Reckless Kelly Was Here
As is true with so many roots-rocking bands based in Austin, Texas, a sweaty club brings out the rambunctious best in Reckless Kelly, giving them a chance to stretch out and let loose on their first live recording. From the pulverizing opener of "Sixgun," which owes as much to AC/DC as the roadhouse, through the new party anthem, "Wiggles & Ritalin," and the reflective, acoustic "Wicked Twisted Road," the band feeds on the call-and-response energy of the hometown crowd and pays it back. The set offers tribute to Lone Star natives Alejandro Escovedo ("Castanets") and the Texas Tornados ("Guacamole"), as well as farther-flung inspirations such as Richard Thompson ("1952 Vincent Black Lightning") and the Beatles (a bluesy "Revolution"). "Baby's Gone Blues" begins as a riff-rocking piledriver and ends as a fiddle-driven breakdown, an encapsulation of the musical progression embodied within the band. On twangier fare such as "Nobody's Girl," frontman Willy Braun could pass as a vocal ringer for Steve Earle.--Don McLeese