Listening to the few Cross Canadian Ragweed songs I owned before heading to their show, I wasn't sure if I should wear a pair of cowboy boots or Chuck Taylors. In the end, I settled for a trusty pair of sneakers - mainly because I own neither of the former two - but the dilemma had crossed my mind, given the band's multifaceted style that sounds like a mix of country and punk and good ol' fashioned rock 'n' roll but is still difficult to pin down. Finally, I said to hell with classification and decided to take the music as it came.
The Cannery Ballroom is housed within the historic Nashville Cannery, which serves as the large concert venue for the popular Mercy Lounge next door. The wide open-air foyer and bar area narrows diagonally into a long corridor leading up to the stage, juxtaposing modern hardwood floors and state-of-the-art speakers with the worn brick of the old canning plant. The hall holds around a thousand people, and when I arrived 15 minutes before the sold-out show began, I barely had enough time to grab myself a Yuengling and begin the long journey to the front of a jungle of fans.
Ragweed may not get a generous amount of airtime on MTV, but they certainly boast a loyal and impressive cult following. Navy blue T-shirts emblazoned with the band's symbol were in heavy abundance, and anxious chatter about the group filled the room until the lights dimmed and everyone, from lonesome old men to trios of honky tonk women, began to cheer with delight.
The warm-up act was a New Orleans quartet called Cowboy Mouth, whose rotund front man and drummer looked like the first-born offspring of Chris Farley and Philip Seymour Hoffman. No one can deny that he had charisma, but after an hour and a half of quasi-punk at full volume and his frequent insisting that we "chill out," I was ready for a change.
When the swarm of roadies had cleared, the group strolled on stage with an irresistible nonchalance, Solo cups in hand, and wordlessly dove into the set. With nine albums in their repertoire, the band has a lot of songs to choose from, but most came from their latest release, "Mission California," most of which seemed revamped with more volume and emphasis on their generic hard rock side, that even bordered on metal. The energy of it was astounding, as my still-ringing ears can attest, but it was too great of a departure from the distinctive alt-country sound that gives the band their unique and appealing style.
Having said that, the boys never failed to entertain; front man Cody Canada paraded his bad-ass image and considerable lead guitar skill ruthlessly, ripping through several dynamite solos that left the crowd screaming for more. Rhythm guitarist Grady Cross, interviewed in our Jan. 31 issue, provided brilliant rhythm work with a calm and methodical determination, the perfect complement to Canada's wild musicianship. A few impressive bass licks made an appearance from bassist Jeremy Plato, and Randy Ragsdale supplied solid percussion throughout the evening.
At the end of the night, I missed the band's usual country flair, but still must admit that they put on a show that rocks hard. Be sure to catch them at their next Nashville appearance for a high-powered performance, and don't forget to pick up "Mission California" for a little more country twang.
