On another hot and muggy night in August, the 5th to be exact, the Dead South came to Grinders, along with Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band and Tejon Street Corner Thieves.
The folk-bluegrass band was touring in support of their recent releases Easy Listening for Jerks Vol. 1 and Vol. 2.
Coming from Colorado, the thrashgrass/blue band Tejon Street Corner Thieves opened the show. The duel (who have a revolving door of bass players so each tour will present a new one) are no stranger to the Metro area, or to Kansas; as they spoke about a few previous shows on in the area during their set. This is not the only clue as their song “Oh Yeah” speaks of both the metro area and Wichita, KS.
The set was fast and packed with energy, with only a few stops between songs to acknowledge the crowd and to remind everyone that the band really liked whiskey. What kind? Who knows…or maybe the band was not picky about which one they preferred.
As the sun started to noticeably set behind the buildings in the Crossroads Art District in KCMO, Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band took the stage. While the husband and wife (the Rev. on guitar and harmonica and Breezy Peyton on washboard, and throw in Max Senteney, the drummer) put on one hell of a show, a lot of the band’s hits were missing from their set; songs like “Raise A Little Hell”, “Clap Your Hands”, and “We Deserve a Happy Ending” to name a few. The set list did highlight, as always, Rev. Peyton’s fantastic ability to shred on each one of his unique and classic guitars that he brought on the stage. Ultimately, with songs that were included in the set, like “Poor Until Payday”, The Rev. and his band brought the brim and firestone down on the crowd, leaving them energized, if not more, for the headliner.
As The Dead South got ready to take the stage, four faux stained glass windows lit up, one for each band member of the band. Under this light, the only like that lit up the stage, the members walked on. The lights would remain minimal for the rest of the evening, but just enough to not only set a mood, but also so fitting for the band’s onstage presents.
It was the single spotlights mixed with the stained glass backdrop that played second fiddle (all puns intended) with the earth shattering sounds of the four piece as they took the crowds ears by storm. With sweat dripping off of each members’ face by the third song in, the band pushed on through the humid night air with little breeze. Their set let set everything else on fire, playing “Long Gone”, “Every Man Needs a Chew”, “The Recap”, “Time for Crawlin’”, “??”, “Snake Man Pt. 1”, “Snake Man Pt. 2”, “Black Lung”, “Smootchin’ in the Ditch”, “Spaghetti”, “That Bastard Son”, “Travellin’ Man”, “Gunslinger’s Glory”, “The Dead South”, “In Hell I’ll Be In Good Company”, “Honey You” and the encore of “Broke Cowboy”, and “Banjo Odyssey”, there was no one in the crowd that went home upset or wanting for more.
