It’s difficult enough to catch Honky this side of the Atlantic at all, let alone at a last minute gig in a small pub in Brighton. For the few lucky fans that caught wind of this rescheduling, it was a truly rare and memorable event.
Featuring members of Butthole Surfers and Down, Honky formed in 1996 but are only now beginning to gain the global recognition they so rightly deserve. In the meantime, the band have done the rounds as the opening act for the likes of Nashville Pussy, Down, Fu Manchu and, most recently, Melvins on their 2013 30th anniversary tour (Jeff Pinkus performing with both Honky and Melvins). Tonight it’s Honky’s turn to head the bill.
Main support comes from Oxford based five-piece, Desert Storm. These guys show up with weighty slabs of bluesy stoner rock and lob it into our faces. Vocalist Matt Ryan grinds words in his mouth like a cement mixer while the guitars hammer, twang and drive the songs. On ‘Word To The Wise Man’ Matt’s chunky voice ripples through us while during ‘Astral Planes’ he growls like a fury monster with a thorn in his toe.
We’ll remember the track ‘Shadow Of An Eagle’ for sounding like a huge bee that got inside the Prince Albert and tried to start a moshpit. Desert Storm is like Motorhead, Rage Against The Machine and Clutch melted into a stone bowl with concrete and beards. It was these guys who arranged the show tonight as well. So pint glasses in the air for Desert Storm.
Honky don’t mess around with stage antics like the Butthole Surfers did. The setup is simple: three Texas cowboys with tattoos, massive beards and flying V guitars. They’re like Pantera, ZZ Top and Willie Nelson rolled (and smoked) into one. Sure, on disc the critics call it ‘psychedelic boogie rock’ or ‘Texas super boogie’. But live this is 100% pure high-grade Southern metal and you better goddamn believe it y’all. ‘Cowboy Metal’ comes armoured with swift licks and crunchy grooves. It’s big, heavy, sleazy and it’s rattle-your-bones loud.
Honky open with ‘WFO’ (Wide Fucking Open) setting the tone with double vocals and impressive guitar skills. Natural follow up track ‘Just A Man’ leaves just as much of an imprint. The power and force coming from these three chaps is impressive even in this small venue. Old tracks ‘Love To Smoke Your Weed’ and ‘Good Pipe’ really get the audience pumping. One thing that we can count on is JD Pinkus’ love of recreational drugs which has been sustained since his days in the BH Surfers. ‘Snortin Whiskey’ is another big crowd pleaser. Of course, any bar where Honky plays would be incomplete without a rendition of ‘Balls Out Inn’.
The turnout tonight was not a reflection of the quality of the gig. Honky could easily headline bigger venues in Brighton. Perhaps now we’ll see more Honky and less of all the other projects that these guys have got going on. Either way, the small sweaty venue and JD Pinkus’ greasy lyrics will cling to us for a few weeks yet. We still smell very Honky.
Prince Albert, Monday 18th November 2013
Words by John Mclean
