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Bourbon Crew, Wednesday 13

Friday 3rd February, 2017 by ScottieD | 0 Comments

Ground Zero in Spartanburg, South Carolina

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Hey Fam! Hashly here with a review on the last show I went to see. I wasn’t on assignment for Faygoluvers, but I took my camera just in case something inspired me to shoot. I decided to grab a few shots of each act since I can ALWAYS use the practice shooting at live shows. It’s a huge difference from the studio shooting I’ve always excelled at. Someday I hope to be as comfortable with live shooting as I am in the studio.

Anyways, I went to this show as a Wednesday 13 fan. My homie Stryknyn got me into him back in 2012, but I had never seen him live. When Hanka told me about Bourbon Crow coming to Ground Zero, I had him grab us a couple tickets, not knowing what to expect.

First off, the venue Ground Zero is always a great time! I gotta say, I have been in the Carolinas for a little over 2 years now and some of my BEST memories so far have been here. I’ve seen Twiztid, ABK, Big Hoodoo, Boondox, Kissing Candice, Kung Fu Vampire, the Damn Dirty Apes and Mushroom Head at Ground Zero. My favorite memory was when Mick, the owner, let Hanka and I stay a while and hang out with Boondox, ABK and Big Hoodoo after the Family Fun Time Tour show. The whole place was ours! We were drinking shots of Jager and watching youtube videos on the bar tv, while discussing our favorite Gathering memories. We decided to make a spoof video of our own for youtube. just for kicks!

Every time I think about that night, I smile from ear to ear!  That’s just ONE of MANY memories I cherish from Ground Zero. I LOVE THAT PLACE!

But let’s get back on track.

The opening act was really great!  They were called The Fill Ins. They had a rock/punk/go-go style that I didn’t expect at all! The high energy of their stage presence was very inviting and got the whole crowd to wake up and dance!  I want to take a moment and thank the lead singer, Alex Stiff, for his help in getting me the correct information for this review. It was a real treat to see this band perform and I really hope that we cross paths again.

Next up, without even a curtain call, the BADASS Robert H. Dirr III took the stage. He had no gimmick, he was just a mad talented man playing his guitar and singing to the ones gathering around the foot of the stage, trying to soak in his soulful vibe. I snapped a few shots and took a live facebook video, but my phone was quickly losing power, so I had to keep it quick. I didn’t want to kill my battery before I saw Wednesday, but it was hard. Mr. Dirr had me completely captivated! He was perfectly entertaining and didn’t need a gimmick. I could have watched him all night!

Waiting for the next set, I found entertainment by just watching the going-ons around me. Hanka got me a beer and we watched as 3 red chairs were set onto the stage and various electric equipment was being hooked up. The background music playing sounded like something you’d hear on an episode of “The Squidbillies” and I was really feeling out of place, to be honest. The crowd LOOKED like they could be Juggalos. A lot of the girls were wearing corsets, there were a lot of contact lenses and mohawks, piercings, dark eyeliner and tattoos in the crowd. This music didn’t seem to be anything THIS group of people would PAY to see live, yet everyone was joyful. They were dancing and laughing and blowing smoke rings and making the best of it. I loved that.

Next up was Bob, Bill and Wes. They explained to us all that they needed their comfy red chairs to perform because they are old men. That instantly won the love of every person in the venue who ever had a grandpa. They were charming, adorable and didn’t miss a beat of the rustic, country style music. It was not my style of music personally, but I still enjoyed the way they bounced off one another in order to play it and entertain the crowd. I grabbed my phone and did another quick video, then snapped a few quick shots with my Nikon. After that, I just enjoyed the atmosphere. Hanka held me and we swayed to whatever kind of music that was classified as. It was pleasant. Everyone enjoyed them.

After a brief break, we finally saw Wednesday come out to the stage. He was accompanied by his guitarist and backup vocalist, Roman Surman. He thanked us for coming and told us how excited he was to be on home turf again. He said that he used to play Ground Zero on a weekly basis and it felt great to be back every time, where a lot of awesome memories originated. I know how he feels.

They opened the first half of the set with an acoustic version of “Home Sweet Homicide”. I got super excited because I had seen a set list earlier and didn’t recognize any of the songs, but I’ll get to that later. For about an hour, they entertained us with stories, took questions from the audience and sang some old favorites. I pretty much geeked out during “I Love To Say Fuck,” and “I Walked With A Zombie,” but the real treat was seeing Hanka mark out when they did “Rambo” from WAY back in Wednesday’s ‘Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13‘ days. It was just a deliciously different experience from what I’m used to. I loved how intimate it all felt.

After about a 15 minute break, Wednesday came back, but this time he was accompanied by Roman and Rayan Belchere. During the break I had the opportunity to move from the spot I’d been stuck in all night. I was very excited to be right in the middle of the action instead of off to the side where I usually end up.

The set list I had seen earlier was for THIS performance and I had NO CLUE what to expect.  Hanka had told me Bourbon Crow was a country group with Wednesday 13 in it…I had my doubts and HAD to see this for myself. To be completely honest, the music was very interesting and to me it vibed like Weird Al, Garth Brooks, Larry the Cable Guy, Jason Segel and  Wednesday 13 all rolled into one. Most songs were funny, like “Nature Boy” which was all about Ric Flair and “Chick Fil-A”which gripes about them not being open on Sundays. There were drinking songs, like “Alcohol is Awesome” and “Drink Till You Ain’t Ugly” but I really enjoyed “You Have No Friends” cause he dedicated it to anyone in the crowd who has a piece of shit person in their lives. We all have that one asshole that ruins everything. Things got serious, but only for a couple minutes. They played a song called “Pour on Rain” and I couldn’t help but feel an emotional connection to it. It is something I’d play in times that I feel sad and seek comfort in relatable music. It grabbed me in the feels and I am SO GLAD that Hanka got us the entire 3 CD Collection Off the Wagon, On the Rocks.

This collection of CD’s has a country sound, with a rock attitude and a red neck sense of humor wearing entirely too much dark eyeliner. I love a successful hot mess, so I’ll be rocking it for years to come when I need random happiness. It gives me a safe place to put my crazy. I hope to remember the night forever.

After the show, the crowd lined up to meet Wednesday. He signed autographs and took photos with each and every person who waited. I met up with my homie Juan Salas and we hung out until the line died down. By the time we finished our smoke break, there were only four people left in the line so I jumped in and waited and thought about what I wanted to say.

My good homie Scottie D had been heavily on my mind that whole day because he was in Detroit getting some important information from the Insane Clown Posse about Young Wicked, Twiztid, and the Juggalo March on Washington. I knew that some heavy shit was being dropped in his lap and I wanted to show him some support.  So I decided to ask Wednesday his thoughts about the current Juggalo situation with the FBI and if he supported the upcoming Juggalo March on Washington.

I figured the best way to break the ice with Wednesday would be to tell him how I found his music, so I asked him if he remembered Stryknyn and he lit RIGHT up. He told me about how Stryk dressed as Ric Flair for him at a show once and then broke up a redneck fight for him in the audience and destroyed his feather boa. I knew the story well because Stryk had told me a couple of times already. Wednesday was saying he had to stop the show while Stryk was throwing redneck pit bullies around and he loved that guy, so now that we bonded over a friend I figured it was a good time to ask my questions.

Wednesday said he had a really hard time wrapping his head around the situation at all. He couldn’t believe that the FBI would actually do something like this. He said that he doesn’t live in a “what if” world, but couldn’t help but think about how what the Juggalos are going through would affect his own “Scary Kids” if he was suddenly labeled a gang leader. He said that the whole situation is completely fucked up and if his fans had to serve extra time in jail, pay extra fines, lose custody of their kids, or whatever the case may be all because they had tattoos associated with his music, it would make him wanna do something about it, too. He sympathized with me and understands why some of us are marching. He supports and respects the Juggalos that have decided to at least TRY to do something about it. He is not a Juggalo and will not be at the march, but we have his total respect and understanding, which means a lot to me. At this point we  were all exhausted and hungry and completely satisfied with the day, so we said goodbye. We thanked Mick for yet another awesome experience at Ground Zero and Hanka and I went to find some fast food to smash before we went home.

Thanks for reading my review, sorry it took so long. Until next time, Hash out!

Location:

  • Ground Zero
  • South Carolina
  • United States

Guests:

  • Robert H. Dirr III, The Fill Ins, Bob Bill and Wes

Tour:

  • The Undead, Unplugged Tour

Websites:

Reviewer:

Review Date:

  • 01/14/2017

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