Country Western Night AKA Come As You Are at Fuzzy Cactus
Saturday, April 9, Holy Roller, RVA, headlined a three-band performance at the Fuzzy Cactus on Brookland Park Blvd. Country Western was the theme of the night. Justin Golden and his band, The Come Up, another group of local performers, appeared, as well as The Great Beforetimes. Country western feels like the most true-to-form manifestation of this rock and roll bar’s purpose. I’ve loved seeing Acid Dad perform Searchin’ there and paying tribute to Elvis, who overlooks the bar from the first booth. It’s a shiny, alien, metal, country western, cozy kind of hole in the wall that devotes the all-gender bathroom space to local installation artists. Get down with the finely-crafted tiki sugar skull drinks. Get comfortable in a row of vinyl booths that line the bar, making a partition as well as offering a good view of the stage area. Hit up the pool table or the pinball machines. And feel free to stomp in your cowboy boots. Holly Roller’s name suits them well, because their male-lead singer has a wide open style and sings to a great wide open - not the open road though. Their music was spiritual and uplifting while still being fun. Easy, bright solos, a traveling bass and lots of backup vocals make it a wild and fun performance that comes to awesome heights enhanced by a wailing organ keyboard. Members of another local country-western group, Devil’s Coattails, who are on Floydfest’s bill this June were in attendance, and scattered fans in the full house sang along with several of this group’s songs. They were hot! Preceding their act, Justin Golden and the Come Up put on a mellow, blue kind of country folk performance. At times he sounded like Van Morrison, and at others, I felt the influence of labor songs. In those, I heard spiritual music. Golden reminds me a little of Tracy Chapman, for his humble persona on stage and the rich and husky quality of his voice. We, manning the door, liked the classic sound, the slide guitar, and I also appreciated the beautiful vocal additions from the group’s keyboardist. Hard copies of their album, Hard Times and a Woman, are available for purchase online. Justin Golden said, “we had a blast rocking out with Holy Roller and The Great Beforetimes.” He invites you to catch next appearance, May 30th, at Daydream Fest. I sat for most of this show by the doorman, soaking in the vibes, watching the detectives, and handing out sour peachie-o’s. Last night, by special permission, it was BYOC (candy) for me at this casual, colorful, craft-beverage venue! Don’t forget to bring cash for the door entry or hit a nearby ATM on the way to your next show and try the fried chicken!
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AuthorWe are Kieran and Michelle, two 32-year-old William & Mary grads living in Virginia. Archives
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