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The Baldness is actually a four-piece band that claims Greenwood, SC as its hometown, but it doesn’t take much to infer that the name comes from the appearance of the band’s fearless leader, Bob. His bald white head and big bushy beard dominate the stage show, just as his singing and guitar playing monopolize the band’s sound. The Baldness is Bob exploring his twanged-out rock ‘n roll roots with three of his friends onstage for the ride.
The band played a 16-song set that was by turns alt-country, vintage rock, and downright country. Even at its “countriest”, however, the band avoided the country clichés that turn off many listeners. Bob never once sang through his nose, even while crooning out lyrics about corn liquor and old-time religion.
"The dancers at one point spilled over onto the stage, where they were welcomed by the fun-loving band.” |
The set took a turn for the strange when Bob paused between songs to remark how hot it was, reciting a quote from the sage wisdom of David Lee Roth (“Yeah we’re running a little bit hot tonight…”) He then proceeded to remove his shirt and do his best Petey Pablo impression as he helicoptered it above his head, to the shock and delight of the audience.
While the spotlight shone clearly on Bob throughout the set, the other musicians (Jessie -- backup vocals; Byron -- bass; Logan -- drums) made their mark as well. Byron remained stoic throughout most of the set, but cracked a smile when the Friday night crowd busted out an impromptu revival of “The Twist.” Logan didn’t appear to be really into the music, and at times during the set he played with only one stick (which he was damn good at by the way -- eat your heart out Def Leppard.) I found out after the show that he was recovering from an arm injury, so that could explain his lack of enthusiasm. Jessie mostly sang backup and tapped a tambourine, but took over lead vocals on “Train from Kansas City.”
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Jessie’s best moment came during a cover of the song “Then He Kissed Me” by The Crystals, which was done as a duet with Bob. The interplay as they crooned and looked longingly into each other’s eyes was part charming, part hilarious.
Speaking of interplay, the band’s interaction with the audience was particularly strong. The Hunter-Gatherer is usually a “sit at your table sip your beer” kind of place, but The Baldness had patrons upstairs and down dancing the night away. The dancers at one point spilled over onto the stage, where they were welcomed by the fun-loving band. One even stuck around to shake a tambourine on the next song.
During one of his guitar solos, the shirtless Bob approached a table of women and propped his foot up on an empty chair, wailing on his Piggly Wiggly Strat. I thought his leads were a little sloppy (great vibrato in his hands though), but the screaming young ladies did not seem to notice.
When it comes to music, The Baldness has a ways to go, in my opinion. Bob has written some good songs, but the problem is it’s all Bob. The band must become more cohesive before it is a serious musical force. But when it comes to entertainment, The Baldness is already there. Any band that can feature a shirtless hairy dude and obnoxiously boast about drinking corn liquor and cough syrup, and still electrify the Hunter-Gatherer, is obviously onto something.
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For More Info, visit: myspace.com/thebaldnessband
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