honky-tonk badass
i love venues that are hidden deep in the hill country or on the outskirts of town. you know the ones i’m talking about right? the ones that look like the scene in Great Balls of Fire where a young Jerry Lee is watching (through the safety of a window) the sexual dancing exploits that blues music seems to have on the afro-American community and it seems as though the devil will emerge any moment and breath down fire and brimstone for the sin that is happening. or the kind of venues that look like the Chainsaw Massacre could have happened at that very locale….
this is where Sean Castillo & the Hubcaps call home. and in the land of big hair metal bands and/or cover bands (which seem to be over abundant in the Alamo City) the rockabilly crowd, including Betty Page wanna-bes & greaser-styled boys, come out of the woodwork with their hotrod Chevys and Fords (and Rat Fink-would-be-proud ratrods) in tow to dance the night away.
this is where the rockabilly revival can be found in taco town and Castillo & the boys perform a nice blend of traditional country & honky tonk mixed with rockabilly & swing spiced up with keep-you-on-your-toes stage antics.
Castillo entertains the audience with his fascination of G.I. Joe’s, backwoods taxidermy and of course, his vintage Ford complete with a gigantic red hollowbody guitar fitted with raccoon tails and a flammin’ black pick guard.
but add the set list a plethora of cover songs by country/rockabilly greats: Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Glen Glen, Gene Vincent, Link Wray, Eddie Cochran (you get the idea) and this is a show that will conjure up images of badder than bad bands playing behind the safety of chicken wire. definitely the place to dirty dance the night away, or drink Whiskey straight from the bottle….
catch them if you can every second Saturday of the month at the Hanging Tree Saloon
