Th’ Legendary Shackshakers

Will’s Pub, Orlando, Fl

Friday, February 5, 2016

Th’ Legendary Shackshakers may have been asking for grief when they slapped “Legendary” into their name, but they earn the right to use it every time they set foot on stage. This past Friday in Orlando was no exception. LSS served up an full energized set of swampy, backwoods, punk tinged, unsettled hillbilly music that quickly blurred lines.

This self proclaimed Southern Gothic four piece takes their cues directly from William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor and Buck Owens. Prone to unusually intense, unrelenting and in every way, over the top performances, the band is currently on tour, and were as good as a rock and roll show can be.

Branding them another outlaw country act sells them short. At times folky in a Woody Guthrie vein and by turns rockabilly and roots rock, the restless soul of the band continuously shifted gears as the show progressed.

Singer Colonel J.D. Wilkes fronted the show like a wild-eyed street preacher determined to be heard and understood. Prowling the small stage, he cut a commanding presence, connecting easily with the audience. Equal parts big tent revival and performance art, Wilkes performance called to mind a twisted melding of a youthful Jerry Lee Lewis and Jello Biafra merging into something unsettling and new.

The band delivered an explosive, taut performances that belied deft skill only a touring band can produce. Take note, bands capable of delivering this sort of solid, adrenalized set are in it for the long haul.

The set was culled from new material from the most recent Southern Surreal, to the classic Cockadoodledon’t. “CB Song” and “Blood on the Bluegrass” were both stand out numbers in an evening of stand-out tracks. “Blood on the Bluegrass” in particular seemed to hold a particular resonance as the songs subjects, Roderick Ferrell and Heather Wendorf were involved in the 1998 Vampire Cult killings in nearby Eustis. The song was taken a double time clip and never eased up.

The encore, a loose reading of slim Harpo’s classic “Shake Your Hips,” was fiery and fraught with abandon.

Th’ legendary Shack Shakers provided a tight and energetic assault on the ears, with a solid show that’s hard to match for intensity. They left the stage they way they took to it, a raw, gritty, unkempt sight, and absolutely owned the night.