Agriculture Club

Making fun of hicks is fun, right? In fact, poking fun at hillbillies is one of the last bastions of public humiliation at any one socio-economic group's expense left, right up there with crack whore humour. I guess it's because nobody actually thinks that they're the ones on the receiving end of these jokes that makes it okay. That's where these two bands come in. Calgary's Agriculture Club's musical take on "the white trash joke" is in that ol' galloping train beat cow punk style. These guys claim to be taking country music way over the top with heaps of distortion, speed and power. In actual fact, the guitars are as thin and brittle as their tired lyrics about guns and screwing Daisy Duke. The guy from Huevos Rancheros is in this band and let's all pray he sticks to his main gig. From Toronto comes White Cowbell Oklahoma, who are from the Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, "jam it out with as many guys as you can fit on stage" school of rock. These guys have about 20 people in the band at any given time and members include Colonel Sanders, a Southern cop and a preacher. Nine guitars and two drummers propel these heavy boogie tunes that have a bit of a Live at the Filmore East guitar harmony thing going on. The grooves of "Bell Are On the Run" are kind of tasty and "Lone Star Love In" actually kicks some serious rump. I guess the message here is that a joke that's skilfully told is usually funnier than a half-assed on