The guys with the "hair piled high" and the girls with the Bettie Page hairdo were out in full force as the Reverend Horton Heat brought his accompanying musical tornado to Glasgow. The scent of pomade was strong in the air. Better that than perspiration!
Some debate can surround the term "psychobilly" - Who does it right and who stinks? Who has the right hairstyle? Is that a flannel shirt? - but then there's Scottish longtime bampots, The Termites, a snarling quartet who couldn't care less. These guys won't just steal your girl, they'll steal your girl and get her tattooed!
What transpired in the 35 minutes or so in which The Termites disgraced the Cathouse stage was nothing short of frantic. Front man Kenny battered no one tonight, but you got the feeling that he could've snapped at any second as he barked out such punkabilly fury as "Somebody's Gotta Pay" and "Don't Touch". Backed by a band of similarly menacing characters, The Termites stormed through their set with purpose and fury.
Reverend Horton Heat have done their bit to establish the psychobilly genre. Though some will frown on them and look to The Cramps for true psychobilly, it's near impossible to deny the legacy that Heath continues to build. In a career spanning over twenty years, much attention has been given to this unrelenting trio from Dallas, Texas, and tonight's showing was evidence enough for this critic. Although the band took a few songs to fully get into swing, bandleader Jim Heath's dominance of his Gretsch was worth the price of admission itself. Heath could've sat and played "Sweet Home Alabama" for 97 minutes and still have the crowd holler in appreciation. Luckily for us, though, such a thought probably never crossed his mind.
A number of crowd pleasers led the way to a spot of time travelling. Heath and co. took us from 1950s (Bill Haley) to the present (uh, Reverend Horton Heat!) via Roger Miller and the Stray Cats. Ever present favourite such as "Big Red Rocket of Love" and "It's Martini Time!" came later. And there's no way the band would have made it out alive without playing "Psychobilly Freakout".
Although a fine performance, you'd expect no less of a band that have been kicking around for so many years as Reverend Horton Heat. Tonight's performance indicated that the band has not only stood the test of time, but they have also sidestepped a pitfall that has ended many of their contemporaries: they have not lapsed into musical irrelevance.