Chelsea, Vienna. May 18, 2015
The first thing you notice about Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band is that they are not that big. Well, The Reverend is, but the band itself consists of only two more people. The second thing you notice about the band is that they are in fact “damn”….pretty damn awesome. Their brilliant mixture of roots music ranges from blues, Americana, southern rock and rockabilly.
Last Monday, the three-piece combo played at Chelsea, Vienna again. They had not been touring Europe for some years and they brought along their brand new and by now 7th studio LP So Delicious. The visual appearance of the musicians was already exciting to see. The Reverend himself is a bear of a man and in his dungarees, beard and hat he looked like a mixture of Bud Spencer and the son of Seasick Steve that was still able to move around stage. His wife – “Washboard” Breezy Peyton – wore a black dress and red cowboy boots that she pulled off in a way that Ted Mosby would have been jealous and Ben “Big Bird” Russell reminded of a lumberjack while he used a plastic bucket as part of his drum kit.
They opened their show with ”Something For Nothing” from their 2012 recording Between The Stitches – a rolling and rhythmic rock n roll song. What was already noticeable during the first song – and it was to be proven throughout the whole gig – was that the band was passing on a bass guitarist. The Reverend is an absolutely outstanding guitarist and he took over the bass part with his thumb, while his fingers played the melody on the other strings of his (steel) guitar. The band is using unconventional instruments for their sound – unconventional for a rock band but instruments that have their roots in and are still dominating the southern sound – such as the washing board or a self-constructed cigar box guitar. Reverend Peyton had at least six different guitars with him that he changed throughout the gig. I cannot remember him playing two songs in a row with the same guitar.
“Something For Nothing” was followed by “Let’s Jump A Train” which is the opener of the new record. As the title is already implying it is a jumpy blues song about the life of a hobo. The band is operating extremely great together. They have been playing together for years and the chemistry that they are having simply cannot be denied. They are still enjoying themselves on stage and they have this constant grin on their faces, which is specifically obvious on the Reverend, with the contrast of his white teeth and black beard. Because of their charisma they have the astonishing ability of entertaining the audience and making it be part of the show. Before playing “Clap Your Hands”, Reverend Peyton made the whole crowd drink up and put away the glasses, so that they had their hands free to smash them together to the sound of the washing board, to stomp their feet on the ground in rhythm with the drums and to scream along to the tune. The band is full of energy on stage and they know how to pull off a great show. They move around on stage, he kicks the cymbals with his feet resulting in the roadie coming on stage to fix it three or four times during one song and in their last tune, the fabulous friendship hymn “Music And Friends” Breezy Peyton set her washboard on fire.
Aside their entertaining qualities, they also write great songs. Most of the songs they played were from their new record, but they also played several tunes from their previous works. What most songs have in common is The Reverend’s deep voice paired with such a driving rhythm that it can make the stiffest individual dance along to. Their songs alter between Lousiana blues, rock, hillbilly or country or they mix these elements together, but all songs have this rolling rhythm and they have been transported into today’s time. They do not sound like coming from a period of time that happened long ago. They style extremely fresh and modern and urban hipsters, people that love by themselves somewhere in the middle of nowhere and others that have been resistant to any kind of new music, will equally like this sound.
One highlight of the show definitely was their performance of Bo Diddley’s legendary “You Can’t Judge A Book By The Cover”. A song that has been covered countless of times, but the band did their own original version of it. I am a big fan of songs that are not played the same way as they were originally recorded, but that are adapted to the style and sound of the covering band.
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band played a wonderful gig that would have deserved even more spectators than that already appeared. The band managed to turn the rock club into a sweaty, stompy and steamy honky tonk and the audience experienced a night that they will remember. In the end, I was also the lucky guy to catch the set list, which will find a prominent place on my wall. I am sure that I will be seeing the Big Damn Band again the next time they will be playing Vienna. I just hope that this will not take such a long time to wait again.
The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
Chelsea
Last Monday, the three-piece combo played at Chelsea, Vienna again. They had not been touring Europe for some years and they brought along their brand new and by now 7th studio LP So Delicious. The visual appearance of the musicians was already exciting to see. The Reverend himself is a bear of a man and in his dungarees, beard and hat he looked like a mixture of Bud Spencer and the son of Seasick Steve that was still able to move around stage. His wife – “Washboard” Breezy Peyton – wore a black dress and red cowboy boots that she pulled off in a way that Ted Mosby would have been jealous and Ben “Big Bird” Russell reminded of a lumberjack while he used a plastic bucket as part of his drum kit.
They opened their show with ”Something For Nothing” from their 2012 recording Between The Stitches – a rolling and rhythmic rock n roll song. What was already noticeable during the first song – and it was to be proven throughout the whole gig – was that the band was passing on a bass guitarist. The Reverend is an absolutely outstanding guitarist and he took over the bass part with his thumb, while his fingers played the melody on the other strings of his (steel) guitar. The band is using unconventional instruments for their sound – unconventional for a rock band but instruments that have their roots in and are still dominating the southern sound – such as the washing board or a self-constructed cigar box guitar. Reverend Peyton had at least six different guitars with him that he changed throughout the gig. I cannot remember him playing two songs in a row with the same guitar.
“Something For Nothing” was followed by “Let’s Jump A Train” which is the opener of the new record. As the title is already implying it is a jumpy blues song about the life of a hobo. The band is operating extremely great together. They have been playing together for years and the chemistry that they are having simply cannot be denied. They are still enjoying themselves on stage and they have this constant grin on their faces, which is specifically obvious on the Reverend, with the contrast of his white teeth and black beard. Because of their charisma they have the astonishing ability of entertaining the audience and making it be part of the show. Before playing “Clap Your Hands”, Reverend Peyton made the whole crowd drink up and put away the glasses, so that they had their hands free to smash them together to the sound of the washing board, to stomp their feet on the ground in rhythm with the drums and to scream along to the tune. The band is full of energy on stage and they know how to pull off a great show. They move around on stage, he kicks the cymbals with his feet resulting in the roadie coming on stage to fix it three or four times during one song and in their last tune, the fabulous friendship hymn “Music And Friends” Breezy Peyton set her washboard on fire.
Aside their entertaining qualities, they also write great songs. Most of the songs they played were from their new record, but they also played several tunes from their previous works. What most songs have in common is The Reverend’s deep voice paired with such a driving rhythm that it can make the stiffest individual dance along to. Their songs alter between Lousiana blues, rock, hillbilly or country or they mix these elements together, but all songs have this rolling rhythm and they have been transported into today’s time. They do not sound like coming from a period of time that happened long ago. They style extremely fresh and modern and urban hipsters, people that love by themselves somewhere in the middle of nowhere and others that have been resistant to any kind of new music, will equally like this sound.
One highlight of the show definitely was their performance of Bo Diddley’s legendary “You Can’t Judge A Book By The Cover”. A song that has been covered countless of times, but the band did their own original version of it. I am a big fan of songs that are not played the same way as they were originally recorded, but that are adapted to the style and sound of the covering band.
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band played a wonderful gig that would have deserved even more spectators than that already appeared. The band managed to turn the rock club into a sweaty, stompy and steamy honky tonk and the audience experienced a night that they will remember. In the end, I was also the lucky guy to catch the set list, which will find a prominent place on my wall. I am sure that I will be seeing the Big Damn Band again the next time they will be playing Vienna. I just hope that this will not take such a long time to wait again.
The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
Chelsea