Ballyhoo! unleashes 20 years of touring energy on St. Louis

There is something to be said about a Wednesday night, when you walk into a venue early and the energy is already abundant. Not building throughout the night; it’s there from the start. That was how it went down in St. Louis at the Old Rock House on April 29th, one of the final tour stops for Ballyhoo!, Bumpin Uglies and The Quasi Kings. Sitting scenically close to the Gateway Arch, it was a good crowd from the jump. Really, the night told me one thing: as awesome as it is seeing the bands I love in such an intimate setting, these guys might need to start looking at bigger venues the next time they roll through St. Louis!

The Quasi Kings — out of Columbus, Ohio kicked — things off with a short blitz of a set that clocked in around 30 minutes. But, hey, what they lacked in time, they sure as hell made up for in fun and good vibes. Not a second was wasted. This band’s music sent a wave of positivity rolling through the room and, one by one, fans felt the pull, drawn to the dance floor the way a tide draws everything toward the shore. For a band stepping on first every night, The Quasi Kings delivered exactly what the audience wanted.

Up next was, quite possibly, my favorite band right now.

Bumpin Uglies came out with a different kind of energy entirely. This is my third time getting to see these guys and they have never disappointed. The Maryland-based band took advantage of where the crowd was at, getting them ready and wilder even more. They had a very special prop to help motivate attendees, too… a 14-inch midnight black dildo that served as the unlikely centerpiece of a most pit. There was no trouble finding willing participants, proving once again that you never know what you’re going to get at a Bumpin Uglies show. The boys performed a standard setlist: you know, some new, some old, giving fans an idea of the direction the band is headed, while remembering what got them there. But, arguably, the most memorable moment of the Bumpin Uglies’ set had nothing to do with the chaos. Lead singer Brandon Hardesty had connected with a young fan before the show and, during the set, that kid got called up onstage for his very first crowd-surf experience. There is something special about getting to watch someone have their first real taste of what live music can do to a person and how special it can be and, most importantly, how it needs to be protected.

Then came reggae music veterans Ballyhoo!, also out of Maryland, celebrating 20 years on the road. They kept a few hits in the setlist for the faithful, but the real treat was everything around the hits: the deep cuts, the songs that felt like pages ripped straight out of the Spangler brothers’ origin story. Ballyhoo! had the room grooving and head-banging in equal measure, painting musical pictures of rocking out in their Aberdeen basement, surviving on that “Gas Station Burrito”, while touring for next to nothing and, somehow, making it through an entire year on the road that none of them can fully account for, thanks to “The Great Blackout of 2007″.

20 years in and they’re still finding ways to make performing feel personal.

That’s not nothing. Shows like this are why people keep showing up. All three bands brought something different to the table and all three delivered. The Old Rock House did its job, too; there is a reason why the venue has the reputation it does in this city. As I said before, with the response these bands got on a Wednesday night near the end of their tour, bigger venues should maybe start getting penciled in for the next run.
 

Photography by Thomas Semonco

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