{"id":10901,"date":"2016-03-31T14:06:59","date_gmt":"2016-03-31T21:06:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/?p=10901"},"modified":"2016-03-31T14:06:59","modified_gmt":"2016-03-31T21:06:59","slug":"psychobilly-freakout-reverend-horton-heat-pack-the-whisky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/2016\/03\/31\/psychobilly-freakout-reverend-horton-heat-pack-the-whisky\/","title":{"rendered":"Psychobilly Freakout: Reverend Horton Heat Pack The Whisky"},"content":{"rendered":"

Review & photos by Andrew Bansal<\/strong><\/p>\n

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March 22nd 2016, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood CA:\u00a0<\/strong>While not exactly heavy metal by any means, Dallas, Texas psychobilly trio Reverend Horton Heat\u00a0have found themselves on Metal Assault and its readers’ radar, and over the three\u00a0decades of their existence, have created quite the crossover, attracting metalheads to their gigs and instigating metal-like mosh pits with their fast-paced, thrashy\u00a0brand of rock ‘n roll\u00a0with touches of punk, R&B and country. Their tour as main support to Mot\u00f6rhead in 2009 was this writer’s first exposure to Reverend Horton Heat, and all attempts have been made to not miss a single gig of theirs since then. On Tuesday March 22nd 2016, on a US headline tour\u00a0in support of their eleventh studio album ‘Rev’ (2014), Reverend Horton Heat visited Los Angeles to play in front of a packed house at the Whisky-A-Go-Go.<\/p>\n

At 10:40, Reverend Horton Heat took the stage and for the next nearly two hours, entertained the audience with a hefty 25-song set of material old and new. They started old-school with ‘Big Sky’ and ‘Baddest of the Bad’ off of the ’94 ‘Liquor In The Front’ album, and then went straight into their most popular tune, the ’90 classic ‘Psychobilly Freakout’. In comparison to previous Reverend Horton Heat live experiences in LA\/Orange County, it was rather surprising to hear this song so early in the set, and this\u00a0may have been a case of the band playing their trump card too early in the game, as the audience didn’t quite seem ready for the insanity the song typically brings. This is the kind of song a fan would wait the entire show for if it came as the last item of the encore. In a set that otherwise fulfilled all expectations of quality and quantity, the misplacement of their best song was perhaps the band’s only blemish, albeit a minor one at that.<\/p>\n

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The band was in its element, iconic frontman Jim Heath proving his agelessness with an exemplary and inspiring performance on vocals and guitar. Certainly no other rock ‘n roll musician rocks as hard in a safari suit. Meanwhile, the evergreen\u00a0Jimbo Wallace on upright bass was up to his usual tricks and antics, as was drummer Scott Churilla. But besides this holy trinity, the fans were also treated to a segment wherein Reverend Horton Heat brought upon Unknown Hinson, a North Carolina-based comedian\/musician best known for his role as the voice of Early Cuyler on the Adult Swim cartoon series Squidbillies, as guest frontman for five songs in the second half of the set, and also in the encore. This added a unique touch to this Reverend Horton gig and infused further entertainment, after which it was back to the band’s own classics such as ‘400 Bucks’ and ‘Galaxy 500’ to close out the set. The crowd was having a blast, as was evident from the constant and lively mosh pits during the band’s best known songs, and the applause after every song otherwise.<\/p>\n

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Reverend Horton Heat with Unknown Hinson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Reverend Horton Heat show is not only a no-brainer for psychobilly\/country fans, but is also something all punk, rock ‘n roll and metal fans should experience, because it simply does not\u00a0disappoint, is invariably fun-filled from start to finish, and one taste of it is powerful enough to get you hooked for life. The Whisky-A-Go-Go indeed underwent a psychobilly freakout on this night, as all audiences around the country will on the\u00a0upcoming dates.<\/p>\n

(If you like what you’ve read, support Metal Assault and buy a shirt<\/a>!)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Check out Reverend Horton Heat’s US tour dates on the band’s official website<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reverend Horton Heat photos:<\/strong><\/p>\n