 |
| Ha Ha Tonka Photo Credit: Jason Gonulsen |
Next Saturday (June 3) the Ozarks, Missouri-based band
Ha Ha Tonka will visit Indianapolis for the first time in a few years to
perform at the White Rabbit Cabaret in Fountain Square. Touring right on the
coattails of the release of the band’s new album, Heart-Shaped Mountain (released in March via Bloodshot Records),
its fifth full-length, Ha Ha Tonka has dialed up the signature harmonies and expanded the
instrumental palette with an emphasis on choruses tailor-made for singing along
with lyrics that eye the horizon as time passes and lives adapt to the changes.
 |
Throughout the run of Buckle in the Bible Belt, Novel
Songs of the Nouveau South, Death of
a Decade, Lessons and, now, Heart-Shaped Mountain, Ha Ha Tonka has focused
on the strength of the song while tapping into an unwavering sense of
Midwestern and Southern identity built into the DNA of each record. The studio
recordings, all worthy introductions to listeners at whichever point they
arrive, are secondary to the charismatic verve and worn-in tightness that
anchor the soaring live sets. The ten tunes of Heart-Shaped Mountain, a streamlined, unapologetically melodic and
hopeful collection, likely segue right into the Tonk’s already impressive
catalog when played before an audience. Barnstorming opener “Race to the Bottom”
and the rollicking and infectious anthem “Arkansas” will tower right alongside the
dozen or guitar-driven nuggets that populate most live sets, while harmony-rich
entries like “Everything,” “The Party” and “All With You” should serve up
instrumental flourishes and more communal catharsis for a memorable weekend night
in a year increasingly mired in unrelenting despair with each successive day.
Having seen and loved three Ha Ha Tonka live shows to date over the years, I’ve
been eagerly awaiting my next opportunity to catch them live. Right now feels
like an especially ideal time for an hour or two of rock and roll buoyancy on a
Saturday night, and the chance to hear how well several of these new songs fit
in alongside all the ones I’ve been singing along with for years only sweetens the deal.
MOKB Presents Ha Ha Tonka w/ Trapper Schoepp at White
Rabbit Cabaret in Indianapolis
Saturday, June 3
Tickets: $15
No comments:
Post a Comment