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In the post-*WHITE STRIPES*/current BLACK KEYS environs of raunchy two-piece blues outfits, there are a myriad of contenders, pretenders, and players. The best of the bunch in my estimation is HOLLY GOLIGHTLY (her real name; I guess her parents had a thing for AUDREY HEPBURN), whose public profile was elevated by her cameo on THE WHITE STRIPES‘ Elephant record (“It’s True That We Love One Another”) and also via her inclusion on the soundtrack to Broken Flowers, from the white-shocked and über-hip film maker JIM JARMUSCH. Truth is, she learned her craft from a master of the lo-fi blues howl…BILLY CHILDISH teamed her up as part of a quartet known as THEE HEADCOATEES, who adopted a bit rawer and rougher sound than precursors THE DELMONAS, like a gritty SHANGRI-LAS all covered in soot and tears.
She’s been on her own for quite some time now, ever since ’95, and for the last couple of records has recorded and toured with her ‘band’ the Broke-offs. Can you call one person a band? I guess LAWYER DAVE can qualify, as he sings, plays guitar, and plays a minimal drum kit with his feet, one foot operating the bass drum (heel) and snare (toe), the other playing the hi-hat, patched together with broken drum sticks and other budget-minded fixes that MacGyver would be proud of. Necessity is the mother of invention, and damned if the two of them haven’t created the fullest two person band sound I’ve yet heard, w/o resorting to pedals, samples or keyboards.
If you’ve followed anything on Hangman or Damaged Goods records, you’ll know what you are in for: honest songs, written from mainly a 12 bar blues perspective, and rougher than 200 grit sandpaper. What doesn’t come across is their sense of humor and camaraderie, which was on full display for the audience which braved the cold and rainy night. Inter-song banter and topics ranged from the fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers, public defecation, interpretations of the set list, with Dave providing a dead-pan delivery and Holly giving mock outrage…not exactly the sort of stuff they write song lyrics about, but it was really funny and perfectly displayed their synchronicity when playing. Dave whipped off some great slide action while Holly provided most of the vocals and the root of the song via her hollow-bodied Guild. Dave’s Texas roots have tempered the garage sound which Holly started with, their bluesy songs featuring some twang and western edges on songs like “My 45,” with vocal interplay that recalled Exene and John Doe, not with X but rather their KNITTERS side-project.
WRONG REASONS laid down that sort of sound in their opening slot, a mix of JOHNNY CASH and REPLACEMENTS, the sort of sturdy roots rock where you know what you’re gonna get, but are still surprised that it’s this fresh and engaging, especially since it sounded like their rhythm section was playing their first gig with the band. Props for the Joe Strummer tattoo and DAN ZANES hair style of leader JOE FLETCHER, whose vocal drawl sounds like more the deep South (cf. MIKE COOLEY) than calling Providence home base.
more photos of Holly Golightly and Wrong Reasons
