I had heard of the Waco Brothers as they have played Hardly Strictly a few times before, but knew nothing about them. They led off the morning with an energetic and visually entertaining set, marred by speakers clipping or cutting out every few minutes. The volume was turned down for the subsequent acts thankfully. The band is from Chicago but their leader, Jon Langford, is from Wales and led a fairly popular punk band in England, the Mekons. No one in the band is blessed with a great voice and the songs aren't instantly memorable, but they're fun to watch jump around with reckless abandon. Another example of the tremendous diversity of acts at HSB. At this point in the show, the acres of grass behind thiose of us up near the front was empty, and a walk to the food vendors was no big deal. Later in the day there were probably 20,000 people there.
Oh Please! Come to Chicago & see a Waco show. If the audience reaction alone doesn't change your opinion; i'll buy you're bourbon (or whatever).
ReplyDeleteAs for vocals, try Jon Langford's "Men of Gwent" (Country Mile Records, UK)