When most musicians first go on the road, they are lucky if they have a road manager on board to get the band to the next gig, deal with management at the venue and haul gear. As the act’s popularity grows, the touring party expands proportionally, to the point where it takes dozens (if not over 100) people to make each stadium show happen.
Case in point? Kiss. When a former employee filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the band in 2023, it came to light that the band had a “wig roadie.” That’s right, Kiss had someone on the payroll whose job was to maintain the wigs worn onstage by the band members. David Matthews, the wig roadie in question, claimed that he was fired following complaints about lax COVID procedures during Kiss tours, even after a guitar tech died from the disease in 2021.
This week, as reported in Rolling Stone, a judge told lawyers for both sides, “You’re both overconfident in your positions,” and recommended that the parties settle the matter before it went to trial. It appears that the judge’s warning was heeded, and a hearing has been scheduled for March to approve a still-undisclosed settlement.
My theory is that what this is all really about is the wig roadie’s failure to properly conceal Gene Simmons’ bald pate when it was showtime. Simmons’ baldness is no secret and hasn’t been for some time. Remember when comedian Lisa Lampanelli asked, during a televised roast of Simmons several years back, “Hey Gene, where did you get the idea for your hair? Did you see Planet of The Apes and go ‘That’s it!”?
Ticket Alert
Blazing guitarist Ana Popovic hails from Serbia, but she certainly has a way with American blues. Tickets are on sale now for her appearance at Main Street Crossing on Wednesday, April 2.
James McMurtry is a difficult artist to categorize, with rock, folk and country influences all informing his songs and performances. While this musical blend has garnered him a great deal of attention from Americana afficionados and fulsome praise from critics, McMurtry first appeared on many folks’ radar a couple of years ago when he performed encores at two gigs in Tennessee and one at Gruene Hall in New Braunfels wearing a dress and fishnet hose while playing his song “Red Dress,” in a protest against anti-drag laws. Since that time, McMurtry has been known in some circles as “The Old Rugged Crossdresser.” You can get tickets now for his show on Friday, May 23, at Main Street Crossing.
The beloved Houston duo Trout Fishing in America (Keith Grimwood and Ezra Idlet) will perform on Sunday, October 12 at the Dosey Doe Big Barn. The band performs songs for “audiences of all ages,” and with that in mind, the Trout Fishing website includes a section featuring printable “coloring pages” devoted to trippy drawings by local artist / musician Beans Barton. Parents, if you want your kids to get headed in the right direction, this would be a good place to start. Tickets are on sale now, and the folks at the Dosey Doe point out that the kitchen will be open for dinner prior to the show.
Concerts This Week
Get your musical year started off on the right foot with a scorching blast from the Reverend Horton Heat, who is performing tonight at Main Street Crossing. The right Reverend has been relentlessly plying his psychobilly trade for almost 40 years, so when he says, “This afternoon’s pizza backstage of some dive you’ve played a hundred times before / Where rats the size of a loaf of bread climb the walls and run the pipes,” in “That’s Show Biz,” you know he’s speaking from experience. And for the record, Senator, I am not aware of any rodent issues at Main Street Crossing.
If you have a hankering for some honest, hardcore country music, head for the Mucky Duck on Thursday and catch Dale Watson. Early in his career, Watson was a member of the house band at Los Angeles’ Palomino Club, which was ground zero for the neo-honky tonk movement, and since then he has continued to refine his sound, reflecting the traditions of the past while steadfastly maintaining his musical integrity. And how can you not like a guy who wrote a song called “Nashville Rash”?
West Texas has a formidable musical tradition, going back to Bob Wills, Buddy Holly, Waylon Jennings and the Flatlanders (Butch Hancock, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Joe Ely). The latest export from that part of the world is the appropriately named West Texas Exiles. In this case, the band members ended up “exiled” to Austin, where they assembled a few years ago. On its website, the band proclaims, “There’s Texas and there’s West Texas.” Find out what that means (if you don’t already know) on Friday at the Dosey Doe Breakfast, BBQ and Whiskey Bar.
When the term “Irish rock” comes up, U2 may spring to mind, but, with talent like Rory Gallagher, Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy), the Pogues and Van Morrison among the phenomenal artists who have come from the Emerald Isle, it really shouldn’t be Bono et al. at the top of the list. And what about Blaggards, Houston’s own purveyors of “stout Irish rock”? Led by Irishman Patrick Devlin, the band is loud and in your face, just the way rock and roll should be. Catch them on Saturday at the Continental Club.
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