29 Apr 11

"...you're badass ...[you] know your stuff..."
Chris in between Stick Fight and The Von Ehrics sets

Hey, blogspot readers, SouthSide's getting her Texas Two Foot Stomp while rockin' a saloon! Off her usual stomping grounds (i.e. Elbo Room, Double Door or elsewhere) on a Friday night, this reviewer's adventure took her to Quenchers. The bar was already in full swing with its regular crowd enjoying drinks when she arrived to see The Von Ehrics with local band StickFight opening. SouthSide was quite leary about the lineup for tonight (a punk band opening for a Texan country/rock band) as well as the acoustics since some of her friends have performed there before.

She does recommend checking out local punkers StickFight at their next scheduled show for its explosive guitar riffs and vibrant punk sound, blogspot readers. Despite the acoustics not befitting the band's energy (or front man Johnny's dynamic vocals), SouthSide liked how Stick captured punk's early days - that hardcore, gritty vibe of rebellion - within its music. During one particular song, Johnny truly poured out the emotions heard from his falsetto voice making the entire room feel the angst dripping from the lyrics while the band added an electropop sound with the punk grittiness. Very steamy ...and very dirty punk rock. This reviewer has one minor suggestion for StickFight - need to work on the band image. She automatically knew the band rocked with a punk sound from how Stick's bassist Adam and Johnny were dressed. The other members really didn't fit the theme of the night so it threw her off a little while reviewing their performance. Visit StickFight on Facebook for more information about this band's music and more.

Yeehaw! SouthSide feels a little Country as well as Rock and Roll! Time to kick up the energy with some hot Texan-Tejano mix rock by The Von Ehrics, blogspot readers. Currently on tour in support of newly released CD - Two Foot Stomp, this band's hot rockin' sound had the audience all fired up as if they just sampled a batch of five-alarm Texas chili. Von Ehrics (named in memory of a famous wrestling family) brought to the stage its brand of spontaneous bursts of sound flowing off the guitars and rhythmic percussion beats. Enough energy to have a couple show off their best Tejano TX Stomp moves for the audience. SouthSide enjoyed how the band never once slowed down their momentum between songs as they performed an amazing 17-song set (some off the current album). To be honest, blogspot readers, the performance blew by so fast that it didn't feel like Von Ehrics performed every single song ...not with that hot country/western music rockin' Quenchers. Yes, the acoustics did work against this band even though they somehow made it work for their advantage. Robert and the guys packed The Von Ehrics performance with heart-pounding songs like Last of the Working Slobs (track 1), Smokewagon (track 3) and Rock and Roll (track 6) as well as Mexico and Highway Junkie. Each and more were performed with vigorous fervor and spitfire sound especially during the instrumental bridge. There was a moment when the vibrant country rock sound slowed down to highlight Robert's dynamic voice under a blues-tone driven vibe in which one could hear the emotions dripping within the lyrics. Rocking out the saloon audience with a fiery gospel-fused rock version of I'll Fly Away (very soulful), SouthSide highly recommends catching The Von Ehrics at their next show. Visit http://www.vonehrics.com or http://www.myspace.com/thevonehrics for tour schedule.


Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide