Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band returned to Chicago’s Reggies for an outstanding night of rockabilly blues, flaming washboards and impressive guitar skills.
This was no ordinary Saturday night, getting to see Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band for a night of The night was full of foot stomping, hand clapping, cymbals flying off their stands, slide guitars and fire. We’ll get back to the fire in a little bit. They are one busy band, performing more than 200 shows a year across North America and Europe and are also one of the biggest artists on the Sirius XM Bluesville station.
The crowd was warmed up nicely with some other great rockabilly/blues bands. Chicago’s own Royal Son of a Guns kicked the evening off in fine style with their self-branded style of Johnny Cash meets Black Sabbath. Next up were NP Presley from Nashville. They continued cranking up the intensity by belting out several of their original tunes. Up next was Bailey Dee. With the entire band dressed to the nines, they kept the party moving in the right direction. Once the opening acts had finished, the crowd was ready. Finally, it was time for The Reverend.
Taking the stage, The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band kicked off their night with “My Old Man Boogie,” which almost immediately started the hand clapping and foot stomping from the crowd. Despite the name, there’s not a big band on the stage. The band is actually a three-piece comprised of the Reverend Josh Peyton on guitars, his wife Breezy and drummer Max Senteny. Putting them all together, their sound is definitely what’s big about them.The Reverend plays the guitar unlike anything you’ve ever seen. His hands move so fast up and down the fretboard, you’d think it was going to catch fire. Every sound the Reverend makes with the guitar is naturally done with his hands. From outrageous string bends to the high-pitched slides off the fretboard and down to the pickup. There are no pedal boards to create the sound effects, save a power board for all of the guitars he switches between, where he just has to tap one to turn it on. Max Senteney is rock steady on the drums, that also includes a five-gallon bucket that he’d tap and bang on and a poor cymbal or two that have been bashed by The Reverend who would kick them off the stand and into the air at the end of a song, keeping the stagehands busy repairing and replacing them. Breezy caps off the trio with her washboard. While the band’s music is primarily blues, rockabilly and country blues, she plays the washboard with such ferocity that it is typically signed by the band and sold off to a fan at the end of the show. Most washboard artists wear a couple of thimbles and play the washboard lightly with their fingertips. Breezy has a more punk rock ferocity about her playing style, wearing work gloves that have thimbles attached at the fingertips, that leaves little left to the poor washboard by the end of the evening. She also sets the thing alight and plays it until the flames extinguish themselves during the encore, and it’s a beautiful sight to behold. There was one very happy fan with it at the end of the evening, getting it autographed.
Overall, the band has a good time on stage interacting together and with the crowd, and while the show was not sold out, it didn’t prevent them from working up a sweat with their high energy and making sure that whoever was there to see them also had a good time. As the band tore through songs like “You Can’t Steal My Shine” and “Bean Blossom Boogie,” they were sure to also get the crowd involved with songs such as “Clap Your Hands” and “Two Bottles of Wine.” There was no shortage of dancing on the floor and people clapping and stomping.
As the show closed out, fans lined up at their merch booth, awaiting the band members for autographs, merchandise to have them sign and photos.
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