Whisky, chainsaws, power tools, fireballs, dancing girls and cowbells. Sounds like one hell of a party. Or just another day at the office for the rock n roll freight train extravaganza known as White Cowbell Oklahoma.
If you love good ole fashioned hardnosed, in-your-face rock n roll that leaves a taste of sweet southern spice in your mouth and you have never heard of these guys, you will want to smack yourself for missing them last Friday at Mavericks. Having seen them a few years ago I knew what I was in for and I must say front man Clem Clemsen and the boys delivered a ripping set as always.
White Cowbell Oklahoma at Mavericks. Photo by Dave Di Ubaldo / Worn Leather Media.
Songs like ’Monster Railroad’, ‘Put the South in Your Mouth’, ’Cheerleader’, ‘San Antone’ and ‘Happy Ending’ will have you toe tapping and knee slapping leaving a smile on your face all night long. Clemsen not only mans the lead vocals with a voice straight out of the south but also can wail on his beat up ole trusty Fender Stratocaster with leads that kick some serious ass.
The band has their own resident cowbell playing, whisky drinking stunt man Chainsaw Charlie. Not only does he keep a mean beat with the cowbell, he also uses grinders to create his own style of light show, sets his cowbell on fire to warm the crowd up and uses chainsaws to shoot toilet paper at the crowd. On top of all this, the band had brought their own dancing girls on stage, or as Clemsen called them the “Legal Team”. You really need to experience a White Cowbell Oklahoma show in person to truly know what it’s all about.
White Cowbell Oklahoma at Mavericks. Photo by Dave Di Ubaldo/ Worn Leather Media.
Opening the night were a couple of Ottawa’s top rockers, first off Dead Air Republic, who are fronted by Iconoclast’s Lead singer Mark Bourgon. He mentioned before the show that he was battling the flu all week and that his voice was hurting, but he still rocked out hard and sounded pretty stellar.
After Dead Air Republic finished their set, the hard hitting rockers Old James got up and blazed a serious trail of rock. Bass player/front man Brian Stephenson destroyed his bass while his brother Chris pummeled the drums, and the band’s new guitarist Joe Fraser shredded his axe hard enough I’m surprised it didn’t go up in flames. All in all it was a great night of rock and roll!
