Concert Review: Southern Culture On The Skids (The Pour House Raleigh)

BY MARK DOLEJS

Southern Culture on the Skids brought the Saturday night party to The Pour House Music Hall in Raleigh this past weekend. The sold-out show was packed with fans young and old and everyone rocked to the music like one big family.

Mary Huff assists Rick Miller on the guitar
They opened the show with "Skullbucket," "Voodoo Cadilac," and "Nitty Gritty," all off their 1995 album Dirt Track Date. Later in the show the crowd was treated to "Soul City" and "Greenback Fly" off the same album.

Fans join Southern Culture on the Skids on stag for the "Camel Walk"
Fifteen-year-old best friends Izzy Burgess and Emily Moore arrived early for the show and hung out in the front row. The pair traveled from Wilmington, care of Izzy’s mom Beth. At one point the pair joined a half dozen other women on stage dancing during the song "Camel Walk." Izzy was all smiles after the show, which was her first concert.

Dave Hart of Southern Culture on the Skids
About midway through the night, lead singer and guitarist, Rick Miller, led us in fan-favorite "Banana Pudding." As tradition dictates, during the song, several foil trays of banana pudding are spoonfed to the crowd by several attractive young women.

Mary Huff of Southern Culture on the Skids
The band is rounded out by Mary Huff, on bass and vocals, along with Dave Hart on drums. Hart plays a really cool set of drums as he stands instead of sits while playing. Cuz’n Roy joined the band on stage most of the night, playing various forms of percussion, including tambourine, maracas, and at one point a piece of metal gutter strummed by a spoon.

Rick Miller of Southern Culture on the Skids
Miller played his trademark Danelectro guitar the whole night with the exception of their final encore, a cover of Traffic’s "Dear Mr. Fantasy." Holy crap, this song was amazing as Miller zoned out on his guitar bringing us to a psychedelic place we had not yet been to this night. Definitely a cool way to finish out a fantastic set.

Hunter Landen of The Bad Checks
The Bad Checks opened up the night, getting the crowd ready for SCOTS. They blasted through a powerful 45-minute set as frontman Hunter Landen whirled around the stage. At one point Landen was aimlessly throwing his microphone several feet away and retracting it by the cable it was connected to. Unfortunately, one of the throws nailed a young woman, on the front row, in the face with the microphone. This didn’t seem to impede Landen as he went on with their set.

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MARK DOLEJS

Photography is an avenue that Mark Dolejs uses to learn about the people and places that cross his path. After more than 30 years as a photojournalist, Mark enjoys concert, macro, and roadside photography. Follow Mark on Instagram at @solidrockpix.

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