Music Beat
Boots and the Hoots were, well, a hoot as usual for a sold out show at the Slice, Saturday, Oct. 3.
I arrived in time to catch the last two songs of a trimmed down Tyler Allen and the Red hot Hayseeds aka lead guitarist Tyler Allen and Dayna Lyn Moritz.
They played country classic “Happy Trails,” a but followed it up with one of my favourites “Play Me One We Know,” all about people shouting out tired requests for the same classic rock hits.
Boots Graham, always seems to be in a good mood, even after cutting off the tip of his thumb, which required a few line up changes for his set.
Tyler Allen added some hot country friend leads, which Graham gave up acoustic guitar and rhythm guitar duties to special guest, Peter and the Wolves frontman Howlin’ Pete Cormier, who also augmented the group’s sound with some honky tonk piano playing. Keith Rogers held down the bottom end on upright bass.
“ I don’t know what to do with my hands now,” quipped Graham, ,who grinned his way through a solid set of mostly original country music, which showed off Graham’s self deprecating sense of humour.
He added a Hank Williams classic “Honky Tonk Blues,” early on in his set, but focussed on originals about hitch hiking and trucking. One of those highlights was “Turnpike.”
An older song a hilarious take on country tropes “Whisk All Drinky,” was a highlight as always.
Another new highlight was about The Vat in Red Deer.
“ It‘s like the Slice of Red Deer,” Graham explained.
His show is just what people need in troubled times, because it is all about good humour and good music.
The Oi Street Scoundrels, a local punk super group including members of the Scallywags, Hockey Moms and Chief Mountain, played a solid set behind plexiglass boxes of energetic street punk.
