On one of our last nights in San Francisco, this past trip, we went along to Cafe Du Nord for a night of Truckin'. This well-known Bay Area nightclub was once a scandalous speakeasy during the Prohibition era, and still maintains many of the original interior decorations.
Truckin' at Du Nord Part Two was the next installment following on from last year's Truckin' show at the Verdi Club, which, although I did not attend (as I was not in the country) I heard all about, and also saw photographic evidence...
The headliner was Chris 'Sugarballs' Sprague and his 18 Wheelers, featuring Ambex Foxx. Also taking to the stage was Mitch Polzak & 10-4, and opening the show was Kit & the Branded Men.
DJ Tanoa Samoa Boy took to the decks between bands, keeping the hillbilly boogie flowing, and the dancers moving.
I have to say, I love a good honky tonk, and this was most probably one of my favourite nights from the whole trip! We got to dance and see lots of our friends, I had a margarita in my hand for most of the night, and the bands made sure the trucker tunes kept on rolling out.
It was always going to be a top night, with all these talented musicians under one roof, starting with Kit & The Branded Men, who got the show off to a great start. I really enjoy this band, Kit Lopez has a sweet and smooth voice, and she makes a great front person. I particularly enjoy her duets with branded man, Glen Earl Brown Jr (whose trucker get-up was awesome FYI) which pull on the old heart srings, with their country and western melodies.
Up next was Mitch Polzak & 10-4, who really got the audience going! I've seen Mitch play many times now, a few of them with his band The Royal Deuces, and the undeniable truth is that this man has bucket loads of stage presence. As well as being an extremely talented musician (man, this guy can play guitar....and banjo...and the list goes on) his brand of honky tonk is a foot stompin', hoopin' and hollerin', whisky-shot-drinkin' fun time! Combine this with the pedal steel guitar and guitar riffs of 10-4 and we've got ourselves a party!
For the final act, it was time to rev-up those engines, as LA-based Chris Sprague and his 18 Wheelers rolled into town. They sure do know how to have a mother truckin' good time, that's for sure! Joined up on stage by Amber Foxx, Mitch Polzak and whisky shots, they were having just as good a time up there, as we did in the audience. The twangy guitars, combined with Chris and Amber's melodic harmonies got everyone dancing, but alas, despite many calls from the audience, Sugarballs did not take his pants off!
Nights like this are so uniquely American, and are definitely one of the things that I miss, being in London. I'm so glad that this show coincided with our trip to the US, because it gave this honorary American girl (heh!) a good dose of truckin'-tastic, honky tonkin' awesomeness!
Remember, if you've got your truckin' hat on, then it's truckin' time...awww yeah!
Truckin' at Du Nord Part Two was the next installment following on from last year's Truckin' show at the Verdi Club, which, although I did not attend (as I was not in the country) I heard all about, and also saw photographic evidence...
The headliner was Chris 'Sugarballs' Sprague and his 18 Wheelers, featuring Ambex Foxx. Also taking to the stage was Mitch Polzak & 10-4, and opening the show was Kit & the Branded Men.
DJ Tanoa Samoa Boy took to the decks between bands, keeping the hillbilly boogie flowing, and the dancers moving.
I have to say, I love a good honky tonk, and this was most probably one of my favourite nights from the whole trip! We got to dance and see lots of our friends, I had a margarita in my hand for most of the night, and the bands made sure the trucker tunes kept on rolling out.
It was always going to be a top night, with all these talented musicians under one roof, starting with Kit & The Branded Men, who got the show off to a great start. I really enjoy this band, Kit Lopez has a sweet and smooth voice, and she makes a great front person. I particularly enjoy her duets with branded man, Glen Earl Brown Jr (whose trucker get-up was awesome FYI) which pull on the old heart srings, with their country and western melodies.
Up next was Mitch Polzak & 10-4, who really got the audience going! I've seen Mitch play many times now, a few of them with his band The Royal Deuces, and the undeniable truth is that this man has bucket loads of stage presence. As well as being an extremely talented musician (man, this guy can play guitar....and banjo...and the list goes on) his brand of honky tonk is a foot stompin', hoopin' and hollerin', whisky-shot-drinkin' fun time! Combine this with the pedal steel guitar and guitar riffs of 10-4 and we've got ourselves a party!
For the final act, it was time to rev-up those engines, as LA-based Chris Sprague and his 18 Wheelers rolled into town. They sure do know how to have a mother truckin' good time, that's for sure! Joined up on stage by Amber Foxx, Mitch Polzak and whisky shots, they were having just as good a time up there, as we did in the audience. The twangy guitars, combined with Chris and Amber's melodic harmonies got everyone dancing, but alas, despite many calls from the audience, Sugarballs did not take his pants off!
Nights like this are so uniquely American, and are definitely one of the things that I miss, being in London. I'm so glad that this show coincided with our trip to the US, because it gave this honorary American girl (heh!) a good dose of truckin'-tastic, honky tonkin' awesomeness!
Remember, if you've got your truckin' hat on, then it's truckin' time...awww yeah!
