Went to see HAYSEED DIXIE at The King's Head last night.
Fucking brilliant. Hiding behind their original novelty band persona hides a really tight-but-loose bluegrass combo, so respec' due. I told the mandolin player as much, that if it wasn't for the drinking and the obscenities an' all, they wouldn't have got kicked out of Bill Monroe's band, and he seemed pretty chuffed at that. Their support act, HILLSTOMP were pretty good too, another one of those bands in that currently fashionable two piece set up, the singer/guitarist and drummer (y'know, like The White Stripes, The Black Keys, etc). These guys played a very swampy country blues, reminded me of the kinda groove R.L. Burnside used to get going when he played with The Blues Explosion. And their drummer was brilliant, played the shit out of his homemade kit, constructed largely of washingboards, plastic kegs, what looked like the lid of an old tool box, and other assorted crap. Hit that crap harder than anyone I've seen since Bonham.
Great night, great synergy between the bands and the crowd. Saw a lot of Norn Iron arts scenesters there, too: DJs, novelists, playwrights, bloggers. Only problem is I'm now totally knackered, but I'm supposed to be going back in a couple of hours for more. D'Oh! Yee-Haa! D'Oh!