Outlaws know how to have fun. After all, you have to love a band who plays the Inspector Gadget theme for their sound check.
Vancouver’s Joey Only Outlaw band had a surprisingly strong and enthusiastic crowd hopping at the Slice, Monday (June 21).
Joey Only sounded like Hank Williams, Stompin’ Tom Connors, Bob Dylan and the finalists of an auctioneer’s competition thrown into a blender full of amphetamines. He put on an engaging show beginning with a couple songs about busses — ‘Greyhoundin Guitar Man’ and ‘Birthday Blizzard Busride Blues,’ and sang about a variety of unusual Canadiana related topics as he lead his band through most of the new CD ‘Transgression Trail.’
His wife Leah Martin played the June to Joey’s Johnny Cash, by adding percussion and pretty harmony vocals and especially shone on a version of Cash’s ‘Jackson’ which they changed to ‘Jasper.’
Pedal steel guitarist Mike Zinger was in a zone as was upright bassist Justine Fischer who grinned and danced while she laid down the upbeat groove.
Drummer Kenan Sunger played a couple drum solos and tossed his drum sticks in the air as Fischer fed him a drink. Rowan Lipkovits was in his own little groovy world on piano and took a turn on accordion too to add flavours to the music.
I especially enjoyed ‘Honky Tonk Hockey’ about playing hockey and music down in Nashville, which segued into a smoking version of Stompin’ Tom Connors’ ‘The Hockey Song.’
Other highlights were a trifecta of punk rock country themed songs including ‘Spiderland Punkfest,’ and ‘Punk Rock Country Band.’
He also threw in a set of Stampede themed songs including Showdown’s famed ‘Rodeo Song,’ a cover of an Andrew Neville and the Poor Choices song and a couple more exceptional originals including ‘Haligonian Hellride,’ and one of my favourites ‘Fire on Anarchist Mountain.’ They were all set to play until dawn, but left the stage to let a new jam band called Hot Pie make their debut.
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