Wednesday, June 2, 2010

REVIEW: THE REVEREND HORTON HEAT AT MEXICALI LIVE

How do you know when a band is the real deal?  A decade and a half after signing to the "hot" alternative rock label (and about a decade after leaving said label), The Reverend Horton Heat ROCKED a bar full of crazy psychobilly fans on a Tuesday night. In Teaneck, New Jersey. 

I can't comment on the entire show, I got there late due to other committments (a class I'm taking), but after a long day of non-rock activities, some time with the Rev is exactly what I needed.

Back in the day (the mid-'90s), the band was starting to get some pretty big gigs, on thier own and opening for others.  They still play some pretty big places, including the Highline Ballroom in New York City, which they usually sell out two nights in a row. Mexicali Live in Teaneck is somewhat less glamourous, but the Reverend doesn't care about that. The people coming out were true fans, and the Rev and the band were more than happy to melt our faces with their awesome talent. Does it bug them that other bands that were around at the same time play much bigger shows? Maybe, but no one gets into rockabilly to get rich, and these guys are absolutely true to who they are, that's why we love them. P.S. it wasn't a "I Love the '90s" type deal: they played lots of songs from their latest album, Laughing and Crying With The Reverend Horton Heat, one of my favorite albums of 2009, and the crowd loved those songs.

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