[Texas] I go to a lot of
shows I’m only minorly excited for, but this was a show I was majorly excited
for. Roky’s music and I fell in love pretty much upon first hearing: dark,
weird, and even supernatural but all with a pretty straightforward rock n roll foundation.
In fact, I’ve come to realize that I may love The Hellacopters because they do
a harder and louder version of Roky’s music. I wasn’t sure what to expect in a
live show, though, with his long trail of mental troubles and advancing age.
Well, he was awesome, awe-inspiring, and amazing – despite the fact that the
only parts of his bodies that really moved were his lips and his strumming
hand. Somehow he was able to emit the same raw rangy rock n roll voice with
complete body containment. I almost cried when he opened with “Cold Night for
Alligators” (a song that is covered magnificently by The Hellacopters). I hate
fandom, but there are certain artists that I feel close to or whose music has
spoken to me, and it’s so eerie to see them in the flesh that it makes me
emotional. Or maybe I was overwrought from my mad summer. Or maybe it was because
I was so happy to see a man with such a sad history able to be on stage doing
what he loves. I imagine that a lot of his dark imagery (demons, vampires,
zombies) is metaphorical for his mental troubles. Live, he sounded Texas garage
sludge with a lot of psychedelia. The Hounds of Baskerville did a tremendous
job backing him, in that their respect for him was clear, and they played
without stealing the show. He was front and center, and they were clearly his
backing band. The guitarist to his left in particular couldn’t seem to stop
smiling shine on Roky. They were protective of him and made sure the
progression of things suited him, asking him throughout the show if he approved
of the next step. He closed with an encore – “You’re Gonna Miss Me” (one of the
biggest hits from Roky’s band, the 13th Floor Elevators) – which was
amusingly introduced as a new song none of us would know. Otherwise, he mostly
played his solo material. It was amusing to see all of our freaky friends from
the Roky signing earlier that day, milling about in the crowd, all freakily-like,
and fittingly, when the crowd sang happy birthday to Roky (because it was his
birthday), he looked more embarrassed than pleased. (Photo courtesy of
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