By Andrew W. Griffin

Red Dirt Report, editor

Posted: November 20, 2009

reddirtreporter@gmail.com

NORMAN, Okla. – Carrying on their acoustic guitars, three of the five members of The Band Of Heathens – Ed Jurdi, Gordy Quist and Colin Brooks – put on a brief, acoustic, in-store performance at the Hastings books and music store in Norman on Thursday afternoon.

Bassist Seth Whitney and drummer John Chipman hung back, near the rock and pop CD racks, while Jurdi and Quist played acoustic guitars and Brooks played a beautiful, silver-colored slide guitar.

Jurdi got on the Hastings intercom and had some fun, saying they were gathering back on a “haybale” and playing. Clearly Band of Heathens were here to have some fun.

So, the three young guitarists stood next to one another and began to play, after Jurdi asked how many “Longhorns fans” were in the crowd, adding that Chipman had gone to OU.

The current hit – “L.A. County Blues” – a song about the adventures of the late gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, was performed first before the small but excited crowd of Heathens fans.

The other two songs – the Gillian Welch tune “Look At Miss Ohio” and the final song was the terrific, soulful sing-a-long “Shine A Light.”

“We should make a stage out of those ‘Band Hero’ boxes,” joked Brooks, pointing to a stack of boxes of the music game nearby.

Sure, it was a short gig. Jurdi made sure to mention that he expected everyone to show up at the Farmer’s Market gig later that evening.

Later, as they signed autographs, Red Dirt Report asked BOH how the “One Foot In The Ether” tour was going.

First, they said this was the second show of the second leg of the current tour. This, after three days of rest back in Austin.

“It’s good,” Brooks said. “It’s been fun.”

Quist agreed, saying “it’s been great” and that “every city is different.”

Whitney, clearly a jokester in the group, said the band members “all enjoy a good workout” so they can have that extra energy on stage.

One of the guys chuckled and told this reporter to not believe a word Whitney was saying.

The folks who came out for the short acoustic show seemed happy. One fan said he couldn’t believe the Heathens were “playing in a Hastings of all places.”

And the Heathens are tuned into popular culture. Peeking at their Twitter feed, they wrote on the day of their Hastings appearance: “We’re doing an in-store performance set up by Artie Fufkin. If you’ve seen Spinal Tap you know what I mean.”

And of course “Artie Fufkin” was a record label promoter for Spinal Tap in the 1984 mockumentary. In a key scene involving the character played by musician Paul Shaffer, no one shows up for an in-store album signing and Fufkin begs David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) to kick his ass.

It wasn’t that bad, though. They may not have been mobbed by teen girls but the people who did appear were appreciative that the Heathens took the time to play for them.

One woman, who spoke briefly to Red Dirt Report, said she had heard about BOH on a Memphis radio station and when she heard they were going to be here, had to come out and hear them live. Later, she even brought out an electric guitar and had all the band members sign it.

Interestingly, after the gig, the band said they were going back to Oklahoma City to hit Lido’s, a popular Vietnamese restaurant in the Asian District. They said that if they are even driving through town on their way to a gig in a far-off city, they will make the time to eat at Lido.

Later, at the Farmer’s Market gig, opening up for BOH was a terrific Americana band out of Shreveport, La. called Dirtfoot, a group that plays “gypsy-punk-country-grumble-boogie.”

 This is one of the most exciting new bands this music lover has heard in a while. Full of energy and creative as hell, Dirtfoot wowed the crowd and even invited plenty of audience participation. Folks in the audience were provided with sealed tin cans that were filled with rocks. These were used as percussion instruments. A Dirtfoot show – guitars, drums, banjo, sax, upright bass -  is highly recommended. Hopefully they and The Band Of Heathens will return to Oklahoma soon.

For more information on Band Of Heathens, go to www.bandofheathens.com.

For more information on Dirtfoot, go to www.dirtfoot.com.

Copyright 2009 West Marie Media