It’s Saturday night and I feel like some good ol’ fashioned Full-Throttle ass kicking music to get my week going, and I could not have picked a better place than Oklahoma’s own Diamond Ballroom. Headlining tonight’s show was non-other than the Red Dirt Metal of Texas Hippie Coalition. If you are unfamiliar with the band, they are an electrifying group consisting of Big Dad Ritch on Vocals who brings his crew of biker, outlaw, and renegade hell raisers to OKC this evening. Texas Hippie Coalition will give you a good dose of their Southern Charm and has been spreading their THC partying message thru touring countless gigs and releasing over a half dozen albums. Opening tonight’s show for THC are a few local bands from Oklahoma, starting with She, the Serpent from Tulsa, Southern Aggression from Lawton and Nevermind the Embers. All three opening acts got the crowds blood boiling but when THC hit the stage you could sense the shift in the atmosphere. The Party has officially started and there was NO doubt to who the headliners are tonight. WOW!
Texas Hippie Coalition took the stage while Bob Dylan’s song “Everybody Must Get Stoned” was playing over the house’s PA. Fans crowded to the front of the stage and waited for Big Dad Ritch to make his appearance. When he came out, the band started off their set with “No Shame” from their 2008 debut album Pride of Texas. The moment the band took the stage the energy was so high you could feel it pumping thru your veins and it made you feel like you could take on the world. Nevada Romo (Guitar) and his brother, Larado Romo (Bass) were all over the stage and did a phenomenal job interacting with the crowd, while Big Dad Ritch’s growling vocals commanded your attention through every song.
Big Dad Ritch announced that this was the last show of the tour and he has been rode hard and was ready to get put up wet and said that he didn’t pull up in a tour bus but drove up in his Pickup Truck cause Texas Outlaws hide out in Oklahoma and then the band hit the opening riff of “No Hands” from their 2012 album Peacemaker and you were immediately hooked. Big Dad Ritch continued by stating that when he was younger all his friends had the same poster on their wall, all the same, every bedroom, all of his buddies; he continued saying “that it was a pretty little girl named Farrah Fawcett.” But he said “that he was a different kind of cat and up on his wall was another pretty little girl that goes by the name of Stevie Nicks.” He continued by saying “that he has a thing for a witchy woman and he likes his lady to be a little more wicked.” He proceeded to say that “up on that wall Stevie helped him through many lonely teenage nights.” He felt like he owed her something so he wrote her a song. It’s called “Stevie Nicks”. Big Dad Ritch talked about the road and traveling 2,000 miles in the last 4 days and how all the energy on the stage is a direct result of the audience. Big Dad Ritch Yells on the microphone this one goes to 11 and the band proceeds to pump out “Turn it Up” from the 2012 release Peacemaker.
Fans sang along to most of the bands songs and kept chanting “THC” throughout the show. Texas Hippie Coalition is an exciting band to watch live and you need to experience it to believe it. Big Dad Ritch is captivating and a natural Frontman; his stories and the way he talked with the crowd made you feel like you could relate to everything he said. I’m positive that if someone in the crowd was there for the first time they were now a new THC fan, as I am. The musicians are all born showmen. Both Nevada and Larado Romo and Cord Pool (Guitar) are constantly moving around and engaging with the fans. The combined energy of the band members helps make the Live shows magical; and with Big Dad Ritch’s strong stage presence up front you have a force that can’t be stopped.
A Texas Hippie Coalition concert is an experience that can’t be duplicated anywhere else. The band seems to genuinely love what they are doing and it shows in their live shows. They have a genuine appreciation for their fans and are regularly acknowledging them for all the support they receive. After the show I immediately bought a few of their albums to start what I believe to be a long musical relationship with a great bunch of guys who made me a fan with nothing more than their charisma and great songs. If you like good Rock n Roll that is full of Big Hooks, Riffs and Wild Times. Look them Up!
Texas Hippie Coalition
Venue – Diamond Ballroom, OKC
Reviewed by: storm@backstage360.com