Southern Culture on the Skids (from left to right): Tim, Dave, Rick and Mary
Sorry this review/story is very, very overdue but when SCOTS hit the stage at midnight and finished around 2-230 AM, Sunday is practically spent sleeping. However, this appearance was very special since it was Somara’s first time to see these guys. To celebrate, I twisted her arm into making the band a batch of banana pudding for them to do with it as they pleased. It was meant to be a gift, more about it later.
I’m glad we arrived early too. The Continental Club was packed with people wanting to see the band.
After the opener finished up (a really decent duo called The Jade Idol), SCOTS arrived and proceeded with all those crowd pleasers: “Biscuit Eater,” “Voodoo Cadillac,” “Hittin’ on Nothin'” and “69 Eldorado.” When Rick started the opening rift on “Banana Puddin’,” Mary quickly stopped him to present Somara’s pudding! Mary then handed it to one of the Dirt Track Date Dancers with orders to let everyone who wanted a sample to check it out followed by the request to the crowd, please don’t fling any of it at each other.
The Dirt Track Date Dancers leave the stage to share the puddin'
It's day old and bold!
Something that's easy on the gums and teeth!
Soak it up with your vanilla wafer!
There were more hits at the conclusion of Somara’s pudding made the rounds: “Daddy was a Preacher, Mama was a Go Go Girl,” “Liquored up, Lacquered down,” “Whole Lotta Things,” “Camel Walk,” “Eight Piece Box” (fried chicken did fly) and “Mojo Box.” I finally heard them do “40 Miles to Vegas” for the first time; Rick explained the story behind the tune later in the evening (more like morning).
I was shocked to hear Mary thank me to the crowd during the encore. The credit really belonged to Somara because I can only make the pudding that comes in box or pre-made in a plastic cup. So I cajoled a very tired wife to stick around, let me close the tab and get our face time with the band.
Rick Miller and me. He's one of the best Surf guitarists around.
Rick was a delight to chat with as always; making sure his Macs are doing alright (he has a home studio plus he produces other bands). Somara and I had a great conversation with the new addition to SCOTS, Tim (rhythm guitar) and his wife (I rudely forget her name). Through Tim we learned that the fried chicken is in the contract: No fried chicken, no show. I can see why club owners are reluctant. People drink. People get rowdy. Drumsticks are too tempting not to hurl at the audience. Mary was gracious and heaped compliments on Somara over the pudding. Good thing Somara isn’t the jealous kind. Mary gave me a nice smooch on the cheek! We wrapped up talking to Dave and his girlfriend (who I also rudely can’t remember by name). Dave recently took the plunge on getting a Mac which meant we discussed different tactics on transferring vinyl to MP3 among many technical matters. The cool part was speaking to his girlfriend who told me all about how SCOTS are friends with members of Let’s Active, namely the former drummer, now currently part of Dex Romweber Duo.
Somara and Mary together at last!
Despite the exhaustion, I think Somara was glad to finally see one of my favorite live bands and it turned out to be such a great, unique time. Austin was the end of the mini-tour though. They were heading home to take a break. Then they’re off to Spain in a couple weeks. SCOTS will be returning to the States to later this year and I highly recommend them. There’s more to them than the cartoonish, exaggeration of the South. They are great musicians who can fire up a crowd. Live music is more than just seeing your favorite hits performed on a stage. It’s an analog multi-media endeavor and this band always leaves me with awesome memories even though I’m a Yankee.
Besides closing with a huge endorsement to try to see them when the come back to America and I did recently buy the new album by Dex Romweber Duo without hesitation thanks to Rick being on the first track in addition to Cat Power, Neko Case and Exene C (from X).