R.B. Blackstone, keyboard player for The H!x, recalls that the last time the absurdist roots-music quartet played in Luckenbach, someone came out of the crowd and offered them $200 to play an extra 45 minutes.
That helps explain why the band is so fond of the legendary country dance hall. Blackstone describes the modern Luckenbach crowd as a mix of white-collar bikers, tourists who long ago heard the place immortalized in song and songwriters who love to study other Texas troubadours at work.
The H!x play an afternoon gig (1-5 p.m.) there on Sunday, September 2, with some expected spillover from the Labor Day weekend Kerrville Wine & Music Festival.
The H!x are comic showmen whose members slip into the roles of old-west cartoon characters, and their mix of goofball irreverence and deep sincerity only makes sense in a live context. With that in mind, the band has released Really Live, a collection of performances at various Texas clubs and dance halls, including H!x-adelic Claude “Butch” Morgan originals such as “WhattsaMatta” and “I Hate Music.”
The H!x will officially celebrate the CD’s release on September 15 at Casbeers.
This article appears in Aug 29 – Sep 4, 2007.