Live music review: SoulHat played before a sold out Antone’s last weekend

On December 23, at Antone’s Nightclub, SoulHat played before a sold out venue last weekend.  The Ghost Wolves, the Austin duo that formed roughly a decade ago, opened for the Austin music legends.

On the night before Christmas Eve, just after 8 p.m. when drummer-vocalist Jonny Wolf and guitarist-vocalist Carley Wolf entered a stage decorated with wolf masks on pikes, and a backdrop of a colorful, psychedelic live recording of the show. The entire set had people in the crowd banging their heads to the DIY  duo with prominent punk flare. Check out their latest recording, Wolfkeeper which is half live album and half studio effort at their Bandcamp page.

After Ghost Wolves played about an hour, there was a mad rush to th.e. bar and bathrooms as folks grabbed their spots for the evening’s top-billed act. SoulHat took the stage for the first show in Austin since August not long after 9 pm. 

SoulHat has not played as often in recent years, following the death of their beloved drummer, Barry “Frosty” Smith in 2017. The fabled drummer had a way with the kit that was so specific — so unique — and his talent posed such a prominent  puzzle piece in the band’s sound, that replacing Frosty would be seemingly impossible.  Conrad Choucroun of Banana Blender Surprise has done as great a job as anyone could hope in hitting those drum beats that play such a significant role in the SoulHat sound.

Kevin McKinney (guitar and lead vocals), Bill Cass (lead guitar), Brian Walsh (bass), and Choucron (drums) hit the stage at roughly 9:15 p.m., amped up the crowd, opening with a their rock’n roll, guitar-fueled, instrumental snippet of “Little Drummer Boy,” before wishing “Happy Holidays, Everyone.” A few quick beats from the drum, and “Build It Up, Tear It Down” kicked off the show.

As the performance continued, enthusiastic fans sang along, reciting every lyric of SoulHat’s set list which is now embedded into Austin-music lore just as much as Jimmie Vaughan’s Fabulous Thunderbirds or Pine Top Perkins’ longtime  piano Blues residency at Antone’s. These cats are part of the fabric of old Austin. 

About an hour into the set, SoulHat’s performance of “Prayin’ for Rain” was interrupted early in the number by the fire alarm, which everyone assumed was due to the smoke machine. It was a brief interruption, but not brief enough for the band to not “take it from the top,”  starting the song over once everyone was back in their places.

A somewhat-extended jammout of what is probably their most recognizable number, “Bonecrusher” had the crowd energized and entranced. After a short break, the quartet returned to the stage for an encore performance of “Here.”

SoulHat have long ago, inked themselves into the folklore of Austin music. From the days of ultralong sets at The Black Cat, prominent radio play, to sold out audiences at Antone’s, SoulHat has maintained that standing in the local scene and are as impressive as ever live.   

Set List for SoulHat at Antone’s

Build It Up, Tear It Down
Alone
Dirty Old Man
Garbageman
Mailbox
Goldmine
Preacherman
Wiggin’
Homer
Brian Waltz
Luggage
Good to be Gone
Prayin’ for Rain
Bonecrusher
…Love Me Now
Encore:
Here

All photos by Brian Hillsman

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