In town for the first of two nights in the DFW metroplex, the greatest rock n’ roll band in the world, the Supersuckers, played a monster set at Main at South Side in Fort Worth. Sunday night they’re at the Sons of Hermann Hall in Dallas, but the Cowtown crowd got first dibs on the band celebrating 30 years with a set of old and new, country and rock n’ roll.
From Parts Unknown kicked the evening off around 9:00 with their rock/rockabilly/punk swagger. The band sounded great and were clearly gearing up for their upcoming mid-west tour. Vocalist/guitarist Ben McCracken, upright bassist Chris Parrish, and drummer Jimmy Sefcik, were a great choice to get the crowd primed for the Supersuckers. Their high energy set, that featured their own material alongside fantastic covers of Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” and Metallica’s “The Four Horsemen,” got the crowd moving and in the perfect mood for the Supersuckers. Each member of the band is fun to watch, be it Parrish attacking his upright bass and moving it around the stage like a rag doll, McCracken’s deceptively sharp guitar playing, or Sefcik’s relentless and fluid drumming. The band mentioned they had a new EP on the way and we can’t wait to hear it. If last year’s single “Ashtray” is any indication of what’s to come, it should be a release we all look forward to.
The Supersuckers kicked things off with a handful of songs from last years Suck It LP (“All of the Time,” “The History of Rock n’ Roll,” “Dead Inside,” “Breaking My Balls”) before shifting gears into a mini country set, featuring songs from 1997’s Must’ve Been High (‘Nonaddictive Marijuana” and “Roadworn and Weary”) and 2015’s Holdin’ the Bag (“Let’s Bounce,” “This Life…With You”). They then went into a track-by-track run through 1992’s The Smoke of Hell and 1994’s La Mano Cornuda. Songs like “Coattail Rider” and “Mighty Joe Young” from the Hell LP and “Creepy Jackalope Eye” and “On The Couch” from Cornuda provoked massive sing-along’s from the crowd.
The trio, Eddie Spaghetti (vocals, bass), Marty Chandler (guitar), and Chris Von Streicher (drums) seamlessly shifted from rock to country and back again, a testament to both their abilities as live performers and the common thread that runs through their songs, with or without a touch of twang. Spaghetti, the consummate frontman, engaged the crowd with miscellaneous banter and stories about the songs or albums. When playing, his vocals were strong and his bass, as always, was thick and reliable. Together with Von Streicher, the pair put down the foundation for Chandler to work over with his guitar playing. Chandler often took to the front of the stage, putting on a full-blown rock star display as he threw down his solos and leads.
The Supersuckers put on a fantastic show. If you’ve never seen them, you need to rectify this immediately. If you have seen them, you probably never miss them when they’re in town. Bands don’t stick around for 30 years if their live performance sucks. Obviously, this isn’t an issue for the Supersuckers. You can always count on them to rock your lame ass.
– J. Kevin Lynch (words); Carson Allen (photos)
– click to enlarge images –
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Mar 7 Gray’s Keg Saloon, Lincoln NE
Mar 8 The Marquee, Sioux City IA
Mar 9 Icon Lounge, Sioux Falls SD
Mar 10 The Plus, Eau Claire WI
Mar 11 Lyric Room, Green Bay WI
Mar 12 Beat Kitchen, Chicago IL
Mar 13 Tiger Room, Louisville KY
Mar 14 Southgate House, Newport KY
Mar 15 Tip Top, Grand Rapids MI
Mar 16 Buzzbin, Canton OH
Mar 17 Smalls, Hamtramck MI
Mar 19 Call The Office, London ON
Mar 20 Lee’s Place, Toronto ON
Mar 21 This Ain’t Hollywood, Hamilton ON
Mar 22 The 27 Club, Ottawa ON
Mar 23 Petit Campus, Montreal QC
Mar 24 L’anti Bar, Quebec City QC
Mar 26 Alchemy, Providence RI
Mar 27 Wonderbar, Asbury Park NJ
Mar 28 Milkboy, Philadelphia PA
Mar 29 Tellus 360, Lancaster PA
Mar 30 Metro Gallery, Baltimore MD
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