Reverend Horton Heat at Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro, NCWeb: reverendhortonheat.com

Contact: sethweiss@atomicmusicgroup.com

Players: Jim Heath aka Rev. Horton Heat, guitars, vocals, preachin’; Jimbo Wallace, bass, double bass, vocals; Jonathan Jeter, drums, percussion

This wasn’t just a show—it was a psychobilly sermon that erupted into a rockabilly riot the moment this three-alarm fire walked onstage. And there can be no doubt: rockabilly is alive and well in the church of what’s happening now, and its Pastor, Prophet and Minister of Groove is the Rev. Horton Heat hisself!

Tonight, the Reverend Horton Heat took the scenic route to Bedlam, and this enthusiastic, very vocal crowd went right along with him—no questions asked—drenched in a sermon of guitar groove that never let up.

Maybe that’s the whole point. It was loud, immersive and loaded with rockabilly guitar and boogie riffs that had every player in the crowd salivating, anxious to get back to the bedroom and practice what they’d just witnessed. From the first notes of “Bullet,” “Baddest” and “Rock ’n’ Roll Now,” it was a rockabilly wet dream—and you could hear every shade of the groove imaginable.

Think early Carl Perkins on a bus driven by Wanda Jackson, with Scotty Moore loading the bags, Gene Vincent serving Mai Tais, and the great Cliff Gallup and Brian Setzer playing cards in the back and shouting out the roadside attractions. Oh, and maybe a little bit of the Centuries thrown in for good measure.

It’s high-energy proto-punk, and the songs are wildly creative in that unmistakable groove-a-billy style. Tucked among the next three rockers was “Teach,” a beautiful, down-tempo billy-ballad that clearly demonstrated the Reverend’s remarkable touch. 

This trio was on fire, and the bass player was tearing through the rockabilly bass lines with complete insanity. His white shock of hair flew this way and that as he slapped and slammed that poor bass into submission. Stop! Help! Police!

“Galaxy,” “Do I Love You” and “Big Red Rocket” showcased another side of this groove machine. Playing rockabilly that fast can obscure just how schooled—and downright musically sophisticated—these boys really are. “D for Danger” and “I Can’t Surf” revealed a sonic intelligence that could easily be missed amid all the glorious commotion.

Brian Setzer and the Stray Cats pulled this genre out of the dusty trunk of lost and discarded grooves. The Reverend grabbed that torch, poured gasoline on it and headed straight down the tracks.

This band has complete control of the madness. They take it to the edge, balance it on a shoestring fifty floors above the pavement, then lower you so smoothly that you think you’re fine—until the next song hits like the hot kiss at the end of a wet fist. The post Reverend Horton Heat at Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro, NC first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.