It’s a stormy night in Atlanta, GA. There are tornado warnings, black skies and blinding rain yet an intimate rock club in the town of Buford, GA is packed with people ready to see Molly Hatchet. I was nothing more than a casual fan of Molly Hatchet in high school owning their debut album and the follow up “Flirtin’ With Disaster” yet here I am, waiting for Molly Hatchet to take the stage. What in the world can I expect? I’ll be honest, I kept my expectations low. My first Molly Hatchet live experience can best be compared to the first time I ever had hummus. I thought I wouldn’t like it all that much but when I tried it I was hooked for life.
Molly Hatchet took the stage looking more like my dad than a youthful group of southern rockers but the minute the first chords of “Gator Country” rung out, I and the rest of the crowed roared with approval and that was all she wrote. Watching Molly Hatchet is a hell of an experience. It was like these guys just sipped from the Fountain of Youth because what I was seeing on stage did not match what was coming out of those speakers. Lead singer Phil McCormick possessed all the swagger and attitude of a guy ½ his age as he egged the crowd on to raise some hell and sing along. At one point he even eyed an older woman in the crowd and yelled to her, “C’mon granny! Put some stank on it!”
The crowd was as versatile as the music being played covering all the bases with older folk, younger folk, bikers, metal heads and just plain ol’ plain ol’s looking for a good rocking time on a Wednesday night. Molly Hatchet delivered song after song playing as tight as any band I have ever seen. “Dreams I’ll Never See” was a real highlight for me. Molly Hatchet managed to take an Allman Brothers Band classic and turn it into a southern rock shuffle that gave it almost a more gospel like feel. Guitarists Bobby Ingram and Dave Hlubek tossed sick fucking guitar licks off each other like it was some wicked ass tennis match to the death while bassist Tim Lindsey and drummer Shawn Beamer locked it all down to a walloping southern groove. The classic songs sounded so full of life and don’t sound the least bit dated. They sound as new and exciting as they did back in the day yet they sound modernly relevant.
I was surprised and in awe at just how well the new material from the “Justice” album holds up live up against these classics. Songs like “Safe In My Skin” and “Justice” were performed with so much energy and enthusiasm. It literally felt like I was being kicked up side the head by these songs. These two particular songs are also great examples of just why Molly Hatchet is embraced by not only the southern rock community but by the hard rock/metal community. The songs are dark and heavy yet possess a thought provoking quality to them that makes you focus on the lyrics. When the band delivered the song “Fly on the Wings of Angels (Sommer’s Song), there was barely a dry eye in the audience (myself included). When an audience is moved to tears by a single song, you know that the connection is being made and I could see it on the bands faces as they looked on at the people getting it. It was a really powerful moment.
As expected, Molly Hatchet went out with a bang. McCormick prefaced the song by saying, “This is song by our bassist’s best friend who’s no longer with us; Mr. Billy Powell” as the band kicked into “Free Bird.” I have never been much of a “Free Bird” fan but I’ll be damned if this band didn’t melt my fucking face off with this one. They literally played this song as if they wrote it themselves and I found myself jumping up and down and screaming as Ingram and Hlubek melted everyone to nothing with some of the sickest guitar playing I have ever seen. “Flirtin’ With Disaster” truly brought the house down as everyone danced, sang and smiled from ear to ear. The band was having so much fun interacting with the audience which was going ape shit as Ingram, Hlubek and Lindsey all lined up to rock back and forth with smiles on their faces that couldn’t be knocked off with a baseball bat. Molly Hatchet brought it all home and bid us all good night! As I surveyed the room, there wasn’t a single face that didn’t have a smile on it covered in sweat.
Molly Hatchet proved to me this night that not only have I been missing out on some great rock and roll, they are a band that has paved a long open road for themselves. They sound full of life and energy and are obviously in it for an even longer haul. Molly Hatchet songs are timeless and the new material is bound to be as timeless as the classics. This is a band that everyone who loves a good rock and roll show should see live. Molly Hatchet has turned me into a believer and I’m just glad to see and hear that they have nothing but their best years ahead of them.
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