Live: The Tumbleweeds (100Bands Review #21)
What’s Left: 312 Days. 79 Bands.
Band #21: The Tumbleweeds
When/Where: October 21st, The Pinhook, Durham, NC
Expectations: None whatsoever before I showed up. Had never heard of these guys. As soon as I saw them, though, I expected some totally deep-South country. Expected to be extremely overwhelmed.
Concert: To be honest, I didn’t even intend to show up in time to see the opener for this show. I was really busy on Thursday and only knew of the headliner, Hurray for the Riff Raff. I was a little surprised when I saw this group of three guys hop on the stage (fourth pictured is actually a member of Hurray for the Riff Raff). The main singer was wearing the biggest and most in-your-face cowboy hat I’ve seen in a long time. Yet the backup guitarist was wearing a trucker hat and construction boots. And the third guy? He looked pretty emo – thin hair that seeminly hadn’t been washed for days, potentially the twin brother of Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Seemed like a bit of a mismatch to me.
The show started, and sure enough – this was some deep South country. I remembered that Hurray for the Riff Raff is from New Orleans, so it made a little sense that they brought along a country band, but I wouldn’t think it would be this country. But all along I was reminding myself of the rules for this whole 100Bands pledge – push yourself to the limits, go see bands you wouldn’t have seen otherwise. So there I was. Doing my best not to cringe when the twangiest of songs were played.
There were some bright spots though! One song did indeed get my foot stomping. Now, their foot stomping is probably what got mine stomping, and with the lack of a drummer, I’m not sure how that will be sustainable when they’re in a venue that holds more than 100 people, but I’ll leave that up to them. They did have a nice slow song at the end that I found myself swaying to, as well. Maybe it wasn’t all that bad! Nah, I’m sticking to my guns – not my style. Hoping that Hurray for the Riff Raff can gain a bit more traction and tour with an opener that fits their style a bit more.
Concert Afterglow: As somebody who doesn’t enjoy country music, this show wasn’t for me. They had some nice songs, but those were overshadowed by the twangy songs.
Recommendation: Country’s your thing? Go for it – this would be an awesome band to see! Not digging country? Not worth your time.
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Written by Lydia || Twitter | Facebook
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