Oregon Music News

Hank Williams III at the Roseland Theater. Photos by Jon T. Cruz.

Hank Williams III made a stop in Portland on September 30th at the Roseland Theater for a sold-out show. The venue was packed to the rafters; the attendees were jammed like cigarettes in a newly opened box Marlboro Reds. One thing about a Hank III show: It seems to bring out every degenerate within a 100-mile radius of the city. You’ve got them all in addition to the hicks, hipsters, rockers, metalheads, bikers, and the unsuspecting curious first time attendee. You can see them from a mile away; they have a look of horror on their face like a passenger on a plane that’s going down. You can almost hear them asking themselves, “What the hell did I get myself into?”

Hank III puts on a predominantly Country show but it rivals a Slayer or Lamb of God show in intensity. There will be blood, sweat, tears, bumps, bruises, and the occasional scuffle between a pair of drunkards in the pit. Yes, there is a pit. It swirls in the middle of the venue floor like a hurricane picking up bodies with an unforgiving force, leaving carnage by the wayside.

All preamble aside, Hank III was in Portland supporting his double album Ghost to a Ghost, a Neotraditional Country album, while the second disc, Gutter Town, is a hybrid record that mixes Cajun, Zydeco, Country and bluegrass. In addition to the aforementioned, he released two other albums simultaneously: Attention Deficit Domination and 3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin’ on September 6th.

Hank III was running a bit late as he hit the stage at 8:30pm, but once he and the latest incarnation of The Damn Band kicked off their set, they were rolling like a boulder down a hill–unstoppable. That is until about three-fourths of the way through the first set when the stage diving and the pit got a bit out of hand. An inebriated nudnik took it upon himself to wrestle with Hank’s personal security on stage. Hank stopped in mid-jam and calmly asked, “Can you get him out of here?” The local security removed the pest and Hank and The Damn Band picked up right where they left off.

One thing is clear; Hank III can’t shake the greatness of his 2006 effort Straight to Hell as he performed “Smoke & Wine,” “Thrown Out of the Bar,” “Pills I Took,” “Ray D. White,” “Dick in Dixie,” “Crazed Country Rebel,” “Straight to Hell,” and “No Everybody Likes Us” from that breakthrough record. A few years from now the Ghost to a Ghost/Guttertown double album will have similar acclaim as the music is on par with Straight to Hell. Hank threw new selections “Gutter Town,” “Day by Day,” “Riding the Wave,” Trooper’s Hollar,” and “Ghost to a Ghost” from the Ghost to a Ghost album. Representing Gutter Town was the South Louisiana flavored “Gutter Stomp,” which was executed superbly. Hank III and The Damn Band delivered an overwhelming, high-energy, proficient, and action-packed set.

As on previous appearances in Portland, Hank III played two additional sets. On this occasion there was no Assjack; instead he opted for an Attention Deficit Domination doom metal set followed by a 3 Bar Ranch cattlecore set. Attention Deficit Domination had its moments, and 3 Bar Ranch is comparable to Assjack with a twist. Both of the aforementioned projects’ music is respectively featured on the new albums Attention Deficit Domination and 3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin’. By the time the second set started a fourth of the audience had headed for the door. When the 3 Bar Ranch set started, only the diehards remained. You have to commend Hank III for expanding his musical horizons throughout the years, but he’s at his best when he’s playing his unique brand of Country music.