It would be a sin not to see Whiskey Shivers play live. The last I saw the band (not a week or so ago) they had arrived in Austin at about 7AM after a month long tour through the North West. Unfazed by this long trek, the five piece yeehawin’ bluegrass punks put on one of the most incendiary shows I have ever seen. The only bad part of their performance was that they were only allowed to play for forty minutes.
After opening with a couple of foot stompin’ hoedown suited songs, the band played some new material. “We’re gonna slow it down now,” said front man and fiddle player Bobby Fitzgerald, “Don’t freak out now. We’re just slowin’ it down.” The song that followed was heartbreakingly brilliant. If tears weren’t shed, they should have been. The moment the song ended, the crowd erupted into applause, hoots, and hollers. The crowd was made up of the Whiskey Shiver punks who danced the night away in overalls and flannel while downing Lonestar like it was water.
Whiskey Shivers don’t seem to play their instruments. Each listens to their instruments, waiting for that magic spark to come through. And when the moment hits (and it always does for these boys) the band and the audience have the biggest grins on their faces. – Taylor Browne