The last time I saw my friends The Ken-
tucky Headhunters was on Rock Legends Cruise II a couple of years ago. They are sim- ply one of my favorite bands - real guys, road dogs, extremely talented and more fun than a barrel of Kentucky moonshine. Well, close anyway! These guys, Greg Martin on guitar, Doug Phelps on bass and vocals, Richard Young on guitar and vocals and the mighty Fred Young on drums, rocked the Tabernacle to its core. With their cool backdrop hanging behind them (it reminds me of my bedroom walls as a teenager, filled with album covers, art etc from The Beatles to Zappa) the Head- hunters came out kickin’ like a collective bull with “Big Boss Man.” I was blown away by the sound mix. Dang near perfect, which is not al- ways the cass. Doug’s bass was up in the mix along with the drums. You could feel the rhythm section clicking and kicking. I love that. The band moved through a smoking set that included “Dixie Lullaby,” “Ragtop,” and one of their huge country hits “Walk Softly On This Heart of Mine,” ending it in an ex- tended stinger that rocked like Ted Nugent. Live they are the perfect marriage of country rock and blues, so you really never know what to expect, from perfect country vocal har- monies to screaming blues and heart pound- ing rock and roll. Richard Young won the audience over with
a great rendition of “House of the Rising Sun” before schooling the audience on the late great Johnnie Johnson. The band recently re- leased an album they recorded with Johnson a few years ago. After Richard’s intro, they rocked out on “Stumblin’” and “Shufflin’ Back to Memphis,” both from their collaborative album. Good stuff. Young sang the lead vocal again on the clas-
sic “Have You Ever Loved a Woman,” with Greg Martin playing his trademark smooth lead and slide guitar, moving into “Wishing
Doug Phelps of The Kentucky Headhunters. (Trish Burns Almy Photo)
Well.” While their entire show was off the chain, the highlight came after “My Daddy was a Milkman” segued into “Crossroads.” What followed was one of the best drum solos this writer has ever witnessed. Fred Young was part Gene Krupa and part “Animal” from The Muppets. It was just plain crazy good. Fred kicked the shit out of the double bass drums and did triplets and paradiddles and hand over hand magic before just going straight into attack mode! I heard at least 20 people over the course of the night, whether in line at the restroom or backstage after the show, all talking about Fred’s manic solo. The Kentucky Headhunters are the perfect band to share the stage with the Smoke boys. Ab- solutely. Without a shred of doubt. After a necessary break to break down and
rebuild elements on the stage, Blackberry Smoke came out in fifth gear with “Six Ways
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