{"id":620,"date":"2013-02-15T22:00:45","date_gmt":"2013-02-15T22:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/216.71.127.204\/wordpress\/?p=620"},"modified":"2015-10-13T15:02:20","modified_gmt":"2015-10-13T15:02:20","slug":"soulhat-w-thunderosa-continental-club-houston-tx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/2013\/02\/15\/soulhat-w-thunderosa-continental-club-houston-tx\/","title":{"rendered":"Soulhat w\/ Thunderosa – Continental Club – Houston, TX"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
Written by James Killen <\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Feb 15, 2013 at 10:00 PM<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"Image\"I remember friends from high school graduating from UT in Austin with marketable degrees and remaining in Austin, working as waiters or landscapers just to avoid leaving town and starting their adult lives. Austin might as well have been Never-Never Land for those Peter Pan sort of folks. I still get an occasional yen to visit Never-Never Land, myself, and nothing gets me in the mood better than a psychedelic jam band. \u201cAustin\u201d plus \u201cNever-Never Land\u201d plus \u201cjam band\u201d equals \u201cSoul Hat\u201d.<\/p>\n

The chemistry of Soul Hat is basically between vocalist\/ guitarist, Kevin McKinney and guitarist\/ vocalist, Bill Cassis, with a hard driving immaculate rhythm section of bass and drum. The original line up lasted from 1990 through 2000 when drummer, Frosty Smith and bassist, Brian Walsh moved on, but lately Kevin and Bill have been getting out and doing some shows, at times as an acoustic duo and at others with a couple of the amazing drummers and bass players in the Austin music scene. Last year, Brian Walsh returned to the line-up. They have been greeted by old fans with enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

Friday night\u2019s show at the Continental featured opening act Thunderado. They are a Houston based trio that has a sound drawn from ZZ Top blues rock, rockabilly and country rock. Although, I don\u2019t believe that they have broken any new ground, they are not a cover band. Their original songs are witty and their performance entertaining with plenty of guitar posturing and references to old blues idioms, like \u201cwig hat\u201d. Their sound is tight, but the most memorable feature is the way that Hunter Perrin (guitar) and Paul Beebe (bass) harmonize their voices. They seem to open at the Continental regularly, so go ahead and get there early enough to check them out. They really are a lot of fun.<\/p>\n

\"Image\"Kevin McKinney came on the stage to set up, looking almost like some kind of 1980\u2019s psychedelic Christmas elf with his knitted cap and green and brown shoes with red laces. The band kicked off the set with \u201cBuild It Up and Tear It Down\u201d featuring the clear dual lead guitar work of Bill and Kevin, like Dickey Betts and Duane Allman. Without stopping they edged in to a new tune called \u201cThere\u2019s Something Fishy Going On\u201d. The guest drummer, Conrad Choucroun, fit right in like he\u2019d been there all along with the hard driving rhythm. They continued with a couple of other new tunes, \u201cShe\u2019s a Record Buyer\u201d and \u201cSea of Information\u201d, putting weight behind the rumor that there will be a new Soul Hat CD out this spring.<\/p>\n

The band returned to old favorites like \u201cBig Backyard\u201d with its wandering bass solo and \u201cLove Me Now\u201d, that could easily have been mistaken for a long lost Band of Gypsies composition. The thing about a great jam band is that they can carry you off with the improvised meandering intros and bridges. Kevin and Bill raise you up by alternating soaring guitar solos and plant you back firmly on the ground as they settle back into the next melody driven by bass and drums. I must admit that I was carried through several songs without even thinking to write down the titles.<\/p>\n

After a brief equipment adjustment the band lit out again with \u201cDirty Old Man\u201d featuring a scary good drum solo. That was followed by what could be Austin\u2019s Never-Never Land theme, \u201cHere\u201d with its densely woven double leads and sentimental lyrics. The planned set list ended with the syncopated rhythms of \u201cPraying for Rain\u201d featuring an amazing McKinney lead as he rotated through his effects pedals while strumming fervently.<\/p>\n

I have no idea how many encores they played or how the show ended that evening because I had to leave Never-Never Land, to the sounds of \u201cBone Crusher\u201d through the parking lot. I\u2019ve only known Soul Hat through their recordings and a short acoustic set that I caught some years back. I\u2019ve played \u201cLive at The Black Cat\u201d for years, admiring the pure musical chemistry that flowed on that disc. The one thing that I wondered, I can now confirm. Yeah, they\u2019ve still got it.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by James Killen Feb 15, 2013 at 10:00 PM I remember friends from high school graduating from UT in Austin with marketable degrees and remaining in Austin, working as waiters or landscapers just to avoid leaving town and starting their adult lives. Austin might as well have been Never-Never Land for those Peter Pan… <\/p>\n

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