Search - Two Tons of Steel: Two Ton Tuesday Live! on DVD

Another Successful Endeavor

A. Stephens | Texas | 06/08/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Almost a year has passed since Two Tons of Steel graced Gruene Hall with their wildly popular Tuesday night shows.....

In June 2005, Two Tons recorded their third live CD (previous one released in October 2001). I must say the wait for this LIVE DVD and bonus CD is well worth the wait. The quality of this recording is superb and everything is spot on. The folks at Palo Duro did a fabulous job with the mixing and the packaging. This recording truly captures the spirit, atmosphere, and energy of the band.

This is the next best thing to being there at Gruene Hall. The building is packed with 1000 people on a Tuesday night, air conditioning is nowhere to be found, and beers are plentiful. Congrats to Kevin, Dennis, "Big Love" Ric, Denny, and "Bongo" Chris for the job well done. Keep rocking and we will keep rolling into Gruene Hall to see the magnificence that is: Two Tons of Steel."

Authentic, genuine Lone Star spirit and flash

J. Ross | Roseburg, OR USA | 01/29/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Two Tons! Two Tons! With that exclamation to fire up the crowd, lead vocalist Kevin Geil and his buddies launch into a feisty hour-long set of country rockin' mostly original songs about ramblin', lovin' and partyin'. Since the release of "Vegas," their first release on the Palo Duro label but eighth album overall, the band named for Geil's restored '56 hardtop Cadillac has further solidified their place and reputation in the Texas music scene. Originally known as The Dead Crickets until 1996 (to honor Buddy Holly's inspiration), Two Tons of Steel is making history in an appropriate place, Gruene Hall, the oldest continually running dance hall in Texas that was built in 1878. Little did the German immigrants who established the community near New Braunfels realize that their hall would help launch the careers of such notable acts as George Strait, Jerry Jeff Walker, Lyle Lovett, Joe Ely, Robert Earl Keen, and Hal Ketchum. Over the decades, the town has had its ups and downs as the cotton business, good fortune, boll weevil, and Depression all had their impact. A band's historic evolution has its highs and lows also. Two Tons of Steel is currently on the upswing, with strong label support and a meteoric rise to international fame helping them to thrive and prosper. Just like Gruene Hall's owner Pat Molak revitalized and helped breathe new life into the town since 1975, the band is breathing new life into Texas music. And the town, record label and band are all doing it while preserving authentic, genuine Lone Star spirit and flash that ignite glowing embers from pioneer days past.

Besides Geil, these other countrybillies include Dennis Fallon (electric guitar), Ric Ramirez (upright bass), Chris Dodds (drums), and Texas Steel Guitarist Hall of Fame member Denny Mathis (steel guitar, Dobro). Ramirez and Dodds sing harmonies, and Ramirez even slaps out a break on his dawghouse in the song, "Two Tons of Steel." Guitarist Kevin Geil composed the songs for the majority of this set, and he shows a knack for writing successfully with both classic country and honky-tonkin' sensibilities. "Heartache" and "Stinkin Drunks" illustrate his affinity for well-worn musical topics, while his songs like "Unglued," "King of a One Hores Town," and "Havana Moon" provide glances through more contemporary lyrical window panes. The latter is one of their few reflective ballads about longing, written during the band's 1997 trip to Cuba. "Vegas" was written for Geil's wife, Elena, because she loves road trips to Sin City in the desert. I'd like to see future releases from the band include the lyrics for their originals, or perhaps a website can upload Geil's lyrics. The body of material is very popular with the Two Ton Tuesday crowd, and the regular gigs have built them a loyal dedicated following. You might slightly miss some of the added instrumentation (like harmonica, organ, or trumpet) found on some of their studio recordings, but the energy of a live show more than makes up for that. Kudos to engineer Fred Remmert for capturing a great feel with the recording and mixing.

The covers come from Ellas McDaniel (Bo Diddley), The Ramones, Bruce Springsteen, and John Brim. Geil puts his own spin and lyric adaptation in McDaniel's "Diddley Daddy," and the lively crowd sings with gusto on "Sedated." By the set's closing numbers Geil reminds us that it takes a "Red Headed Woman" to get the dirty job done (like rotating your tires). Two Ton's closer, "Ice Cream Man," had been originally recorded by Brim back about 1970, but it was about twenty years later when the song was covered and made a big hit by Van Halen. With "all the flavors guaranteed to satisfy," Two Tons of Steel has some rockin' hot music that will keep you cool. A DVD that accompanies the package provides video documentation of the jumpin' rockabilly jive that took place on June 28, 2005 at Gruene Hall. That would've been the band's tenth year playing the annual summer music series there. That same year found them touring Europe. We already know these guys love to entertain. The DVD is a bonus that allows us to further explore and understand their raucous, rowdy ways and to watch the large all-age crowd digging it all. (Joe Ross, Roseburg, OR.)
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