Deep Ellum may be pretty lively on the weekends, but unfortunately, it’s never a real hotspot on the weekdays. Like, this Thursday night for instance, because there’s rarely something major going on.

But this night, the Dallas/Fort Worth area favorites, Whiskey Folk Ramblers, were performing at The Doublewide, and playing with them was their buddies from St. Louis, Kentucky Knife Fight. No, it wasn’t a “major” show or anything, but it was one that was well worth going to.

Making it even better was the fact that Madison King and her band were opening the show. I caught her quite a few times back in 2011, but it seemed like her show schedule tapered off in 2012, and when she did perform, there was usually some other show I wanted to see more. So, needless to say, I was looking forward to finally seeing her again.

They were a trio this night, with Ms. King on the acoustic guitar, while the rhythm section was occupied by Jeff Dyer on bass and drummer, John Solis . They opened their 32-minute long set with what is quite possible the best song in their repertoire, “Here In Arms”, which just so happens to be a cover from a Dallas band with that same name. It was easily the best song of their set, despite Madison forgetting a line in it, which I think happened right after the line, “…If I’m the queen of dreams and runaways, you’re the king of patience, my love…” It didn’t seem to faze her much, though. Rather, she just pulled back from the mic on the small part she forgot, laughing, before getting back to it. They slowed things down a little with “Feel The Same”, before doing one of three new songs. It was incredible catchy, in terms of the music bed, and all around a fantastic tune. Pretty much the same can also be said of their next one, another new track called “The Mistake”, where the guitar, bass and drums intertwined with each other perfectly, allowing each to be the more dominant instrument at various points throughout it. “…This next song is one of the first I ever wrote…” Madison said, announcing it was another gem, “Tough As Nails”. After one more new song, Madison began plucking the strings of her guitar, progressively getting faster, starting the fast paced title track from her record, “Darlin, Here’s To You”. Their set had seemed to pass by too quickly, and they were already at the end, but they at least went out with a bang. “…This song is called Whiskey In The Morning” Madison told the meager crowd. It may be one of the shortest songs she has, but it’s also one of the most entertaining. For example, take the line, “…When I’m singing with the choir they say, “Girl you’re such a liar. I saw you last night drinking with my friends.” And I may have been there, too, but I’m still better than you because I don’t smell like whiskey in the morning…”

It was a good one to close with, and it ended what was a fantastic set. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that I hadn’t seen her in so long, but she sounded impeccable this night. Her voice was gorgeous, and there were more than a few songs where it was nothing short of breathtaking.

To me, this show served to re-solidify the fact that Madison King is one of the most talented singer/songwriters in the area, judging from the new music they did, her next record should be just as remarkable as her first.

No telling when that will be, though. So, for now, be sure to check out “Darlin, Here’s to You” and keep an eye on her FACEBOOK PAGE for an future show updates.
They cleared off the stage in no time, and then Kentucky Knife Fight proceeded to set up.

It’s been right at two years since I first heard of the group, when they played this very venue for their first every show in Dallas. I caught them again in the summer of 2011 when they returned, but had missed all their other return trips since. I wasn’t going to miss this one, though…

The band is very close to releasing a new album, so it only made sense that their set this night would feature some of that new material. In fact, half of their set ended up being stuff that they have yet to release…

Like their first song, which was every bit as explosive as dynamite. It was a more intense, fiery song, and it found guitarist, Curt Brewer, often adding some backing vocals on the choruses, which really helped make the song pop. It may have been a knockout tune, but I was hoping they’d be some of my favorites of theirs, but especially one in particular. And wouldn’t you know it, they did that one next. “She looks bereft in her Sunday dress. Ruby red with the lips to match…” crooned vocalist, Jason Holler, which is the first few lines of “Always A Bribe, Never A Bride”. Most of his band mates joined him on the second chorus, as he, Curt, rhythm guitarist, Nate Jones, and bassist, Jason Koenig, harmonized to an extent, belting out, “She can tell I’m an only child. She knows why I can’t sleep at night. Has her fingers wrapped around the necks of every man, every woman, every breath…”. Then, as came to a close, Jason added some particularly long breaks in-between the final lines. “Every man…” he sang, before stopping and casually glancing around. By the second pause, the crowd started laughing, and it was indeed a bit humorous. After several seconds he put his face back in front of the mic and softly sang, “…Eve-ry breath.” Next up were a couple more new tracks of theirs, though these had at least been released as singles earlier last year. Easily the best of those songs is “Misshappen Love”, which was also arguable their best song of the night. Beginning with some sweet licks on the bass, it soon exploded into what was the loudest and most raw song of the set, and more than a few people were rocking out to it. The neatest part of it came near the end, when Jason H. picked up another microphone of his, which gave his voice a more gravelly sound, while he sang the chorus, “Why ya wanna to go and wreck my life? Why ya wanna go and bleed me dry?…”. “This next song is called Love the Lonely. It’s about loving the lonely.” Jason H. said, as they started into the slightly slower song. It still builds up to quite an aggressive tune, though, and several people were banging their heads along to the drumbeats, which were courtesy of James Baker. When it was over, Jason H. started chatting with the audience, then mentioned something about this was their “Birthday Tour 2013”, which made the rest of the guys laugh. “…It’s mathematically impossible, but today is every single one of our birthdays…” He said, then threw their merch guy into the mix, saying he was also celebrating another year of life this day. What made it so hysterical, though, was the fact that he seemed dead serious about it. They returned to the music after that, and I believe it was Nate who began picking at his guitar, starting “Herschel Walker”, which was the only song they did from the “The Wolf Crept, The Children Slept” album. It was still every bit as catchy as I remembered. They followed it up with three more new tracks, the first of which I really enjoyed. The second of those was pretty good, too, but the third was by far the best in my opinion, due mainly to this line from the chorus, “…The mistakes of the past are the ones that last…” At this point, they announced they had a couple of songs left, while Curt switched out his guitar for a banjo. Their Dallas fans seemed ecstatic upon realizing he was leading them into “Dream So Sweet”, which also featured Jason playing a little harmonica. They brought their 46-minute long set to a close with one last new song, which had an intro of sorts, that was pretty soft and consisted of only Nate lightly strumming his guitar, while Jason H. sang rather quietly. I didn’t think they’d close with something so slow, but it went on long enough, I began to doubt it ever would escalate into something more… Then it did. The rest of the guys finally added their talents to it, making it that much better, and a solid way to end the show.

There’s no denying that they were the most electric band of the night. They were all very lively and definitely commanded the crowd. Speaking of which, they had more eyes watching them then any of the other acts this night. In some ways, that’s sad, because this was an excellent bill, but in others it’s a testimony to how extraordinary Kentucky Knife Fight really is. ‘Cause to be a touring band, who, until two years ago had never even played Dallas, they now have a pretty good little fan base here.

The band has a couple show scheduled in the state of Illinois during mid-February, so visit their OFFICIAL WEBSITE for where, when and other such details. However, their big show will be a hometown gig in St. Louis at Off Broadway. They’ll be celebrating the release of their brand new record, and I imagine that will be a show not to miss out on. And before that new record hits digital retailers, check out their older stuff (and a couple new songs) on iTunes.

Finally, you had the Whiskey Folk Ramblers, who didn’t quite have the crowd they deserved. Don’t get me wrong, there was still a decent amount of people out for a Thursday night, but not as many as the band before them had.

They, too, have been hard at work on new material, and began their 55-minute long set with one of those new tunes. That wasn’t the only “new” thing about them, though, at least not for me. They were down a member from the last time I had seen them (which in all fairness, has been awhile), leaving them without a banjo player/multi-instrumentalist, and I was instantly curious as to how they would sound with its absence. Next, their drummer opened up their classic/fan favorite, “Gambling Preacher and His Daughter”. If there were any differences, they were subtle enough that I didn’t take notice of them, or perhaps the distinctive, twangy voice of singer and acoustic guitarist, Tyler Rougeux, was enough to cover it up. Whatever way you slice it, though, it was every bit as good as it always has been. Afterwards, they launched into a barrage of tunes, one of which, “Into That Slide”, came from their current release, “And There Are Devils…”. The next two were from their debut, “Midnight Drifter”, and included the catchy, “Moanin’ Rag”, before their drummer wound them right into “Goin’ Where I Don’t Know”, both of which are pretty short and very fast paced, making them fly by. To add some balance to it all, they then did a series of new tunes, one of which I recognized from the past few times I’ve seen them, and is a bit haunting as Tyler sings, “…I’ll follow you down…” A couple of songs later and they did one titled, “Drank the Bottle Dry”, before returning to some older stuff with “Curtains”. The music bed for that latter one is superb, with the acoustic and electric guitar, played by Mark Moncrieff, mixing quite well and they intertwine perfectly with the low end beats JackDaw Russell cranks out on his upright bass, though it is the Cory Graves’s and his trumpet that really makes the song pop. Tyler gave a simple explanation of what their next song was about, simply saying, “…It’s about sex…” Their next song got a nice lead in, too, when Tyler told everyone it was about an guy named “…Buster Brown…”. That made me assume it was another new one, but no. Instead, it was what is possible their most popular song to date, “Pies of Old Kylene”. They followed it with one final new song for the night, then slowed things down a little with “Sweet Waters”, which brought them to their final song. Now, a song or two before, Cory had lit up a cigarette, and could be seen periodically taking a drag off it. At this point, Tyler noticed it. “Well, look at that. Cory learned how to smoke a electronic cigarette…” he said. “At least I hope it’s an electronic one…” By that time it had been thrown to the ground and put out. They then began their final tune for the night, the lengthy, “Midnight Drifter”, which tells a story exactly like what the title suggests. “…So I took her out, stabbed her with my knife…” Tyler sings at one point, in a rather manically voice. As it neared the end, Cory walked to the front of the stage, looking like he could jump into the crowd at any moment. Sure enough, he did. Jason K. of Kentucky Knife Fight caught him, as Cory slid down the guys back, still shaking the tambourine he had exchanged his trumpet for.

This was as strong a show as I’ve seen the Whiskey Folk Ramblers do, and I have to say, I’m enjoying the new stuff. The bands first two records differ greatly in sound, and it would appear their upcoming third record will be different from those two. In a good way, though. It doesn’t come across as a complete overhaul of their sound, but rather a natural progression of it, simply evolving into the next phase. It still maintains what has been called a “spaghetti western” sound, though, and I find it interesting that a lot of the songs sound similar enough that they fit together almost seamlessly, but still maintain their own individuality.

So if you haven’t already, go check ‘em out, because I promise you haven’t heard anything like this before.

They don’t have anything on the books at the moment, but keep an eye on their FACEBOOK PAGE, as they no doubt will get something soon. Also, check out their two records in iTunes.

This was really an exceptional night, and turned out to be even better than I thought it would, which is saying a lot. And if you weren’t here, then you truly did miss out.

Every now and then two bands meet and forge a special bond and relationship with each other. Two examples that come to my mind are, The FEDS & Upside, as well as The FEDS & The Underwater. Well, six months ago another bond like that was made, between Fort Worth’s, Whiskey Folk Ramblers, and St. Louis based, Kentucky Knife Fight. And, after six months of waiting for KKF to return to The Lone Star State, specifically Dallas, they did. LaGrange was the venue hosting this night of music. And what a night it was.

It didn’t start out too well, though. Sealions, were the first act, and they failed to do anything for me. I mispoke, their music was pretty good, it was their singer. He didn’t have the slightest inkling of a voice. It sounded terrible, and I successfully tuned it out. Oh, and they covered a Beatles song. As their singer/guitarist tuned his guitar before that song, their lead guitarist remarked. “I think John Lennon knew how to tune a guitar.” “Yeah…” their singer replied, “But that was about all he knew how to do. He didn’t know how to stay alive.” Personally, I found that funny and did laugh, however, their cover of whatever song this was, was laughable. I’m not much of a Beatles fan myself, but they don’t deserve to have their music completely butchered like this. It was sad, and I was glad when they finally wrapped up their set. (Note: They had jumped on this show bill last minute, after These Mad Dogs of Glory had to cancel.)

Up next, Kentucky Knife Fight. I more or less rediscovered this band when listening to their music, prepping for this show. I’m bad about that, listening to a CD a few times, then totally forgetting about it. Such was the case with these guys. And in listening to the CDs, there were several songs I was hoping to hear, and they opened with one of them. It’s titled, “Always a Bribe, Never a Bride”. They strayed a bit from the album version, but it was for the best. When they got to the second chorus, the music pretty much dropped out. All except for James Baker, who kept a steady beat by hitting his drum sticks on the edge of one of the drums. Then, vocalist, Jason Holler, guitarist, Curt Brewer, and bassist, Jason Koenig, all harmonized, and sang out, “…She can tell I’m an only child. She knows why I can’t sleep at night. Has her fingers wrapped around the necks of every man, every woman, every breath…” Wow! I was kinda blown away by this, and, dare I say, it sounded quite beautiful. And the drew out the final chorus of it, “…Every man.” Jason sang out, before taking a long pause. (It was really probably 6 to 10 seconds.) “Every woman.”, he continued, before finishing, “Ev-ery breath.” Jason quickly stated who they were, as they began “Herschel Walker”, then took more time after the song was over. Announcing who they were, where they hailed from, and saying, “…It’s good to be back in Texas.” And I think Texas was glad to have them back in it. (Innuendo intended.) Or at least I was glad they were back. Next in the set list was “I Can’t Stand This”, and Jason took time to explain its meaning afterwards. “It’s a song about not being able to stand things.” he said, before apologizing. “I’m sorry, Dallas. I won’t to that again.” A bit corny? Perhaps. But it still made me laugh. They did a couple more tunes, one being “Wild Irish Rose”, then Jason walked off the stage. Leaving Curt, stage left guitarist, Nate Jones, Jason K., and James to do an instrumental song. And an awesome one at that, that really showed off their skills. I’m speculating that it was “South Roxanna Wiggle”, from their “The Wolf Crept…” album, but don’t hold me to that. When it was done, and Jason had returned, they rocked out “Same Streets, Same Clothes” and then did “Sex Crimes”, before doing their last two songs of the night. Which capped off their 43 minute set. They kinda amazed me, and I love what they have going. Their music is… Well, I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s quite unique. And Jason has one of the most distinctive voices that I’ve heard a singer have. And in the live setting, they deliver a show. I said this the last time I saw them, and I still find it true (though they disagreed with me). They out performed WFR. That’s not an easy thing to do, and just about every WFR show I’ve seen, they are the most impressive act on the bill. But KKF can manage to steal their thunder. Get their albums on iTunes, become a fan, and next time they get to Texas, GO SEE THEM!

The Whiskey Folk Ramblers were next, but only after what seemed like a grueling sound check. Singer/acoustic guitarist, Tyler Rougeux, even joked about it later in the set. He ran through a list, and I can’t remember all of it, but he said something like they were the deafest and hardest band in D-FW to sound check for. But around 12:30 they were all set, and began with their intro, which bleeds perfectly into the next song, “Ramblin’ Man”. I’m pretty sure multi-instrumentalist, Richard Davenport, was playing his accordion for those first two songs, but he changed out to his banjo for the next several. Which included some more older songs, “Graveyard Line” “Moanin’ Rag” and “River Song”, as well as a couple others. “This next song is about bad dreams.” Tyler said, of the following song, called “Bad Dreams”. I’m really starting to like those older tunes more and more, but I still don’t think that their set fully comes to life until they begin their material from “…And There Are Devils.” And that was what happened next, as they started “Gambling Preacher and His Daughter”, followed by “Easy Climb”, “Into That Slide”, and what I still find to be their best song, “Pies of Old Kylene”. Tyler even remarked after that last one, saying, I believe, that it was the sloppiest version they’d done of that song. “But that’s okay, Kylene was a pretty sloppy pie maker.” he said. Then he said the band was currently in the studio, “…Slowly recording some new songs.” and said the singer of the first band, Sealions, decided to intern for the producer who they’re having do this next album. “So this guy’s been in the studio with us every day, and he always requests this song.” as he dedicated the next tune to Sealions. Three more songs followed, before they go their set cut short, and had to end their 57 minute set with “Curtains”.

Despite some of the sound issues they had towards the beginning, and getting their show cut short, I’d still say this was the best WFR show I’ve seen yet. Tyler’s voice seemed clearer than the other clubs I’ve seen them at in the past, and they all, or at least those I could see, did a great job. Jack Russell was tucked in the back stage left corner, playing his upright bass. And their newest addition, trumpet/tambourine player, Cory Graves, was noticeable more comfortable with the band. Unlike when I saw them at Rubber Gloves in April, and not only did he need note cards to know what notes to play, he just didn’t seem comfortable on stage yet. Great show, by one of the area’s top talents. They’ll be playing the 4th Annual Dia De Los Toadies (The Toadies annual music festival) on August 27th, at the White Water Amphitheater in New Braunfels. And lucky for me, I’ve won a couple tickets to that event. (I may have one up for grabs. Anyone interested in it let me know.) So, if I don’t see them before, I’ll see them then.

(Random note: I just want to give kudos to Kentucky Knife Fight. They somehow stumbled across my blog after their show in January and posted a link to it. I don’t think I even talked to them or anything at that show. But tonight, when WFR was getting ready to play, Jason H. came up to me, said he was hoping he’d see me out tonight, and we chatted for a bit. Then, as I was leaving I saw Curt, and before I had a chance to just tell him what a great show they did, he recognized me, and said he had right when they started their set. I just think that’s cool that some dudes from St. Lois, who’ve only played Dallas twice now, know who I am, as if I’m actually somebody. You dudes ROCK!!!)

(If you’ve spent your time reading this, please take a few more seconds & go “Like” the fan page I’ve made on Facebook, by clicking HERE. I’m wanting to get an idea as to how many readers I actually have. Thanks!)

Spooky Folk had the opening slot tonight here at the Doublewide, and kicked off their 30 minute set at 10:15. They got their set going with “My Niagara Heart” and followed it with what I thought, and later learned was, a new song. It was a pretty short song and only lasted a couple of minutes. It was okay, but I’ve heard them do much better. This was the first time I’ve seen these guys since buying their CD, so it was nice to actually know the songs they did, which is why I was a bit surprised when frontman and guitarist, Kaleo, started lightly picking at his guitar, beginning “This Sleep”. I really the song, but it’s slower pace gave me the impression that it was one of those to take up space on a record, but not necessarily make the cut for live shows. Thus far their show had been good, but I just wasn’t feeling it like I have the past two times I’d seen them. And they were the band I was most looking forward to seeing tonight, but there had just seemed to be a lack in something. All that changed though when they started “Polaroid”. With that they seemed to really hit their stride and for their final songs they just better and better. “So we played a new song earlier.” Kaleo said, “And we’re going to do it again.” Violinist and backing vocalist, Petra Kelly, chimed in, “Yes, the exact same song.” Kaleo kind of laughed, “Yeah, so hope y’all liked it.” Now this song was pretty good, much better than the one from earlier. They next churned out the song that helped really put them on the map in the music scene, and was even named the second best song by a local band for 2010 by the Dallas Observer. That’s right, “Bible Belt”. It was pretty nice to hear this one, since it’d been left out when I saw them back in November, and it’s quite possible their best song. They had one last song to give for the night and then they were done. I think part of what may have diminished at the beginning was that bassist, Scarlett Wright, was sitting down for the entire show. And just a few minutes into their first song guitarist, Jesse Perry, took a seat on his amp, where he stayed for the rest of the show. It really probably didn’t make a huge difference since there wasn’t much room for them to move around on stage anyway but still… They’ll be playing in Denton in a few weeks, February 19, at Hailey’s. Doubt I’ll make the show, but do go check ‘em out.

All the way from St. Louis, Kentucky Knife Fight, took the stage next for their Dallas debut. They opened with a song, “Dream So Sweet”, from their newest album, and it became readily apparent what they were doing, though unintentionally. They were stealing the show. The instrumental beginning of the song went on and on, and I wondered when they’d start singing. But with their singer playing a harmonica, and one of their guitarists rocking out on a banjo, it made it sound pretty awesome. That was the only song they did that had more of a Country sound to it, with the rest being a mix of Blues and Rock, that sounded incredible. And everybody else seemed to think so as well, cause the Doublewide was pretty much packed during their set. They only got to play around 35 minutes, but their set seemed longer than that, in a good way. Both of the other acts are some of most acclaimed DFW bands at the moment and hard to beat, but like I said KKF managed to too. Their performance was very polished and executed flawlessly, easily upstaging SF and WFR. And with the fan base they made from this show, I hope it gets them back to the DFW area sooner rather than later.

Last up for the night was the Whiskey Folk Ramblers. They put on a great show, as they always do, but I just didn’t feel “it” during this show like I have the past ones. I think most of it may have to do with them following pretty much the same set for each performance. Sure, other bands do it too, Descender for instance, I could see them every week, doing the exact same set, and not be tired of it. But, WFR, after seeing them just a couple weeks before, and knowing what to expect, this show seemed a little stale. Only in the aspect that I knew what was coming though. The overall performance always impresses though. They started with the instrumental piece that eventually leads into “Ramblin’ Man”. And the next three to four songs were reserved for their older material. Then went into their new stuff, with “Pies of Old Kylene”. As well as several others, like “Gambling Preacher and His Daughter” “Horrors in the Kitchen” “Into That Slide” “Easy Climb”, and a few more. Before their set was eventually cut short, and they ended it with “Curtains”. I don’t mean any disrespect to the band or any of the members by what I said at the beginning of this. They are incredible talented and have created their own unique brand of music. But I think they may be one of those bands I see every month or two, instead of every possible chance I get. Oh, and since I’ve started trying to end these by promoting the bands next gig, they’ll be playing on Friday 2/11 at Sons of Hermann Hall in Dallas. Check it out!