I first heard the Dirty Heads on my local radio station, 100.1 the Buzz, and by the time the show ended, I had won more free tickets than I knew what to do with. I’ve always been a huge fan of Sublime, and their style was similar enough to pique my interest. The show was at the standard local venue, The Blue Note, and several friends joined me for the occasion. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to bring our camera, so I can’t provide shots directly from the show. Honestly, I’m more interested in the experience than the actual substance of the concerts I attend, and that’s how I’m going to judge this show as well.

The first start for the Dirty Heads was Andre and the Giants. He had never heard of them until this show, and he knew they were a local band, so he didn’t have high expectations. Fortunately, when guitarist Nick Friedman began to play some extremely expressive solos reminiscent of the classic rock era to complement Rob Bratney’s bluesy bass and brash vocals, my expectations were more than exceeded. I can only describe his vocal style as Modest Mouse singing blues, and I love that. They take a very visceral approach to his performance, nothing too fancy but a lot of emotion. Combine that with steady bluesy riffs to keep the beat flowing and you end up putting on an impressive show without going overboard. They were even kind enough to provide us with a free CD, and we met them after the show at my favorite pub, McNally’s.

Speaking of hype, Nifty 250 followed up with a hip hop/reggae hybrid mix that’s definitely fun, but without much deviation in style from song to song, it gets a little boring. This band was surprisingly large, with two guitarists, a very excitable bassist, two lyricists, and of course their drummer. The lead vocalist spits out the lyrics with impressive speed, and the rest of the band struggles to keep up. They exude a lot of energy on stage and in their music, and their bass player was very vocal about his enjoyment of the show. Their set was quite long, but with only a few slower songs to break up the boom rush lyrical attack, I found it a bit difficult to maintain my level of interest. However, it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re a fan of Kottonmouth Kings or heavy hip hop reggae.

Moving on to the main show, the energy was high and I have to admit I was pretty drunk when the Dirty Heads hit the stage. They went out and immediately started adopting the SoCo style that has gotten them this far. He had been listening to their albums on Grooveshark and the like, but didn’t quite know what to expect. The show wasn’t silly, and I thought each song performed had something to offer that just doesn’t come across on their albums. Vocalist Jared Watson sported dark sunglasses as he jaunted across the stage belting out soft lyrics and periodically exchanging with Dustin Bushnell, who provided guitar and additional vocals. You can’t help but shake your head at this shit. The opening set ended without the play of his famous radio hit, “Lay Me Down,” but it really could have ended there and I would have been satisfied. Thankfully it didn’t, and to a tremendous screaming crowd, they returned to the stage with none other than Rome Ramirez, famous in Sublime circles for taking the place of Bradley Nowell on “Sublime with Rome” after his death. I don’t think anyone expected this since she only appears in one song, but her appearance was epic.

Although the Nifty 250 wasn’t exactly my style, their reach is wide and I think they will continue to have a growing fan base. I would love to see Andre and the Giants at the next Roots, Blues and BBQ festival here in Columbia Missouri as they are fast becoming one of my favorite local bands. Overall, it was a great show, and if the Dirty Heads come back to Columbia, I’ll definitely be there.