XXX Hardrive Rocks You (And Your Sister)
Who else in Athens could go up on stage before ‘80s metal hacks Ratt, beat them at their own sleazy game with minimal apparent effort and yet seem at home in that hairy cheese environment? Who else could open for porn god Ron Jeremy and not seem like a faker under the shadow of his gut? XXX Hardrive is the best raunch band in the area. Athens has plenty of other strong rock outfits, but none mix the power of the MC5 in with such liberal doses of Faster Pussycat and AC/DC. Topping it off with a dose or five of David Allen Coe and Skynyrd, XXX are the guys your mom warned you about, but she didn’t warn you enough. Claiming their drug addled jailbird anthems are based on their own personal experiences, they march defiantly across “post rock” terrain with an unapologetically reckless songbook and stage show. Any part of what adds up to their sum would be poison in the hands of other musicians (especially in this college-kid-on-parents’-dough mecca), but their redneck attitudes and piss and vinegar stance are real. That alone makes them worth a look. From what I hear, they’ve already angered some local venues with rock star demands on a previous show day, but the thing is…they don’t care whether you or anyone else approve of what they do or who they are. Sure, they’re probably not the kind of guys you want to trust with your sister or take home to meet the folks, but they know what they do right. They rock. XXX Hardrive deserves to be seen. They need to be on a stage, breaking strings and a sweat. With more musical dexterity than their CD Criminal Behavior lets on, they drain themselves of their blue-collar week in front of whoever is brave enough to encourage their raw talent and potentially dangerous lifestyles. I believe these guys are only in their musical infancy on the current release, but their performances demonstrate so much more infernal promise. They’ve clearly got a Back In Black in them somewhere if they can forestall implosion or serious jail time before they manage to get it down on tape. Go see XXX Hardrive even if their sign looks like someone missed an answer on Family Feud (“…survey says…”)! Go see XXX Hardrive even if they aren’t really triple X rated yet (They’re more like the “cable version” now). That’s okay. It gives them something to shoot for…and a reason for us to keep looking forward to their next onslaught. (Chris McKay/concertshots.com)
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