Catching the Blues With A Great Guitarist in Columbia

I was introduced to the Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band when their latest record "Dance Songs for Hard Times" was released in April of 2021. A front porch blues band with a washboard player isn't something I think I'd be interested in. Yet, one listen to the album at Jammin' Nuggets Music and I was sold. That's how I found myself with my friends from the record store in Columbia Saturday night being mesmerized by the Rev. and his Big Damn Band at Rose Music Hall.

First off, The Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band isn't all acoustic. The Rev. has plugged in, and his wife Breezy's washboard is mic'd up. The drums, well I didn't notice, they probably were mic'd too, but they're drums. This isn't rocking chair music. This is visceral, make you dance, make you sing, blues music.

Don't get me wrong, the Rev. is traditional. His website bio which talks a lot about "Dance Songs For Hard Times" mentions the album was written by candlelight in Brown County, Indiana at the Rev. and Breezy's log cabin. Then recorded by the best technology available in 1950.

The Rev. Peyton also took time at the front end of the show to explain his unique style of playing to the crowd and point out there was no trickery, no technology to help with the base, just his talents as a guitarist.

See, the Big Damn Band doesn't have a bassist. They don't need one. The good Rev. Peyton's style of guitar playing is one where he finger-picks Chuck Berry-style riffs with his index and ring fingers, using his thumbs to create a baseline. I sat there looking at him play for most of the show. How he was flying up and down the fretboard, how he was picking, it was amazing.

The band moved from one energetic song to the next and let me tell you the crowd was into it. I'm a relative newbie to the Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band, so I was a little at a disadvantage when it came to some of the crowd participation segments and singing along, but that didn't really matter. I got into it and loved every minute of it.

As a former and future aspiring guitar player I just wanted to soak in the playing, every last lick. I was trying to pick up Breezy's washboard playing too. Something told me that's an important part of the Big Damn Band.

It was fun watching Breezy interact with her husband. I enjoyed watching their little moments on stage together. A smile. Or the quick look of death she shot him a couple of times. Or a laugh. All the little things that only the two in the relationship can decipher. It was fun to watch their interaction.

The performance climaxed during the encore where the Rev. literally played an axe that he turned into a guitar and Breezy lit her washboard on fire. It was the capper to a perfect evening of electric blues that made me feel good.

If there was one minor drawback to the evening, the mix, at least from where we were right in front of the stage was a little off. It was sometimes hard to hear the vocals, and I wouldn't have minded hearing a little bit more washboard in the mix.

Bottom line, if you like roots rock and the blues check out the Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band, and the next time he plays Columbia or Kansas City, get yourself a ticket and experience these guys in person.