Those Heartless Bastards! A Live Review

Heartless Bastards is (L-R): Kevin Vaughn, drums; Mike Lamping, bass; Erika Wennerstrom, vocals & guitar

Heartless Bastards
Stubb's BBQ - Austin, TX
6/28/05 & 6/29/05

*Read the CD Review!*

I topped off my celebration of Black Music Month by listening to a punk band named after a wrong answer to a Tom Petty trivia question. Why? Because this amazingly soulful, but little known, punk & blues band, Heartless Bastards, proved the old adage wrong: lightning does strike twice. It was two amazing nights of free live music performed by a trio of talented musicians who aren't black. It's a revolutionary idea even today - to cross the invisble line and listen to a punk & blues band that sounds as soulful as John Legend. (Who's coming to town 2 days late, July 2nd.) I read and will now paraphrase a quote from a 21st century songstress of African descent. She defines soul music as any music that touches or moves your inner being - beyond genre, geographical boundaries, and color lines. The Heartless Bastards of Ohio have confirmed her opinion. Good punk rock is good soul music. The first night was amazing, and the second night was confirmation that this talented trio is one of the best rock (and blues) bands around today. The entire experience can be summed up like this: Listening to Heartless Bastards live is like listening to an impromptu jam session between Leadbelly, Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, The Band, Jefferson Airplane, and The White Stripes. The Heartless Bastard sound, if you want to define it is lightning in a bottle let loose. And the rhythmic changes and melodic nuances within each song are akin to peeling a pungent but sweet onion. Any attempt to peel to the core reveals another layer of sweetness in a rock steady rhythm and blues funk. The song arrangements could be compared to a swimmer changing strokes mid-stream. Whatever metaphor you prefer, the band is a promising and inspiring. The first night was a wonderful musical journey - thanks to the clever lyricism of Heartless Bastards' stunning vocalist & guitarist Erika Wennerstrom - and the entire audience was willing to take the trip. One song, "My Resolution", almost compelled me to ask an older audience member, who may have remembered the 1960s, if the listening to live music back then was anything like this. (But that would have been rudely interrupting his experience.) Yet the Heartless Bastards are progressive rockers, moving forward with a grinding yet melodic sound that defies genre.
With closed eyes and open hearts again on the second night, the trio effortlessly skipped from song to song, the same songs. But it sounded fresh to my ears. There were more people in the audience at the second performance - a bigger congregation of music lovers. Both audiences were listening to a few songs that might remind some of a black gospel choir, or perhaps singing in a small black southern baptist church. And one of the songs may beckon a Harlem Renaissance poem you can't help nodding your head and tapping your feet to all the while. Both performances will remain unforgettable times during a time most of us would hope to forget. War and poverty and dirty politics aside, this amazing live band helped the audience to mourn and let go, if not overcome, their worries for a while. And these so-called Heartless Bastards helped us to remember and enjoy the hope and beauty still left in this world, even under the crushing rock of the blues. I call it a great way to end Black Music Month. I call it good soul music.

~ diy-danna

Visit the band @ MySpace or theheartlessbastards.com for tour updates.