It’s Friday night at the Waterloo and there’s a real buzz in the air for tonight’s co-headline show, that delicious electric anticipation you get before a night of rock n roll, this time round with a Southern edge.   

Two of the most precious commodities in the rock world are credibility and authenticity. Ephemeral but vital, like trust they’re hard to gain and easily lost. Warner E Hodges has consistently had both across his entire career, whether it be with Jason & The Scorchers, Homemade Sin, The Bluefields (still in the top ten of all the gigs I’ve witnessed) or, as tonight, with his own band.   

That Warner is also a bona-fide star is also never in doubt, and tonight’s performance just reinforces that fact.  Alongside his talented band, he performs with a Nashville charisma and charm that makes him eminently relatable, like an old friend you’ve not see for a few years (albeit an old friend that just happens to be an astonishingly cool guitar player.) The Warner you see on stage is the same as the Warner you chat to at the merch stand, there’s no difference, no artifice, just a confidence borne out of decades of playing at the top of his game. Whether flinging his guitar over his shoulder in his trademark move, bantering with bandmates or regaling the crowd with tales of moonshine, there is a refreshing honesty and openness that only enhances the excitement of this evening’s dynamic performance, 

Warner may have a setlist for his band tonight, but it feels more like a suggestion, a guideline to what the band may play rather than a definitive roadmap.  When he does consult it, it only seems to prompt a diversion to another song rather than the one that was actually supposed to be played.  This spontaneity keeps everything fresh and for the audience proves a tantalising prospect, as you can’t possibly know what is coming next.   

Apparently, Warner was challenged to get through a set without playing any covers (although songs from his previous bands are thankfully exempt) and he almost manages it were it not for a barnstorming run through John Denver’s ‘Country Roads’ (and I’d wager that’s the first time John Denver has been referenced in a ROCKFLESH review!), the crowd roaring along with a song which works surprisingly well as a heads down rocker.   In contrast ‘The Magician’ is as out and out country as you can get, but gives a moment of respite in amongst the more frenetic numbers.  Both bands tonight are playing headline sets, so across nearly 20 songs we get a wide range covering all of Warner’s various incarnations. There are some newies from the soon to be released “Soul Shaker” album, with ‘The Great Unknown’ a stand out, with an excellent lead from Warner himself and a lovely solo from guitarist Ben Marsden stage right.  Anything from Warner’s work with Dan Baird is more than alright with me and an exquisite ‘Two for Tuesday scratches’ that particular itch, thank you very much.  It’s also great to hear first-hand that Dan is doing fine and the evident fondness and affection Warner holds for his old partner in crime is clear to see.     

Warner truly has nothing to prove to anyone, the irony being that by continuing to put in stellar performances like tonight’s, he continues to do just that merely by being himself. 

It's my first time seeing The Supersuckers live, having first come across them years ago when I saw Faster Pussycat cover one of their songs.  I’d heard the term cow-punk bandied around before but never really understood what it meant until tonight when the band take the stage and it immediately becomes clear.  Theirs is an irreverent hybrid of dirty rock riffs and rock n roll melded to a punk rock ethic with a smattering of country to top it off, having more in common with Motorhead or The Ramones than say, Lynyrd Skynryd.   

From the very first note of ‘All of the Time’ it’s clear that Eddie Spaghetti, Metal Marty and Captain Chris von Streicher are taking absolutely no prisoners. An anarchic irrepressible energy powers The Supersuckers, it’s fast, it’s furious, profane and frankly quite wonderful, and simply never lets up.  Eddie cuts a Lemmy-esque figure, head to toe in black, curled cowboy hat and shades and sporting an impressively pointed beard, a study in easy cool. He also possesses a devilishly wicked sense of humour which permeates their songs, snarky expletive strewn wordplay guaranteed to shock or amuse dependant on your point of view. 

The crowd is noticeably more animated for The Supersuckers than for a lot of gigs with some channelling and embracing that punky energy and pinballing around the crowd trying to create some animation in what is a relatively small space and meeting with only limited success as a result.  

The band speed through over twenty songs including three numbers from guitarist Metal Marty’s side project where he takes over the mic for, amongst others, ‘Idaho Baby’, the chorus of which quite bizarrely puts me in mind of the old KLF/Timelords song ‘Doctorin’ the Tardis’, not something I ever expected to reference. 

‘Pretty Fucked Up’ (this was the one that Faster Pussycat covered) is utterly wonderful, a foul-mouthed singalong of irreverent glory that ratchets the energy levels ever higher, leaving every one sweat soaked, a little weary but with a stupid grin on their faces. Then it’s just time for one last ‘Born with a Tail’, and they’re gone leaving a happy (or in some cases, somewhat shell-shocked) crowd to contemplate what they just witnessed. Like their co-headliners, The Supersuckers couldn’t be more authentic, gritty and real and are all the greater for it and for that I thoroughly applaud them and hope they continue to do what they do for years to come. 

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
The Supersuckers, Warner E Hodges