Reverend Horton Heat

House of Blues, Anaheim

I've seen the good Reverend three times now in the last eight months. I have no complaints and neither did any of the crowds. The last two shows ran back to back over two nights, with Throw Rag (once again) and Southern Culture on the Skids, opening. There isn't much to this band ... just the Reverend on a beautiful orange Gretsch hollow-body (with obligatory whammy-bar), Jimbo on bass (upright of course), and Scott on drums. They produce so much sound between just the three of them it's amazing ... and it's all good. Heat's sets consist of most of his harder driving more up-tempo "hits" with a few others thrown in for good measure. I don't think I'd really ever get tired of watching and hearing them play Wiggle Stick or 400 Bucks so as long as they keep including those two in their sets I'll be satisfied. Anyway, if you like this style of music, they are a must-see, and would be a good night on the town for any music lover. As for the two shows, the first night was the better of the two, with a far younger crowd than the one that turned out Friday night. Old folks just don't get it. The younger crowd was far more appreciative and far less reserved ... you've gotta love it. And thankfully, they were both reasonably well behaved, with just the right amount of moshing and crowd surfing to make it interesting but not annoying. The strictly business, no-nonsense performance lasted a good two hours with a few smoke breaks that did nothing to diminish the flow of the evening. The band knows how to perform and keep the crowd up, and to top it off their music kicks butt. Go see them ... you won't be disappointed.

You can find Reverend Horton Heat here.