2 out of 3 ain't bad

Fistfights. Mosh pits. Blood. Cussin'. Outlaw country music. Heavy metal. Booze. What else would you expect from a Hank Williams III show?

I saw all of that and more on Sunday night. The opening band was Bob Wayne and the Outlaw Carnies. Great band name and they played some great music as well.

Hank 3 opened with an amazing opening set of songs mainly taken from his newest cd. He also sprinkled in a few songs by his daddy and granddaddy as well. His band was smoking hot! The pedal steel guitarist could really play, and his fiddle player was out-of-this-world.

Country Hank

After about an hour and a half, Hank announced that the country band was leaving the stage to make way for his heavy metal band. Hank exchanged his cowboy hat for a Confederate flag trucker cap, his western shirt for a leather vest, and his acoustic guitar for an electric. The transformation had begun.

Metal Hank

Unfortunately, his metal music isn't as great as his country stuff. It was still quite entertaining though. The crowd on the floor began to mosh and go nuts. Hank had a metal dude from Chicago up on stage with him. Apparently his function was to yell like a maniac along to each song. Within a minute of getting onstage, somehow the guy was down on the floor. When he came up, the top of his head was busted open with quite a gash that looked like it would require stitches. After this, with no regard for the blood pouring down his face, he starts jumping out into the crowd and body surfing.

A fight nearly broke out after a few guys went from moshing to throwin' 'bows. One guy's face was busted up and bleeding. They jawed at each other for a few minutes and security escorted them both out. On with the show.

The metal band played for about an hour. I'm surprised that I made it that long. It was worth it though, as Hank came out and signed autographs after the show. I was in the back of the venue contemplating leaving before the show had finished. After the last song, I weaseled my way back up front to get my ticket stub signed.

Last year, Scott and I saw Hank Jr. That makes one Hank to go and see. The original. Unfortunately, he's been gone a long time. Maybe we'll get to see his grave in Alabama someday when I take my long-planned blues tour of the South.