Guns blazin’

Shooter Jennings
Johnny Berry & the Outliers
The Ladybirds
Saturday, March 10
Headliners Music Hall

BY CHRISTINE LYLE

The name Shooter Jennings does not immediately spur recognition in most people, but his reputation preceded him at the nearly sold-out show at Headliners March 10.
The show opened with The Ladybirds, who showcased songs from their debut album Whiskey and Wine, and Johnny Berry and the Outliers, who were promoting their newest album, Fegenbush Farm.
The Ladybirds did not hit the stage until after 9:30, but all was forgiven when lead singer Sarah Teeple stepped up to the mic and serenaded the rowdy crowd to fast-paced, table-thumpin’ rockabilly with a heavy 1950s influence. Initially it didn’t seem like the unique mixture of 50s pop and modern day rock ’n’ roll that The Ladybirds delivered was the right fit for the restless honky-tonkers in the crowd, but ultimately, the audience was won over with the band’s tightly executed performances of songs such as “Billy, Billy, Billy” and “Whiskey and Wine.” However “Dreamboat,” The ’Birds’ twist on a 50s-like serenade, seemed lost on the crowd.
Johnny Berry and the Outliers were a step closer to what the crowd had come to hear. The group is seasoned, and it showed in its performance. The audience responded appropriately to the brand of good old-fashioned country that the Outliers delivered. Songs such as “Roanoke on the Run” and “Last of a Dying Breed” elicited whooping and a sea of raised beer bottles from the crowd. The band closed with a John Anderson cover that appropriately set the stage for Shooter.
Shooter and his band, the .357’s, took the stage to the “Imperial March” from Star Wars trilogy. The crowd roared appreciatively, and the boys kicked off the show with the title track off of their last studio release, Electric Rodeo. Afterward they went straight into “Gone to Carolina,” the first release off of Rodeo that saw some minor rotation at radio stations across the country, as well as CMT.
The crowd sang along word for word to “Solid Country Gold,” a tongue-in-cheek lament about the state of country music today, and “4th of July,” a minor radio-hit for Jennings that reached no. 26 on the country charts in 2005. Jennings and the .357’s paid respect to their roots with covers of Waylon’s (yes, Shooter’s father) “Lonesome, On’Ry, and Mean,” and Hank Williams Jr.’s “Outlaw Women.”
They also dedicated “It Ain’t Easy” to the late Denny Doherty of The Mamas and the Papas, who’s former L.A. home Shooter now lives in. Jennings and the .357’s played the entire show with a tenacity and dedication only seen in musicians twice their age and with twice their experience.
During “Daddy’s Farm,” bassist Ted Russell Kamp (who just released his fourth solo album, Divisadero) snapped a string on his bass during an instrumental solo but continued playing without missing a beat or acknowledging the mishap. The band’s passion and focus for re-capturing the lost novelty of what country music used to be drives their success. It won’t be long before they transcend small dance halls and set up shop in stadiums and arenas.

Seen a show you’d like to write about? Contact Music Editor Mat Herron at mherron@leoweekly.com, or call (502) 895-9770 ext. 224.