Rhythm Pigs Pass Through Town

My Labor Day weekend kicked off with a bang. I got a call from my old buddy Timmy Fodrey telling me that his band The Rhythm Pigs would be playing in my town of Greenville, SC on Friday night. Now normally, I end up seeing or gigging with The Pigs near their home base of Norfolk, Virginia, or in far flung areas of Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida, so it was indeed music to my ears that they were playing here in town, and less than two miles from the Buffalo house.

I went over to the club, 35 South, to meet the guys for load in and to have some dinner. Only thing is, they were running behind, having hit Charlotte at rush hour. I killed time for a couple of hours and they finally made it in.

Another old friend, Jay Johnson has been playing with the Pigs lately, but unfortunately, he had a prior commitment this weekend. They brought along a substitute guitarist, Gary Grover, to fill in.

Road manager and lighting guy Dave Highfield was running all around, busily getting everything set up for the show. I sat down with Timmy to chat a bit, but with so much going on, it was hard to complete a thought.

We had some dinner and talked a little, but soon it was time for the band to play. Timmy got behind the drums, and Tater (Dave Voss) picked up his bass, Dave strapped on a Telecaster and Mike Feimster stood front and center for lead vocals.

The Pigs kicked off the show with “Call Me The Breeze,” the JJ Cale tune made popular by Lynyrd Skynyrd. The place was packed with college kids who had rented the bar for the night, and a bunch of twenty year old girls made their way to the front of the stage and began to dance. They would keep the party going all night long.

The Pigs moved from “One Way Out” to “Gimmie Three Steps” and played all the great songs from the Southern Rock songbook, from Marshall Tucker to Molly Hatchet. They had the crowd in the palm of their collective hand.

I cut out before the show was over, speaking with several people along the way who recognized me from GRITZ and from my albums. I would speak to Timmy again on Saturday.

The original plan was to meet Timmy on Saturday and go to breakfast, but the plans didn’t pan out. I ended up taking Jill over to Henry’s Smoke House for lunch. I haven't been there in what seems like forever, and I still maintain they have some of the very best BBQ I have ever eaten.

It was a great beginning to the  Holiday weekend. The Rhythm Pigs rocked, the BBQ was killer, and it was only Saturday afternoon. The big bike race is tomorrow, and they come right  down North Main in front of my house. We usually sit out front with a cold beverage and cheer them as they come by on each lap. I may do that this year too. Then again, I may just chill out and listen to that awesome new Randall Bramblett CD again. Either way, it'll be relaxing and a fun Holiday.

Keep it Real. Keep it Southern.
Buffalo

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