HAYSEED DIXIE are back with an extensive tour promoting their latest album the aptly called ‘No Covers’, yes you’ve guessed it, it contains no covers which for a band that made its name with the album ‘A Hillbilly tribute to AC/DC’ they’re becoming more than a novelty band.

No one who sees HAYSEED DIXIE live will argue with the electric live performance, they always deliver a great night and this was no exception. Starting off with some of their set staples the AC/DC cover ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’ stands out as John Wheeler a.k.a. Barley Scotch’s hillbilly drawl lends itself perfectly to this song. Scotch goes onto espouse some of his political views on the recent terrorist attacks on the UK with a hilarious story referring to the failed terrorist attack on Glasgow international airport getting more than a few laughs from the audience with a classic line ‘we need more stupid terrorists’, which introduced the thinking behind the first song to be played off their latest album ‘Set Myself On Fire’.

Then back to some crowd pleasers SCISSOR SISTERS ‘I Don't Feel Like Dancin’ the crowd didn’t take much persuading to do their best hillbilly style dancing and then straight into AEROSMITH’s ‘Walk This Way’. With the crowd completely won over Scotch then gets the crowd to do their best pig impression as Oi! Oi! Oi! becomes Oink! Oink! Oink! to start AC/DC’s ‘T.N.T.’. 

They played two more songs from their new album the un-ashamedly politically incorrect ‘Bouncing Bettie Bougie’ and ‘Born to Die in France’ both with their own equally comical introductions of how they came to be. Next the Reno brothers Dale and Don are let loose on LED ZEPPELIN's ‘Black Dog’ with banjo and mandolin making an effective replacement for an electric guitar, its plain to see their is some above average musicianship here. Towards the end of the show they played one of my personal favorites ‘Holiday’ by GREEN DAY, a song that just seems to lend itself disturbingly well to their bluegrass treatment. They finished the set with ‘The Rider Song’ a personal jibe at some of the more incompetent promoters they’ve encountered on their travels.

If the rest of the album is as good as the songs they played tonight HAYSEED DIXIE will be writing and touring for a good while to come. In comparison to the last time I saw them live, there is certainly a grittier edge to the band with the coming of the latest album and I’m not just talking about the fact they’ve not showered for a week! The only thing missing for me was the frantic cover of JUDAS PRIEST’S ‘Breaking the Law’, but no set list will please everyone. Their live performance is a sight to be seen and the energy and humor they put into a show takes some beating, do yourself a favor and see them for yourself. 

Rating: 3.7/5.0

Review and Photography by Alexander Shaw