One More Time

Porter Hall, TN

Jovita's, Saturday, March 15 Sunday is the bloody final round of SXSW, the weary trudging to the finish line. It's the day when those who were sucked up into the tornado are plunked down again like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, bleary and bewildered, landing squarely in a puddle of stale beer, cigarette butts, and Doc Marten-trod fliers. Porter Hall was supposed to play at Cheapo Discs Sunday, but singer Gary Roadarmel's voice was the worse for wear. If Saturday's set was any indication, though, they're a band to watch. Their sound is honky-tonk ballads with dark lyrics about whiskey, whores, and overtime, but their Jovita's set kicked off with a medley of the Stooges' "TV Eye" and "1969," with both hewing fairly close to the originals. Roadarmel and partner Molly Conley, on acoustic guitar, have great harmonies that almost sound like Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton at times, especially on slower numbers like "Broken Strings." Conley in particular is a fine singer, with a strong voice that doesn't square with her petite-blond looks. The most welcome aspect about Porter Hall, TN, at least in a live setting, is their rough edge. They're a long way from being timid, self-conscious alt.country waifs, especially when they're blasting a cover like X's "Johnny Hit and Run Pauline." Still, they wrap it all up in a neat little package by doing an electric-bluegrass cover of "I'll Fly Away," with a quote or two from AC/DC thrown in. It's probably just as well they couldn't make their in-store Sunday, because after the Jovita's set, it would've been anticlimactic.