Southern Culture on the Skids Lay Down the Hoodoo Voodoo

Southern Culture on the Skids, purveyors of all things salty, deep fried and generally bad for you, brought their own version of Suv’ern livin’ to Orlando. The set leaned heavily on the band’s most recent release, “Zombified.”

Rick Miller of Southern Culture on the Skids

With a sense of humor in line with Hee Haw and The Dead Milkmen, Rick Miller and company played 90 minutes plus of fan favorites with razor sharp musicianship and wit that swung from overtly goofy to sly and understated.

Rick Miller, the group’s founding member and guitarist, is one of the most grossly underappreciated guitar heroes ever. Channeling equal parts Dick Dale and Link Wray, his own feisty fret board workouts are fluid, whip smart and often stop on a dime and turn around on top of themselves. His love of surf music was evident as he introduced several instrumentals, among them “Skullbucket” and the show stopping “Mexi-Melt.” “Greenback Fly” was another song that received an extended workout showing off Miller as a soloist and the bands tightly woven ability to play off of one another.

In the way Frank Zappa’s music was often glossed over by people who focused solely on his often absurdly humorous lyrics, perhaps Miller is dismissed because of his propensity to sing about white trash, haints, and big haired women.

Miller splits the vocal duties with bassist Mary Huff. Resplendent with big hair, Mary brought down the house with “Daddy was a Preacher and Mama was a

Go–Go Girl.” In between songs Ms. Huff never missed an opportunity to check her hair and make-up, to make sure she looked perfect.

Drummer Dave Hartman’s creative playing swung and kicked by turns, performing interesting licks where most other players would settle and be cliché.

The band also rolled out the classic Cramps number “Goo Goo Muck,” in tribute to the band that inspired Miller to start a band in the first place.

Audience members were on and off stage all night, and honestly, I’ve been to “Rocky Horror Picture Show” screenings where there was less audience participation. With dancers brought up for “Camel Walk” and the ritual distribution of fried chicken during “Eight Piece Box,” the show was as relaxed and as much fun as the best damn backyard bar-b-que you’ve ever been to.