Images: Tiger Army, Dale Watson March 30, 2013 at the House of Blues

Today’s Tiger Army show review is brought to you by guest reviewer Ryan LeMar, a freelance music journalist based out of Los Angeles.

Sailing across the sandy ocean from the city of angels into the city of sin, I embarked on a pilgrimage…

March 30th 2013, Las Vegas, The House of Blues played host to renowned psychobilly trio, Tiger Army. In tow was rockabilly band, Hillbilly Casino, as well as authentic country rock badass, Dale Watson. The evening was a culmination of genres and sounds that exuded an essence of raucous, rowdy, dontgiveafuck attitude.

The HOB was in full force that evening, packed to the brim with a collection of punks, skins, greasers, tourists, trash, and every other label that at one point or another, we loved or loathed. Regardless of the style, young or old… we were all there for the same purpose, the sound of standing bass, hollow body guitars and an amperage of power that could keep the loneliest of housewives satisfied.

Hillbilly Casino spared no time in getting the crowd prepped with a sound that said, “Fuck you, I’m rocking, grab a beer or get the fuck out.” Songs like “Tennessee Stomp” made me completely forget that I paid 11 dollars for a PBR horsecock and doubly reminded me as to why I picked it over pussy vodka red bulls and cosmos that seem to follow the Vegas crowd like a pernicious case of the clap.

No sooner was my love for the Blue Ribbon replaced with a longing for Lone Star Beer, as Texas giant Dale Watson took the stage. Dale provided the crowd with an interlude from the hard, raw energy and provided us with another perspective of influence. His songs were melodic, poetic, and beautiful– yet still managed to keep me in that “Fuck you, I’m drinking,” mindset, and at the moment that started to fall by the wayside, Dale would take a few seconds between songs to delve into the classic theme for Lone Star Beer, thus again quenching my thirst for good beer and great music.

The musical awesome that Hillbilly Casino and Dale Watson brought to the table paled in comparison to what Tiger Army was about to offer. Lights faded and the crowd roared as Nick 13 made his way to center stage, loudly proclaimed their famous epitaph, “Tiger Army never dies,” and started a show that highlighted a majority of their work from their latest album along with a handful of classics from their catalogue. The crowd was thrown for a loop and further energized when the band decided to cover Misfits song “American Nightmare.” 13 songs later, the band unplugged their instruments, and departed from the stage.

The fact that we were about to be treated to an encore was as obvious as Trent Reznor’s need for a heavy dose of Prozac… but what the encore entailed was the true surprise, an experience that gave me a priapistic case of the musical boner that didn’t leave me for several days. Nick 13 returned to the stage, acoustic guitar in hand, myself, along with the majority of the crowd were under the impression that he was going to give us a couple songs from his solo project. We were quickly corrected in the matter when he started to perform an acoustic version of “Where the Moss Slowly Grows.” About halfway through the song the rest of the band joined along with Ronnie from Hillbilly Casino playing electric guitar, Dale Watson’s steel guitar player, Don Pawlak, also joined the session shortly after. What particularly struck a chord with me was when they decided to cover “La Grange” by ZZ Top, a treat that surely flew over the heads of some of the younger fans.

The show ended, we were ushered out, and our crew sauntered over to Ellis Island for beer that wasn’t 11 bucks, while we shared the details of our experience over a round of Steak Specials. What stuck with me throughout most the show was Nick 13’s demeanor—the defiance in his eyes, the stoicism in his stance, and the raw energy in his voice, reassures me as well as the rest of the punk rock community that Tiger Army will in fact, never die.

-Ryan LeMar

Photos by Tyler Newton | http://500px.com/spottedlens