It’s May 6 and I’m headed to another show for the third time in 4 days. This time it’s the Reverend Horton Heat with the Delta Bombers & Dusty 45s supporting. So off I went to Seattle’s foremost punk club, El Corazon.
When I arrived Seattle’s legendary Dusty 45s were already on stage and the club was packed from wall to wall.
When the Rev came out the aforementioned packed crowd immediately began moshing and dancing. I was slammed against the stage so many times I’m surprised I didn’t leave with a broken back or at least need spinal realignment. Thankfully I only ended up with a couple minor bruises.
Hailing from Corpus Christi, TX, the Reverend Horton Heat (AKA Jim Heath) plays pretty straight up rockabilly sound, with a little southern country tossed in to spice it up. Bassist Jumbo Wallace has played with the Rev for over three decades and the two were constantly ribbing each other.
Early on the Rev stood on Jimbo’s standup bass and played his guitar while Jimbo plucked the strings on the prone bass. New drummer (since 2020), Jonathan Jeter, fit right in and rounded out their sound.
The crowd grew especially wild when the band played Galaxy 500. I got kicked in the ankles quite a bit as well as slammed against the stage repeatedly. The song was obviously a crowd favorite. It’s one of my favorites too.
After they left the stage the crowd shouted for more. Although the Rev joked and said Jimbo was tired and wanted to go home, they came back out and played a few more songs culminating with a wild cover of Ace of Spades. As I said, this was a wild night. No one can say that Seattle doesn’t like the Reverend Horton Heat.
Playing prior to the Rev was one of my favorites, the Delta Bombers. I got into them when they kept popping up on my Pandora feed and due to car trouble I was unable to make two of their shows last year. I did make it out when they opened for the Horror Pops and when I saw they were opening for the Reverend Horton Heat, I knew this was a show not to be missed.
The Delta Bombers, hailing from Vegas, consist of Chris Moinichen (lead vocals), Andrew Himmler (guitar), Gregorio Garcia (upright bass), and PJ Franco (drums).
This Motley looking crew plays mixture of bluesy, psycho, roots rock. They have a lot of energy. Drummer PJ had dark wavy hair that hung nearly to his hips and he wore black makeup around his eyes giving him a sort of ghoulish look.
At the end of the show vocalist Chris Moinichen jumped off the stage and danced and sang with the crowd before jumping back onto he stage.
This band puts out so much raw energy that by the time their set was over they were all completely drenched in sweat. I looked forward to seeing them as much as I looked forward to seeing the Rev again.
As I mentioned, when I arrived Seattle’s own Dusty 45s were in full swing and the club was already packed solid. Their songs songs draw inspiration from the roots of rock, rhythm and blues, honky-tonk and jazz. The band consists of Billy Joe Huels. Huels on vocals, guitar and trumpet, Kohen Burrill (drums), Robin Cady (upright bass) and Rod Cook (Lead Guitar).
The highlight was definitely at the end when Billy Joe stood on the prone bass and lit the end of his trumpet afire. He continued blowing through it while it burned and the band played an instrumental of Ghost Riders In the Sky. If he does this often he must pay a fortune having to buy a new trumpet for every show.
The Dusty 45s have been around since 1997 and I have a vague remembrance of seeing them at the Bumbershoot Festival at some point, but I can’t be sure. I was very impressed with them and will make an effort in the future to get out and see them again.
All photos by Holly Homan.
Reverend Horton Heat
The Delta Bombers
Dusty 45s
