It was a packed house at the Pageant last night for a perfectly grouped threesome. The Toadies headlined the show with special guests Nashville Pussy and the legendary Reverend Horton Heat. All three bands played generously lengthy sets all crammed into an insane three hours.
The evening kicked off with Nashville Pussy absolutely crushing it. Front man, Blaine Cartwright, was flanked by rock chicks at their finest: Ruyter Suys on guitar and Bonnie Buitrago on bass. There was hair everywhere.
Historically, when you have a 3-band line up, the audience is a bit sparse for the opening acts. Not this time. Not at all. Nashville Pussy killed it and the night was just getting started. It was a strong indication of what was still to come.
Following ‘Pussy was the iconic Rockabilly group, Reverend Horton Heat. Their solid set consisted of a performance of their breakthrough album, Liquor In The Front (1994). The Reverend reminded the crowd of the double entendre several times throughout the set despite the chosen perception of their fans, of course.
The set included short stories about each song, one of which The Reverend highlighted the involvement of Ministry’s “Uncle Al” Jourgensen. Apparently he was a country music fan and had a hand in producing the band’s third album released by Sub Pop. Who knew?
In a flashback to 1994, a mosh pit….yes, you read it right, a mosh pit formed in the middle of the floor and it was no holds barred. Soon thereafter, the band treated fans to songs from their first and second albums before handing the stage over to the beloved headliners.
The Toadies took to the stage just after 10:00 PM, loud and proud. The unmistakable face and voice of Todd Lewis was nothing but nostalgic for the crowd of all ages. The band kicked off their set with five songs off of their new album, Damn You All To Hell before they celebrated the 25th anniversary of their masterpiece, Rubberneck in its entirety.
By this time, the rowdiness of the crowd peaked as the ever-so-vigilant guitarist spotted a couple of scraps and alerted security right in the middle of two different songs. Lewis addressed the crowd, asking them to stop the fighting, stating “That’s not what we’re about.” Alas, the scrappers were shown their way out by The Pageant’s security and the rock show played on.
The trio of bands performing was the perfect combination for Gen Xers and then some and now we wait for their return.
Danya is a music junkie and an accomplished producer and writer. With over 20 years in the music and media industry, she worked in St. Louis radio as an on-air talent for 16 years, in television as a writer/producer/assignment editor at KMOV-TV, and started her own podcast at Radiodanya.com showcasing St. Louis’ local music scene, is currently the host of
Arch City Live and is an on-air talent on 105.7 The Point. She received her Bachelor Degree from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and her Masters Degree from Saint Louis University. In addition to contributing to Arch City Media, she is a writer/editor/photographer for an online publication dedicated to documenting live shows throughout the U.S.: The Spectatour: We Spectate, We Tour. Aside from music’s spectrum of genres, she is also an avid hockey, baseball, and soccer fan.
