The only reason I heard tell about these jaspers playing was the fact Sean Epstein hipped me to the upcoming show. Legendary Texas wildman band the Hickoids sure enough lived up to their rep, playing crazy, stomping, twin guitar rock’n’roll done cowhand shitkicker style: thundering riffs, screaming vocals, and discordant, dueling leads. One big highlight was their blood and thunder cover of Benny And The Jets. The gig was held at the Black Cat’s tiny, new Red Room bar, immediately adjacent to the main hall on the second floor (the dank and cramped basement has been rented out to retail, another sign of increasing 14th Street gentrification). It was weird since only the bar was air conditioned in the dead of a DC summer and the rest of the place (to include the men’s room) was a hot, humid, airless mess.
This was probably one of the best rock’n’roll shows in DC this year and maybe, like what, twenty people showed up, all or most friends of Sean. Granted, it’s August, colleges are out and people are on vacation, but that’s still indisputable evidence what a boring, square town DC is. I managed to be the lucky duck that snatched their poster down from the wall, hence the scan above. I tucked it away in my gaudy cowboy shirt. From the men’s room, I heard someone outside sigh in disappointment when he realized the trophy had been taken away from him. Ha ha. Ain’t bragging if you done it.
The Hickoids have been around for about 35 years by their own admission and are a fixture on the Austin rock scene. They give their music that real Texas try (full bore, no let up), are funny as hell (another Texas trait), and I hope they play for 35 more years. Everyone of you that reads this should see them if they’re in your town or within a radius of five hundred miles or so. They’ve got a new double album out, All the World’s A Dressing Room: Live In L.A. 08.24.2018. Run out and buy it. Or better yet, save yourself some stress and click the second link below with one of those little old piggies of yours.
https://hickoids.bandcamp.com/album/all-the-worlds-a-dressing-room-live-in-l-a-08242018