Concert review: Band of Heathens at Hank’s Texas Grill (February 20)

by Staff of The Gobblers Knob

Here's a poor quality concert shot from my phone - Jurdi taking his turn on lead vocal as Quist and Brooks wait for their turn.

I have been eager to make it back to Hank’s ever since my first visit a few months ago. Luckily, the stars aligned just perfectly last night and I was able to catch the Band of Heathens gig at Hank’s Texas Grill in McKinney. So much has been written about these guys and I have enjoyed their debut studio effort quite a bit since June, so I was looking forward to what turned out to be one their first US shows since returning from a 2 1/2 week tour of Europe (see Video Blog from Germany below).

Playing to a crowd that was pretty close to capacity (two or three hundred, I imagine), BoH quickly displayed the versatility that sets them apart from so many others in the crowded Texas scene. Gordy Quist, who sang most of the lead vocals and shared duty on lead and rhythm guitar while playing harmonica, teamed with Collin Brooks, who also sang lead and harmony, handled the lap steel, mandolin and also shared lead and rhythm duties, and Ed Jurdi, who also sang lead and harmony and would slide from guitar to keyboard often throughout the night, to succesfully recreate the tuneful and soulful vibe of their 2008 disc, Band of Heathens.The beginning of the show featured songs from Quist’s solo output, “Hold On” and “Miss Ohio”. Jurdi’s contribution on the keys gave the performance of these tracks a smooth, almost R&B vibe that recalled the mellower works of The Allman Brothers instead of what many Texas music lovers have come to expect from the rock sounds of most acts booked at Hank’s. The band then rolled through many of the cuts from their most recent album, including my favorite, “Maple Tears”. The yearning in Quist’s voice, mixed with the simple lyrics about a “girl from Manitoba” and Brooks’ steel work, showcased BoH’s stone-cold Country side. Brooks’ regained the lead vocal position when they kicked into “Cornbread”. Possessing a funky beat and shredding on the mandolin (yep, I just said that), the song was given extra spark that even the rollicking studio version lacks.

With each number, the crowd near the stage roared with approval as the oddballs near the back beat me down with inane conversation and requests of "anyone have an extra smoke?" That’s a shame, really. Special is the occasion when a concert starts as a simple night out and turns into a truly memorable night of music. With a limited number of Dallas/Fort Worth-area appearances, I hope the guys were given enough love to get D/FW on the list more often.