What a beautiful night it was and what an evening to be enjoying your first outdoor concert of the year at Knuckleheads! Although the event's starting time was advertised as 9 PM and in actuality didn't start until well after that, when we arrived at 7 PM, all of the front row tables and seating was spoken for and we were lucky to find a picnic table not too far back. This worked out well for us, as we were able to access the stage area for photos and far enough back that the sound was tolerable.
The first group was one that regulars here are more than just familiar with. The Rumblejetts, featuring Jim Holopter on guitar & vocals, Ted Kite on drums & vocals and Jason Ford on bass & vocals are a high-energy Rockabilly band that once played a weekly gig here for 92 straight weeks! This antimated trio began their set with "Jeanie Jeanie," "Speed," "Clicky Clack" and "Mary Go Round" with stand-up drummer Ted Kite providing a lot of the steam, bounding across the stage, keeping the crowd in a frenzy. Buck Owens' "Tiger By The Tail" was next, followed by "All By Myself," "Cool Down Baby," "Turn Me Loose," "Baby Come Out Tonight," "Gone Gone Gone," "Train Kept Rollin," "Knock Down Drag Out," "Talk About Love" and "Road Rockets." Their set concluded with "Kitty Kat," a Fats Domino tune, "Please Don't Leave Me," "Lonely Wolf," "Please Don't Touch" and "Liquored Up" which featured bass player Jason Ford laying flat on his back, supporting the big dog-house bass with his feet, playing some fierce licks!
We certainly enjoyed listening to this group and went home with a couple of their CD's in tow. For more information on the group check out their website at www.rumblejetts.com or their MySpace site at www.myspace.com/rumblejetts .
Accompanied by Justin Amaral on drums and Jason Rathman on electric bass the rest of the evening belonged to the man once known as "Austin's Best Kept Secret" -- Junior Brown. Although he is equally adept as a singer, songwriter & producer, Junior is best known for his instrumental work and inventing his instrument of choice -- the guit-steel, which actually combines the standard 6-string guitar and the steel guitar. Dressed in a dark western suit and white ten-gallon hat, he placed the guit-steel on it's special stand and the deep, resonant vocals began with "Broke Down South Of Dallas," "Party Lights" and "Lifeguard Larry." A crowd favorite, "My Wife Thinks You're Dead" was next, followed by "I Hung It Up," "Long Walk Back To San Antone," "Live & Love All Day," "Give Me A Little Old Fashioned Love," "The Better Half," "Sing Me A Sad Song" and perhaps his signature song, "Highway Patrol." "Level Two Chili," a song about the spicy treats found in the US Southwest, featured Junior's bi-lingual skills and the crowd roared when he picked and sang "Kansas City."
Of course, this wouldn't have been a Junior Brown concert without the terrific instrumentals here tonight and among them were "Running With The Wind," "Pipeline," "Walk Don't Run," "Gotta Get Up Every Morning" and "Steel Guitar Rag." We throughly enjoyed the music and the visit with the Rumblejetts, who we found out are from Shawnee, KS, very close to where we live. The same cannot be said for Mr. Brown, unfortunately. He chose to have absolutely no contact with anyone after the event concluded and no CD's or other merchandise was offered for sale. We found this to be rather strange behavior indeed! At any rate, this was an enjoyable evening with some great music and we send a big THANKS out to Frank Hicks for his kindness and hospitality. Just a reminder -- the Bellamy Brothers will be appearing here at Knuckleheads, Friday June 5th! (Below) top - Junior Brown & the guit-steel bottom - The Rumblejetts