It didn’t leave my car CD player for a solid month.
But on Sunday, April 17, my THC cherry got officially popped when I saw the band live for the first time.
And it was awesome.
THC was playing Shifty’s for a special live broadcast of “Soundcheck” with Dave Frisina on WTKW-FM 99.5 (TK99) and it brought the life of the party to a new level. On the album, THC struck me as more mellow with country undertones and a soft, folk feeling aided by harmonica, sweet vocals and light, hopping guitar.
Live, THC is raw with a distinct Rolling Stones feel, mixing blues, rock and a little country twang, with ripping guitars, both electric and steel. Herron looks larger than life among the others on stage and is easily the eye-catcher, swinging his guitar as he digs into solos.
Dancers, very literally young and old, filled the small space between the islands and stools with swinging arms and feet and the band reciprocated with new and old songs--originals and covers. Among the cover set were incredibly unique versions of Radiohead’s “Creep” and Pink Floyd’s “Hey You.” Another easy crowd favorite went over with Paul Simon’s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.” In the radio set, Herron stuck with several tracks primarily from his new album Talkabout and the previous, Trivium.
Off the new album, “The Tree Song” hit a chord with sweet lyrics bouncing above the melody as Herron sang, “…And all I ever need is right there in my tree/I never wanna come down/I don’t ever wanna come down/I don’t ever wanna come down, baby, without you.”
From there, I jetted over to the Westcott to catch the end of Charlie Hunter’s set--the jazz master of his custom seven-string and eight-string guitars. The way he casually jumps around bass, rhythm and solo guitar lines is both amazing and depressing. How can one guy do all that? It’s moments like that my jealousy of such musicians gets the best of me.
He played the set with a single drummer behind the kit to accompany his flying fingers and visibly impressed the small crowd as they demanded an encore. See the end of his set below.
Sunday might be my new favorite day of the week.
I dig.
Loving this version.
A little country twang.
Pretty good way to end the night...
