Sure, plenty of shows come to town and there are plenty of reasons to be excited about each and every one of them. But, unlike people, all shows are not created equal. Some, such as the Black Diamond Heavies show last month, are just more worthy of your unbridled enthusiasm. Scott H. Biram falls into that category. When Scott comes to your town you need to lock up the womenfolk, drink a few whiskey shots and get your ass to the show. I think my card carrying status in Scott’s Church of the Ultimate Fanaticism Fan Club is well documented here on ninebullets, so I am gonna quote a Biram show review a friend of mine wrote after hearing/seeing Scott for the first time ever a few years ago:
“Finally it was time for Scott Biram. I had heard him earlier when he was doing his sound check and the amount of music he can generate all by himself is really staggering. He was really a great performer and musician. He was able to banter with the audience, tune his guitar, work a bass pedal to keep the beat, blow on the harmonica, and growl into his mic/bullhorn. You don’t really know what to expect when the little guy in the green trucker cap sits down on the stage. Biram looks like a guy you’d pass coming out of the bathroom at a Flying J truckstop on I-10. However he attacks honky tonk and blues with a vicious growl and doesn’t let you go until you are stomping your feet and screaming “Whiskey!”
I know the last show Scott played here in town was a drunken mess, but the good news is that Scott has stopped drinking whiskey so the show will be up to the standards he had set the first couple of times he came through town, and we’re all gonna be better for it.
Don’t miss this show, Tampa. Trust me on this.
Scott H. Biram - Been Down Too Long
Scott H. Biram - Spoonful
Scott H. Biram - We Shall Be Free
Scott H. Biram - Long Fingernail
Scott H. Biram - Sweet Thing
Scott H. Biram - Whiskey
I wasn’t gonna say anything at all about this show. I figured since I already admitted SHB was one of my 3 favorite artists then it would be obvious that I thought the show was awesome. I did. This show was so much better than the last time he came to town. A bigger crowd made him even better and the crowd actually knew the songs. Instead of me going on and on about how good the show was I figured I would let someone else tell you. I have this friend who really digs live music who came out for the show even though he is no real fan of Biram’s recorded material. So, before the show I asked him if he would do a show review afterwards. Well, he agreed and here you go:
Scott H. Biram Show Review by Jason Richardson
You know I am not the biggest Biram fan but I like live music in general regardless of genre. In my opinion that is how music is meant to be enjoyed, technology allows recording only recently and the expense of the equipment it once required is why we are now embroiled in the arguement over copyrights and illegal downloading. Long after the reason for paying for a record is gone we still do so which I find curious. Anyway, I checked out the opening acts on their respective myspace pages earlier in the day and was excited to see the first group. A large band from Lakeland called Semisoul was a great surprise. Female lead vocals, a rapper, and a horn section round out the stardard power trio very well. That and I think the female singer was checking me out a little bit. Well…maybe she was just worried because I almost bumped into her but I will give her the benefit of the doubt.
myspace.com/semisoul
My friend Diana was excited to see the Dead Popes and I realized that I am friends with the drummer only when I saw them setting up. Fun rockabilly guys with a very tight sound and a fun attitude and I was pretty happy with the show by this point.
myspace.com/thedeadpopes
Finally it was time for Scott Biram. I had heard him earlier when he was doing his sound check and the amount of music he can generate all by himself is really staggering. He was really a great performer and musician. He was able to banter with the audience, tune his guitar, work a bass pedal to keep the beat, blow on the harmonica, and growl into his mic/bullhorn. You don’t really know what to expect when the little guy in the green trucker cap sits down on the stage. Biram looks like a guy you’d pass coming out of the bathroom at a Flying J truckstop on I-10.Howeverhe attacks honky tonk and blues with a vicious growl and doesn’t let you go until you are stomping you feet and screaming “Whiskey!” along with the 40 or so others that stayed allnight on a Sunday evening.
Anyway you wanted to see what I thought about the show and this is it, if you are a lover of music I think you should make time to go see all kinds of music, sometimes you find something live that you would never even consider on your Ipod or cd player.
And there you go. Biram was awesome. Go see him when he comes to your town.
OH YEAH! I also managed to take some pictures this time. If you want, CHECK THEM OUT.
Scott H. Biram - Blood, Sweat and Murder
Scott H. Biram - Been Down too Long
Scott H. Biram - Raisin Hell Again
Scott H. Biram - Long Fingernail
Scott H. Birams Official Site, Scott H. Biram on Bloodshot Records, Scott H. Birams myspace site
Scott Biram is one of my Top 3 favorites. It goes:
Lucero,
Drive-By Truckers,
Scott Hiram Biram. Scott will be playing The Orpheum Sunday night and you can come drink whiskey with me and see Scott for a mere 8 dollars.
Rock ‘n’ Roll ain’t pretty and neither is Scott H. Biram. The self proclaimed “Dirty Old One Man Band” successfully, and sometimes violently, lashes together blues, hillbilly and country precariously to raucous punk and godless metal.
Biram ain’t no dour ass singer/songwriter either, sweetly strumming songs about girls with big eyes and dusty highways. HELL NO!!! His singing, yodeling, growling, leering and brash preachin’ and hollerin’ is accompanied by sloppy riffs and licks from his 1959 Gibson guitar and pounding backbeat brought forth by his amplified left foot. The remainder of this one-man band consists of an unwieldy combination of beat-up amplifiers and old microphones strung together by a tangled mess of guitar cables.
Now, tell me that shit don’t sound like fun. Hope to see some of y’all out.
Scott H. Biram - Blood, Sweat and Murder
Scott H. Biram - Been Down too Long
Scott H. Biram - Raisin’ Hell Again
Scott H. Biram - Long Fingernail
Scott H. Biram’s Official Site, Scott H. Biram on Bloodshot Records, Scott H. Biram’s myspace site
