I drove 5 hours and sat on the beltway in DC for another hour, just to see MOLLY HATCHET perform at the “Rams Head Tavern” in Annapolis, MD. After all the chaos of trying to get to the venue on time, I missed the opening band CB RADIO but arrived just in time to see MOLLY HATCHET rock the house!

Upon arrival, a nice older lady that worked at the Rams Head seated me over in the corner behind two pillars that allowed me to see two pillars. Hmmm, I can’t do a review of two pillars. That would be a bit boring. “So I sat and watched these two pillars all night…, I loved how they stood still next to each other in silence….The End”.

I immediately found a better seat, with a better view over by the sound man. C’mon, this is MOLLY HATCHET we are talking about, I need a good view. The venue was small and had table seating. Prior to the band getting on stage, I was getting worried that the crowd was going to be a downer. Everyone was just kind of sitting around the little tables barely chatting. I was told not to take any pictures because this place was so small if you stood up front you could obstruct someone’s view. I took pics anyway, just like I changed my seat. I don’t follow rules too well. Hey, I was polite and crouched down. The band came on stage around 9:00 pm and the room went from a bunch of people strategically placed around tables to the true MOLLY HATCHET fans that they are. The place was rockin’ the minute the band hit the stage. They started off with “Whiskey Man” and entertained us with some tunes from the new CD “Justice” The title track “Justice” is a great tune. All the songs on the new CD are stellar. If you don’t own a copy of the CD, you should. They saved the older tunes such as “Flirtin’ With Disaster”, “Dreams I’ll Never See” and a cover of “Freebird” for the last handful of songs which made for a great finale.

Phil McCormack, MOLLY HATCHET’S front man, started off by hollering out to the crowd “Hell Yeah!” The crowd responded with a “Hell Yeah!” in return. This occurred in between songs throughout the entire 13 song set. Now we are talking. There aren’t any more what looked like “downers” in the room. I of course, am dancing in my chair trying to obey the rules and stay seated but these guys make it impossible to sit still. Eventually, I made it to the front where I had some room to dance and rock out.

MOLLY HATCHET has a high energy and are truly pro’s on and off stage. Every member of this band has decades of experience and they are pioneers to the industry. Dave Hlubek, on guitar is a founding member of MOLLY HATCHET dating back to 1975 and has played on over 60 albums with and without MH throughout his career. He is a seasoned musician and it shows. Tim Lindsey is the bass player and has worked with THE ROSSINGTON BAND and toured with LYNYRD SKYNRD in the past. This type of resume combined with his talent makes him the perfect fit for MH. Bobby Ingram, the band’s leader is the longest standing member in the band. He is a master on his guitar and obviously loves what he does. He interacts with the fans while playing and is a real crowd pleaser. The keyboard player John Galvin is another perk to seeing MH play. Not many bands use a keyboard or piano player these days and I could not imagine the songs having the same effect without him. John also has a strong background and has recorded on 15 MH albums. The bands drummer, Shawn Beamer has been referred to as a “powerhouse” drummer. If you see him perform you will know why. He has an amazing stage presence and is a true entertainer. Shawn was using CB RADIO’S drums so we didn’t get to see him do his drum solo this night but I did have the chance to see his drum solo last year at another venue so I know firsthand that he is badass on any kit and always puts on a good show.

I got to chat with Dave and Shawn after the show. They are both so down to earth and full of jokes, they had me cracking up. During this chat, I learned that the drummer Shawn is celebrating his 10 year anniversary with MOLLY HATCHET on November 2 of this year making him the longest standing drummer with the band to date.

This band has been categorized as Southern Rock over the years but in my opinion they are hard/classic rock too. They fall into several genres of “rock”. Because of the “Southern Rock” category that they are most known for, they don’t get as much airplay on the classic rock stations that they should. Even if this isn’t your genre of music, do yourself a favor, go see them play and buy the new CD ”Justice”. They will not disappoint. They tour worldwide, all year long and are a “must see” band.

Check out their website www.mollyhatchet.com and click on the torches it will direct you to all of their tour dates, the bands bio and much more.