The Band of Heathens

This was the 2nd sold out night at the Kessler for Hayes & Heathens -- a growing collaboration between Hayes Carll and The Band of Heathens. Save for a brief interlude when the Heathens took a brief break offstage (save for the keyboard player, the excellent Trevor Nealon), entire set consisted of both Hayes Carll and The Band of Heathens sharing the stage and trading off both Hayes Carll numbers and The Bank of Heathens numbers. The collaboration makes for an excellent set: the Hayes Carll numbers really stand out with the added layers of the excellent musicianship and vocals of The Band of Heathens, and The Band of Heathens numbers can focus on some of their standouts with the unique twang of Hayes Carll adding even more layers. The vocalists all complemented each other, and each had standout moments that highlighted their individual strengths as well as how well they all sang together. Really outstanding set for a highly engaged audience. Some of the standout numbers: "L.A. County Blues", "Jackson Station", "Look at Miss Ohio" (The Band of Heathens songs); "KMAG YOYO", "You Get It All", "Stomp and Holler" (Hayes Carll songs). The Band of Heathens is an excellent live band, with essentially two lead vocalists and lead guitar players who share the stage and complement each other very well, along with an excellent supporting cast. I highly recommend catching this band live whenever you can, and Hayes and The Heathens is a really excellent concert experience.