Dirty rock 'n roll, done dirt cheap

Last weekend we found ourselves among the last four people let inside Stubb's to see Hell's Belles and Honky. It wasn't even 10:00 and the line was down the block. We were hoping that Silver Zephyr (whose cats are named Malcolm and Angus, respectively) would be joning us, but alas, Silver Zephyr Jr. was not feeling well that night.

Thanks to RJ Reynolds, the show was free (and thanks to the cancer lobby and the city of austin, it was also smoke free for the most part). The place was comfortably full with a diverse and amicable crowd - die-hard fifty-something AC/DC fans, ladies who love ladies, and a smattering of short-haired white boys wearing ball caps (who, unfortunately, feature prominently in the photos due to their convergence at the front of the stage).

Honky opened with their infectious yet predictable ZZ-top style tunes, the lyrical content usually involving some form of praise for and appreciation of women, though not exactly the brainy part if you know what I mean. Lest you simply cast off Honky (ex-Godzilla Motor Company, ex-Butthole Surfers)as more of your typical sexist Texas redneck rock, picture this: a go-go dancer comes on stage about every other song clad in cowboy hat, barely-there denim shorts, white thigh-high fishnets, half of what looks like a peasant top, and lots of tattoos. You immediately groan. Until you look more closely and realize that it's none other than Hawk, better known for her role as a cute boy in Kings 'n Things. Ha! Hawk used to be my neighbor when I first moved to Austin. She loves drag, that one, and tonight she was in girl drag. I imagine there was a handful of us who knew this, and I had a laugh watching the guys look at her in that way - you know that way. That entitled way of 'ooo i get a little t & a with my rock 'n roll cuz i'm a dude.' Ha! again.

The gender-bending continued with Hell's Belles. What I like about their show is they don't trade on their sexuality. They just play the songs, and play them really well - they're not a joke band, they're a tribute band with great musicians who really appreciate AC/DC.



They played a lot of lesser-known Bon Scott-era stuff, pre 1980. And for "You Shook Me All Night Long" they made all the tall boys up front go to the back so the shorter girls could come up and rock out.



There's something sort of wonderful about five kickass women rockin' out in front of adoring fans and singing "We've got the biggest balls of them all!" Below is Adrian Conner, Austin's most under-appreciated guitar player, in school-boy garb a la Angus.