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Pop: Hot Ticket
By GINA VIVINETTO
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 1, 2001
Nothing holy about this Reverend
The Reverend Horton Heat's record label calls him the "outlaw pontiff of punkabilly." Now, the Reverend may not be a real reverend -- and hush now, that's just between you and me -- but his charisma lights up a room as well as any televangelist worth his weight in salty crocodile tears and clandestine beers.
Because of his rockabilly and hell-fire sermons, -- though we hear he's canned the preaching -- folks may construe the good Reverend is all gimmick. Don't. He was doing roots music in the early 1990s, long before it was hip again.
His latest, Spend a Night in the Box, is yet more devil's music celebrating booze and broads. A car crash tune called Sue Jack Daniels? This is a man who believes in the spirit of Eddie Cochran and Carl Perkins. And we, in turn, believe in him. (Amen.)
The Reverend Horton Heat performs with Deke Dickerson and the Ecco-fonics at 7:30 p.m. tonight at the State Theatre, 687 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. Tickets are $15. (727) 895-3045.
Just clowns
The Insane Clown Posse, like all the other white boy rappers from Detroit, has a knack for finding trouble. The act routinely disses fellow Michigan bad boy Eminem, who once responded by pulling a gun on one of ICP's "associates." Their former label, Hollywood, owned by Disney, pulled the band's brutality-filled 1997 album The Great Milenko on its day of release.
Known for scary clown makeup and dousing audiences with Faygo cola, ICP is infamous also for gig cancellations. The fans, too, respond hastily: when a Fort Lauderdale gig was axed last June, 300 fans smashed the venue's windows and set cash registers on fire.
"But what about the music?" you say. Oh, yes, the music. ICP recently released Bizzar and Bizaar, two discs of yet more sex-and-gore lyrics about stabbing people -- a favorite theme -- spouted over an unlistenable barrage of beats and metalish guitar.
Sure, ICP's label paints the duo as minstrels, parodists who comment on pop culture. Whatever. ICP's label knows the quickest way to a pocket full of loot in the recording industry is to pass yourselves off as "edgy" when you're really just disgruntled jerks. At least Eminem can rhyme. Insane Clown Posse performs at 7:30 p.m. today at Jannus Landing, 16 Second St. N, St. Petersburg. Tickets are $19 through Ticketmaster.
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