The Cat’s Cradle Carrboro, NC
Contact: bbq@scots.com
Web: scots.com
Players: Rick Miller, guitar, vocals; Mary Huff, bass, vocals; Dave Hartman, drums
When Southern Culture on The Skids jumped on stage at the Cat’s Cradle, their hometown crowd went Joe Bazooka for this much-loved local trio. Playing selections from their vast 40-plus year repertoire, it was hard to keep up. “Voodoo Cadillac” and “Camel Walk” were standouts, but so were all the songs. There wasn’t too much filler, and “Banana Puddin,’” “Eight Piece Box” and “Run, Baby Run” rounded out a tasty selection of their most accessible material.
After 43 years of live shows, the Skids played exactly like you’d expect: they’re pros, and, working without a net, the set careened seamlessly through the song list, where there were plenty of cool high-note moments. They’re accomplished players, not virtuosos, which was ok since they worked perfectly together as an ensemble. No 20 minute “all-about-me” solos, and their gloriously rudimentary style reminded one of The Ramones at CBGB’s, with Hilly Crystal at the door. That’s what gives them an edge, creating a soundscape one step above grunge and pop-punk, with a touch of rockabilly mixed well and served with a basket of Hot Twang and some pitchy treble guitar that had the pick-up switch stuck in the bridge position. Plus, they made cool with a spoonful of frim-fram sauce and a bucket of guitar-boogie-groove, ossum fay and a slice of shafafa on the side: Yummmm!
The Cat’s Cradle has the best stage around, and it was the perfect fit for this “Energizer Bunny” show! It was one song after another, a non-stop-machine-gun-delivery, exploding off the stage like a freight train, and the Skids worked this crowd into a frenzy with no down time and no chance to catch your breath. And no looping. There was a guy running around with an ancient Polaroid Land Camera, snapping the crowd all moving to the music. And while the front line didn’t shift, they commanded the crowd effortlessly. Rick Miller drove the show with his rudimentary “Gatemouth Brown” guitar boogie style, and he and drummer Dave Hartman were perfectly sync’d. That’s the potatoes, kids, now here comes the gravy: Mary Huff on bass guitar is exactly the lower-register groove boss and four string bass queen a trio like this needs to stand tall. They did, and she delivered in spades!
