Austin lineup. Everyone had Austin creds, from Judd Newcomb who has played with everyone in Austin was on guitar. The drummer was borrowed from The Band of Heathens. The bass player, Harmoni ( http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=7295699 ) replace Bruce when Bob kicked him out of the band (he even joked about it on stage) and the keyboard player, Mark ( http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=26790201 ) is a producer for lots of bands in Austin. Mark by the way had a theremin built into his keyboard (more on that later). Bruce, played a sort of funky, Philly white soul with lots of mean solos from Judd and Mark. Mark was just really amazing, turning the keyboard into a junk box of sounds that weren't really music but fit the songs perfectly. All were seated during the entire show, and yet, it rocked and we bounced and... What a way to start ACL week for us. 

Tonight may be a triple bill: Charlie Robison at Hills Cafe, and then Jon Dee Graham and James McMurtry at the Continental Club. Hopefully this head cold disapates soon.