Reverend Horton Heat drew an eclectic crowd to Crossroads in Kansas City on the evening of Friday, June 14th. Classic tattoos, Converse hi-tops, red lipstick or slicked back hair, and suspenders were just a few common items of dress. Crossroads is one of Kansas City’s best outdoor venues, small and intimate, surrounded by big city skyline, and basically in the backyard of one of the top sandwich shops within the city limits.
The opening acts for Reverend Horton Heat were a good setup to the rockabilly sound of the headliner. Rumblejetts started the night off with upbeat ‘50s-inspired rock and roll and the small crowd responded well to the opening act, giving them lots of Kansas City love.
The next two bands, Dirtfoot, hailing from Louisiana, and Ha Ha Tonka from the Lake of the Ozarks (only about two hours from Kansas City) competed for best act of the night. The crowd grew as the sun dropped below the horizon and Dirtfoot took the stage. The grungy, folky sound was well received by the crowd. Toward the end of the set song requests were being shouted at the band and the crowd demanded one more song even after their time was up. Ha Ha Tonka took to the stage once the crowd was satisfied with Dirtfoot.
Lots of Ha Ha Tonka t-shirts were to be seen in the audience, plastered on the chests of what looked to be moms and dads or friends of the band – not so uncommon when a ‘local’ band plays in Kansas City. Stage lights came alive as night set on the venue and Ha Ha Tonka performed a folk and rock-filled set, driven by frontman Brian Roberts. The crowd cheered when the band did anything: telling jokes, talking about their recent European tour, attempting to sell CD’s and t-shirts, and of course playing music. One would almost start to worry if this was going to become one of those shows where the opening bands are better received than the headliner. That, not so unfortunately, was not so.
Reverend Horton Heat seemed to take the best from every band before them – the orange Gretsch guitar and upright bass from Rumblejetts, the musical prowess and diversity of Dirtfoot, and the insane crowd response to Ha Ha Tonka – and combine it into what can only be described as speed rockabilly. The band opened with “Psychobilly Freakout”, off their 1990 debut album Smoke ‘em If You Got ‘em. The band continued with one piece from each consecutive album for the first several songs of the set. At the announcement each new number, the crowd responded with nothing short of hysteria. The polite but genuine applause for the three opening bands was gone, replaced with screams and yells, hands raised, demanding more of the band on stage. Bassist Jimbo Wallace filled the stage with not only his huge upright bass, but also his giant personality. Fans screamed at him, apparently wanting only a look for nod of acknowledgment. Scott Churilla held a steady beat on the drums and let Jim Heath (the Reverend) and Jimbo do the stage work. The set included “It’s Martini Time” off the album of the same name, and crowd favorite “Jimbo Song” off Space Heater.
The crowd never tired and the band delivered to their every wish. By the end of the night Crossroads had seen four diverse groups pulling from the same pool of musical inspiration send a Kansas City crowd home very, very satisfied.
-Olivia Walker
