I first saw Hayseed Dixie by accident at the Life Café in April; this time it was an eagerly awaited gig for me.  | | Don Wayne Reno: a whole lotta banjo |
For the uninitiated, Hayseed Dixie are a four piece mountain/bluegrass band from Appalachia, allegedly, that has been building a reputation for its live gigs and launched itself in 2001 with the album ‘A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC’ (hence the band name) and a run of around 100 gigs in the summer and Fall of that year. The band consists of: Barley Scotch - vocals, guitar & fiddle; Don Wayne Reno - banjo; Dale Reno - mandolin (with more than a nod to Angus); Jake Byers – bass (Lemmy's cousin?) who maintain that "there's four key elements in any good mountain song - drinking, cheating, killing and going to hell." Several albums have followed, with covers of songs by Led Zeppelin, Queen, Black Sabbath, Franz Ferdinand, Outkast, Kiss, The Darkness and Green Day, as well as some of their own material. | "There's four key elements in any good mountain song - drinking, cheating, killing and going to hell." | | Barley Scotch, Hayseed Dixie |
Hayseed Dixie may be about touring, drinking and having fun, but they can also really play. I spoke to a guitarist of 20 years after the show who said he couldn’t believe a quartet of string players could be so tight without a drummer. The music and the mood is infectious. And loud and energetic. I just felt the band were a little tired on this occasion, compared to the April gig, but its hardly surprising given the schedule. And they still won the audience over easily, which to me was inevitable. This is a bunch of boys from the Mountains who certainly look and sound the part: they talk country, dress country, play country and drink like country boys do; and there’s plenty of banter between the songs. It's all tongue in cheek of course. But that's part of the act.  | | Lemmy's cousin? Jake Byers |
My personal highlights: Ace of Spades, (surely the best version available!), Fat Bottomed Girls, Walk This Way, Kirby Hill, War Pigs, Holiday, This Fire, Duelling Banjos…..it was top value for money, at around two hours! All that said, some of my friends were taken, others not. Whether you like this type of music, and the bluegrass treatment of rock classics, is very much a matter of personal taste I guess - I suspect you either love it or hate it. I love it. Catch them this weekend at the Acoustic Festival of Great Britain in Nantwich. Finally a mention for the venue, the Sale Waterside Arts Centre – it’s a fine place for a small gig, a welcome addition, cosy and thankfully, on a hot summer night, air-conditioned. |
