JEREMIAH AND THE RED EYES @ echo

scots

Southern Culture on the Skids || Listen || Watch

Friday night’s Southern Culture on the Skids show at the Gothic Theatre left a mark on Denver, as they used down-home country pickin’, grinnin’ (and just the right amount of fried chicken) to lead a packed house to hillbilly stomping glee. The venue became a back woods hoe-down as frontman Rick Miller and his cohorts strung together a set of pure white-trash-in-a-blue-collar fun, with silver tongue deftly planted in cheek.

From the first strums of the opening number, Miller mixed surf, punk and country guitar wizardry with slack-jaw wit as he sang his half of the songs. Bassist (and heartbreaking truck stop beauty queen) Mary Huff belted out her share of the set in strong, sultry vocals from beneath a nearly Marge Simpson-sized, red bouffant wig, forming a no-nonsense rhythm section, and the core of funk behind the band’s shimmy-groove, with drummer Dave Hartman and touring rhythm guitarist Tim Barnes.

The quartet successfully mixed humor and sexual innuendo with the perfect amount of schtick, and ended up sounding anything but camp. Huff, decked out in white go-go boots, shining gold nylons, a miniskirt and what looked like a 7-11 clerk’s zippered uniform shirt, adjusted her makeup between almost every song. As she introduced the Wanda Jackson classic “Funnel of Love,” she also drew down the zipper on her blouse and adjusted her bra, preparing both herself and the audience for its saucy sensuality. – Denver Post

with:
Lynda Kay
Jeremiah and the Red Eyes