Nashville Pussy
4th May 2017
Whammy! Bar, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Bridget Herlihy. Photography by Doug Peters.
Nashville Pussy need no introduction. In the twenty-one years since their inception in Atlanta, Georgia, they have carved out their own distinctive niche in the southern rockabilly scene, earning a reputation of the finest purveyors of pure unadulterated cowpunk – a sound perhaps best described as a hybrid of good ol’ dirty rock’n’roll, punk rock, country and new wave with a dash of blues for good measure. Yet in many ways Nashville Pussy have resisted being defined by any genre, having masterfully honed their own distinctive, and raucous, sound.
The last time they graced NZ with their presence was back in 2006, so needless to say the crowd gathered at Whammy Bar for this auspicious occasion of the first night of the ‘Pussy Down Under’ Tour were burning with anticipation for another dose of The Pussy.
The first act of the night were the Skinny Hobos. A duo of self-proclaimed “hairy men” from Auckland, Alex Elvis (multitasking on guitar, bass and vocals) and Texas Holdem (drums and vocals) are a couple of quintessential kiwi blokes with a penchant for loud rock. They may be skinny by name, but their sound is anything but. Playing a set of blistering blues rock, both literally and figuratively, with frontman Elvis proclaiming that his fingers had never bled this much before. The Hobo’s 2016 single ‘The Merchant of Tirau’ was particularly impressive, laying down a swaggering groove with massive riffs. The Skinny Hobos make good on their claim to make more noise, and very good noise at that, than two people should.
After a brief interlude, where I was given an impromptu spiritual reading by an enthusiastic and slightly inebriated fellow member of the audience, Labretta Suede and the Motel 6 took the stage, playing an instrumental for Suede to make her entrance. Clad in a skimpy leather and animal print studded two piece, the sultry Labretta strutted on stage, introducing the band as being “overdressed and under rehearsed”. Decked out in suitably rock n roll attire, Labretta Suede and the Motel 6 didn’t sound as if rehearsals had been lacking, delivering a throbbing set. Within moments Suede had flung her shoes over her shoulders, marking the beginning of an uncompromising set. The sharply dressed band, including Johnny Moondog (guitar), Jay L Vodanovich (bass) and Stewy Water Pig (drums) played a tight set drenched in dirty, pulsing tongue-in-cheek rock; barely pausing to take a breath. What is perhaps the most striking quality of Labretta Suede and the Motel 6 is the timeless quality of their distinctive sound; an auditory melting pot of rockabilly, blues, roots, garage with a dash of punk sensibility for good measure; a sound that would be right at home at any point over the last forty years. Suede saunters about the stage with a devil may care attitude; swinging her microphone; a rock’n’roll seductress oozing bucketfuls of confidence, attitude and sex appeal. One moment Suede will be crooning with a deep husky growl, the next screaming with the best of them.
Needless to say, all eyes were firmly on Suede for the entirety of the set. Playing an eclectic set of tracks spanning their nearly 12 year career, including songs from their recently released EP Bait. With an orgasmic growl Suede concluded the set, with an assortment of wild cries while she climbed the speaker stack. And in haze of distortion, the auditory equivalent of a puff of smoke, they were gone.
It was a lengthy wait before the heroes of the night appeared.Husband and wife duo Blaine Cartwright (vocals, guitar) and Ruytur Suys (lead guitar), with bassist Bonnie Buitrago and drummer Ben Thomas arrived onstage with little fanfare, and after a quick tune-up launched into ‘Everybody’s Fault But Mine’ from 2014’s ‘Up The Dosage’, and it was immediately evident that the wait had not been in vain, before jumping straight into ‘Piece of Ass’. Like a fine wine front man Blaine Cartwright’s distinctive southern drawl and gravelly vocals have been preserved well, no doubt with the help of a little whiskey, filling the Whammy Bar with ease, proving that he can still scream with the best of them. Having been away from New Zealand for a decade, Cartwright seemed intent in making up for lost time, promising a “crazy-ass show”. Although the performance lacked the craziness of the notorious scantily-clad debauchery of the shows that made Nashville Pussy infamous earlier in their career, their sound is as full and flawless as ever, with heavy, heavy bass lines from the superb Bonnie Buitrago that literally made the walls vibrate, along with sheer ferocity of drummer Ben Thomas on his first visit to our shores. Guitarist, and Cartwright’s right-hand woman Ruyter Suys played like a woman possessed, with plenty of head-banging and hair flying, laying down riffs like there was no tomorrow. The intimate crowd became increasingly frenzied as the set went on, and it appears that clothing became optional as my spiritual reader stumbled through the crowd minus her shirt. Playing a set that spanned their career, Cartwright also paid to tribute to one of his heroes, the recently departed Chuck Berry, with his only guitar solo of the night. Although there were plenty of formidable solos from the gorgeous Ruys during the night, and a lengthy drum solo from Thomas that was met with loud screams of delight. It seems that Nashville Pussy lapped up the adoration of their Kiwi fans, with Cartwright denouncing himself as a US citizen, and alluding to the fact he would rather lay down roots in the Southern Hemisphere.
While things failed to get any more crazy than Cartwright pouring his beer into his obligatory ten-gallon hat, and then proceeding to drink it, Nashville Pussy remain a fierce force to be reckoned with. Here’s hoping it isn’t another ten years before they grace our shores again.
Labretta Suede & The Motel 6:
Nashville Pussy
Were you there at Whammy! Bar for this brilliant night of alt-punk rock n roll? Or have you seen Nashville Pussy live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- Everybody’s Fault But Mine
- Piece of Ass
- Pillsbury Blues
- I’m So High
- Rub It To Death
- Hate and Whiskey
- Going Down Swinging
- Up The Dosage
- Till the Meat Falls Off The Bone
- Can’t You See / Go To Hell
- Good Night For A Heart Attack
- Pussy’s Not A Dirty Word
- Go Motherfucker Go
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