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There is something about the Beaumont Club that makes me want to get in a massive bar brawl every time I am there. I am not talking about a real, get injured and arrested bar brawl, but the movie kind: with break-away chairs and pool cues. Hollywood-inspired or not this bar is the perfect setting for a giant 20 person smash mouth brawl, and I get fired up about it every time I am there. This night was no exception; actually the feeling was accentuated by the presence of Split Lip Rayfield , Wichita's own sarcastic-witty-drunken-fight inducing-kick-ass-don't-call-it-blue-grass-blue-grass band. I had not seen these guys play live, but I had heard about the energy and fun they have and extend to the crowd.
The crowd was a mix of indy-cowboys, hippie-cowboys, cowboy-cowboys, and even a couple goth-cowboys (how you can be a goth-cowboy is beyond me, but somehow there are people that pull this stunt off). There were very few people who did not bust out some kind of mesh hat for the occasion, even the hippie-cowboys somehow got all of their dreadlocks pulled out through that one hole in the back. Regardless of what adjective came before the -cowboy for the fans, they were all very into the show, and for good reason. They just kicked the doors off of the place.
They played extensively from their new album "Should Have Seen It Coming" , which the crowd seemed to have little aversion to. From the scathing ode to the cowboy wanna-be's in Lawrence on "Redneck Tailgate Dream" to the bouncy-fun tune of "A Little More Cocaine Please" everything they played was fantastic. My only problem is actually a problem with bluegrass music in general. That simultaneous high-pitched whine-like singing just drives me crazy sometimes.
The members of the band seem to be representative of the various influences this band brings to the table. First there is Kirk Rundstrom the very tattooed and mo-hawked acoustic guitar player who represents the punk side of the band. Second there is Eric Mardis, who with his banjo and unkempt hair and beard brings the down and dirty country with him. Then there is Wayne Gottstine, clean-cut mandolin player. He is the physical manifestation for the standard bluegrass music with his nice sweater, non-threatening appearance and finely groomed hair. Playing the Mr. Hyde to Gottstine's Dr. Jekyll, hunched over his homemade one string gas tank bass is Jeff Eaton. While he does not represent any particular type of music, it is his raw energy that he shares and spreads not only to the band, but also to the crowd. His bass is what represents the whole that is Split Lip Rayfield : a hodgepodge of great American parts that have no business together, but somehow make perfect sense and a hell of a good time when they are put together.
By Nick Scott
