The Served Cold Tour arrived in Orlando on one of the coldest evenings of the year. Thankfully the House of Blues folks had pity on those of us outside waiting in a chilly 42 degrees (Florida people do NOT have the proper clothing for this!), and opened the doors a bit early so we could all pile in. Guess that’s what happens when some of Canada’s finest show up for a show! Of course, there were many in the requisite wide-rimmed Buckaroo Cowboy hats in attendance….and lots of plaid flannels (I mean, it was FREEZING outside), but the crowd was much more diverse than that. The Served Cold Tour brought together fans from all over central Florida to kick back and enjoy some good ‘ol honky-tonk, hillbilly, banjo pickin’, rock and roll playin’ fun.
The show opened with Saskatchewan’s own Danny Olliver (that’s Olliver with 2 L’s), a self-taught “fingerstyle” guitarist who took the stage solo and owned it. I would venture to say that no one in the crowd knew of Mr. Olliver BEFORE he took the stage, but you wouldn’t know that because he quickly captured our attention and respect with his pure voice, incredible guitar playing, and infectious personality. He even threw in a little Celtic twist, which spoke to my roots, with songs like “Trifling Thing” and “Josephine”. A new batch of Danny Olliver fans were born in the crowd that evening.
I’m not sure anything could have prepared us for The Hooten Hallers, who took the stage next. These Columbia, Missouri natives are unapologetically strange and raucous and just downright incredible showmen. With John Randall on guitar and vocals, Andy Rehm on drums and vocals and Ms. Kellie Everett on Baritone and Bass Saxophone (yes, that’s right, there was a SAXOPHONE on the stage!), this 3-piece band brought a gritty sound that was a perfect mix of rock, blues and hillbilly. Songs like “She Used to Love My Music”, “Rhythm and Blues”, and “It’s Hard to Trust Your Baby” had the crowd jumping and covers like “What a Wonderful World” brought us all back down for a few heartfelt moments. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a Bari Sax (much less a BASS Sax, those things are HUGE) and guitar on stage together other than my son’s high school band, but I was blown away by this combination. It seemed perfectly natural. Our time together had to end though, to make room for the main event of the evening.
Before the main event, the stage had to be set, literally. The black shrouds that had covered large faux stained-glass panels were removed and old school free-standing lanterns lined the stage casting an eerie glow across the stage. Then The Dead South walked out, with their signature “uniform” of black pants, white shirts, wide-brimmed hats and a beautiful array of stringed instruments and opened the show with “Diamond Ring” from their recently released album Sugar and Joy and the audience sang along with every word. The Dead South has been described as folk and bluegrass. But their dark humor coupled with their incredible stage presence and sheer talent make them unique in the bluegrass world, defining their own genre.
Showcasing their original line up of Nate Hilts on lead vocals and guitar, Scott Pringle on mandolin (and guitar), Colton Crawford on banjo and Danny Kenyon on cello, these guys brought stories of murder and drinking and gambling and lust to the audience and by the end it felt like we were all honorary members of the band. Fans erupted for the hand-clapping, foot-stomping sing-a-long that is “The Recap”, and sang along with band standards “Broken Cowboy”, “Miss Mary”, and “Heaven in a Wheelbarrow”. “Time for Crawling” had Scott Pringle trading his mandolin for guitar and lead vocals. And then the song that has possibly my favorite lyric of the night….” That Bastard Son”. I’ll let you guys take a listen and see if you can decide which lyrics caught my attention. The hoedown house party continued and the crowd erupted yet again when the Danny Kenyon began whistling the familiar intro to the song that helped put this band on the national map, “In Hell I’ll Be in Good Company”
This show was #24 on a 27 show US tour which ends in Atlanta, GA and then heads overseas on a multi-country tour that lasts through June, then picks back up in October and includes stops in Ireland, the UK, Germany, Czech Republic, France, Switzerland, Poland, and Hungary.
If you have the opportunity to check out any one of these three incredible bands, take it. Not just on Spotify or Pandora or iTunes….but catch them LIVE….it is a life-changing experience!
Check out the playlists here:
The Dead South
The Hooten Hallers
Danny Olliver
Enjoy these photos of Danny Olliver, The Hooten Hallers, and The Dead South performing at the House of Blues Orlando. All photos copyright and courtesy of Chris Cornett Photography.
