It was an evening of regressive rock in Brooklyn. That means lots of dudes drinking lots of beer talking about speaker cabinets and the women who put up with them. Brooklyn was one of the few east coast cities lucky enough to get a show from the Stone Axe/Sun Gods In Exile tour in preparation for the final Stoner Hands Of Doom festival in Maryland over Labor Day weekend. The show took place at the Charleston on Bedford Avenue in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. In case you don’t know, this is ground zero for ridiculous hipster trends and the trust fund sheep that follow them.
Brooklyn locals Whooping Crane opened the show. If you couldn’t afford the James Gang reunion shows a few years ago, Whooping Crane is the next best thing you can get. A true power trio, these guys are dedicated to the mid tempo boogie. With his stylish neckerchief and aviator shades guitarist Michael Lo presents himself as Lowell George playing through Johnny Winter’s white Gibson Firebird. The rhythm section of bassist Keith Avenue and drummer Bushwick Ronnie Seward groove like the Groundhogs and the Band of Gypsies. They played all the songs off their great EP and a few new ones. “Straight Dope” was the finale of their set and my personal favorite since it’s about getting high. These guys are young and slender enough to fool some of the indie rock kids but good enough to maybe wake a few of them up to good music.
My band Mighty High was up next and we were lucky enough to pull off a pretty good set. People seem to like our Black Flag Railroad routines more these days than they have in the past. We played mainly new songs and a few from our debut record Mighty High…In Drug City. We ended it on a big bang with a frenzied take on “Kick Out The Jams” that even made a few people sing along.
I was thrilled when we were done playing because that meant I could drink and watch the headliners. Sun Gods In Exile describe themselves as “southern rock from southern Maine” and that’s exactly what they play. Blackfoot, Doc Holliday and, especially, Molly Hatchet mixed with the ball busting classic rock of Nazareth, Mountain and even a little bit of Tank. They also play deafeningly LOUD. Guitarist/vocalist Adam Hitchcock set up a full Marshall stack in the little tiny basement dump where the bands play at the Charleston. Lead guitarist Tony D’agostino and bassist JL only had a mere half stack each. Luckily these guys know what they’re doing so they didn’t drown out the un-mic’d drums of Johnny Kennedy. Their new album Black Light, White Lines is out now on Small Stone and it’s a muther but the live experience is what it’s all about with these guys. The pinnacle of their set was the epic “495” which features the best southern rock guitar jam since The Outlaws “Green Grass and High Tides.” Even though there are only 2 guitars I swear I could have heard 3. Tony started soloing down on his knees, then behind his back and didn’t even blink when some drunk idiot rushed the stage to rub his beer bottle on the strings.
I owe a huge apology to Stone Axe. Weeks before the show I kept raving about how much these guys sound like Come Taste The Band-era Deep Purple. I was wrong. Stone Axe play the best Free songs that Free never got a chance to write. Guitarist Tony Reed nails the incredible tone and expression of Paul Kossof but still has a style all his own. Tony and bassist Mike Dupont both set up full stacks of Marshalls and really let them rip. Drummer Mykey Haslip beat the crap out of his drums and let everyone know how much he loved doing it. When was the last time you saw a band with a singer that wasn’t playing an instrument? When was the last time you saw a singer whose voice was actually an instrument? Well that’s exactly what Dru Brinkerhoff has. His voice is very impressive on record and even more so in a tiny bar with no monitors for him to hear himself through. Paul Rodgers, David Coverdale and Phil Lynott are all obvious influences but it sounds like Dru might actually have a few Bobby “Blue” Bland and Ray Charles albums, too. Roots!Stone Axe played killer jams from their self titled debut like “Black Widow,” “Riders Of The Night” and “There’d Be Days” (included on a CD with the latest issue of Classic Rock Magazine). The highlight was when they got the Led out on “The Skylah Rae.” I swear I saw the fog machines go into overdrive as they gave the crowd no quarter on this one.
Stone Axe is going to be doing a lot of touring in the US for the rest of this year. If they come anywhere near your town, make sure you show up. They also have some of the best merchandise around including functioning 8-track tapes!
--Woody
Whooping Crane
myspace.com/whoopingcraneleband
Mighty High
myspace.com/mightyhigh
Sun Gods In Exile
myspace.com/sungodsrock
Stone Axe
myspace.com/stoneaxe
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