King Khan ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Those Darlins seem like a trio of chicks who probably shotgun PBR tallboys for breakfast. Considering our state’s draconian liquor laws they likely shotgunned two of ‘em before they stepped on the Chop Suey stage Saturday night. Young though they are, Those Darlins emanate a rock renegade aura not unlike the one a man named Kris Kristofferson used to cultivate, so on the surface they felt like an ideal opener for the headlining swagger of King Khan & BBQ Show.

For those who didn’t catch on to that demeanor right away, their slight stature and retro-chic garb wasn’t about to fool anyone into thinking they’re something they’re not either. Their songs reveal these three to be genuinely shit-kicking in a way most bands can only hope to fake. When Jessi Darlin settles into laying down some dirty blues rock riffs or as each of them take turns singing about grubbing down on a chicken they found in the kitchen, they sound like one of the boys instead of the expected: the refined fragility of a Patsy or the Hollywood saleability of a Taylor Swift. In goofing on traditional gender roles in country music, they’re also succeeding in making an old favorite of mine, the Dixie Chicks, look like a bunch of made for TV country pop pansies. Identifiably influenced by the likes of many a vintage country artist, these ladies deliver their songs with a devious glimmer to their eyes that indicate it might be wise to refrain from thinking about them as “ladies” or calling them “ladies” within their hearing at all.

Once King Khan & BBQ Show hit the stage, I realized I didn’t think about what I was getting into up front. These guys probably shotgun a Guinness (with a mushroom chaser?) for breakfast and much like a show from Almighty Defender’s co-conspirators the Black Lips, those in the front row have license to drunkenly lose their own minds “dancing.” The duo put on a passable show, but the set seemed muted and hardly daring, barely up to the excitement and expectation of the sold out house or even up to Those Darlins’ energetic standard. I blame the Kentucky State Patrol. They really did everyone a solid on this one.

Those Darlins ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

BBQ Show (left) ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

King Khan’s Fox Peen vs. Octopus::: Photo by Josh Lovseth