Live Show Reviews / Misc Press
LAS VEGAS CITY LIFE
I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House
Saturday, July 19, 2003 @ The Cooler Lounge, Las Vegas, NVMike Damron has always been a fighter. The former Las Vegan was a boxer in the Army, and now with his Portland-based band I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House he battles society's injustices. SOB's soul-baring, alt-country rock packs a wallop, full of focused anger and attitude but beneath that bravado lies Damron's tender heart, and his gritty vocals punctuate his pain.
"Dear Mr. Heston" from the band's new album Put Here To Bleed (already in its second pressing) is an aggressive appeal for gun control told through the tale of Damron's half-brother's death. The accident devastated their father, and yet failed to sway the old man's support of the NRA. Damron explains, "It's hard to accept that what you believed in is a lie."
Get gut-punched at the Cooler Lounge, but don't be afraid. Damron will give you a big, sweaty bear-hug afterward to prove there's no hard feelings. Seattle's Los Peligrosos and Steppchild from Tempe, Ariz., round out the bill. Info: 702-646-3009.
LA WEEKLY
I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House
Sunday, July 20, 2003 @ The Garage, Los Angeles, CAEqual influences of rabble-rousing country music and 1970s big-guitar rock run through the veins of I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House’s blue-collar stampede against the hypocritical powers that be. Their newest release, Put Here To Bleed, is driven by the gravel-throated political vendettas of bandleader Mike D, who suffered the gun-related loss of his brother — the song “Dear Mr. Heston” spits nails into the cold, dead philosophies of firearm lovers Charton Heston and Ted Nugent. “American Fuck Machine” lambastes the megalomaniacs running our country, and “The Ballad of Courtney Taylor” exposes rock-star poseurs for the puppet clowns they are. If you’re looking for nice little country-rock songs about “sippy-cups of milk,” you won’t find ’em at the Garage tonight. What you will find is a jolt of raw emotion from a band that truly can lick every SOB in the house. (Jen Hitchcock)
SALT LAKE CITY WEEKLY, 04/24/03
DICK DALE, I CAN LICK ANY SONOFABITCH IN THE HOUSE
Wednesday, April 30 @ The Zephyr Club, Salt Lake City, UT
What is it with Dick Dale and Wednesday-night Salt Lake City gigs? Seems like every time the southpaw King of Surf Guitar hits our landlocked lil’ hamlet, it’s on Hump Day. This time around, however, the legendary Stratocaster Master (nicknames for days, people) is splitting the night with I Can Lick Any Son of a Bitch In the House, a Portland-redneck rock & roll outfit who killed on their last visit with catchy hard-luck tunes delivered in maximum rotgut velocity. Dale and SOB together is a tough combo to beat—don’t even try. (Bill Frost)
tabletnewspaper.com, 04/03
The raspy, gritty vocal style of Mike Damron is comparable to that of Eric Bachmann (Crooked Fingers, Archers Of Loaf), sans the heavy Neil Diamond inclinations. His Portland outfit, I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch In The House, is unapolegetic, unpolished alt-country at it's finest. Damron's intelligent lyrical diatribes are the featured attraction and he doesn't disappoint. Keep an ear out for "Dear Mr. Heston" a number directed at the president of the NRA which even includes a reference to his "Bright Eyes" character in the timeless classic, Planet Of The Apes.
Flavorpill.net, 03/03I can lick any sonofabitch in the house. Them's fightin' words and this here's a fightin' band. Spewing country-rock riffs and hard-knock lyrics, I Can Lick is a broken whiskey bottle, honky-tonk punk kind of rock. Mike Damron fronts this raucous Portland band with a raspiness to rival Tom Waits and attitude in spades. But for all his roughneck bravado, Damron also demonstrates an overwhelming tenderness in songs ranging in subject from child abuse to broken hearts to politics. Think Social Distortion infused with the spirit of the Man in Black, add a good dose of Americana and you're getting close. Expect a boot-stompin', hootin' 'n hollerin' show with enough tear-jerking blue-collar ballads to soften the toughest of country rockers. (LB)
The Cutting-Edge.net, 03/03
I Can Lick Any Son Of A Bitch In The House @ Crystal Ballroom, Portland OR
This was a nice night out with some of Portland's finest. I Can Lick Any Son Of A Bitch In The House is a local quartet making their mark on the club scene. They kicked the show open with guns a blazin' in support of their In Music We Trust debut "Creepy Little Noises". Like a hungry pitbull - teeth bared and ready to rip, the band through down a set of serious blue-collar rock. The brainchild of Mike Damron who named his band after boxing champion John L. Sullivan's biography S.O.B. kicks out muddy, swamp-country-rock with the attitude of an alligator caught in a coon trap. From the eerie resonance of 'John L. Sullivan', to the gravel-paved ballad of 'Walk Across Texas' the show echoes an early Johnny Cash backed by a wicked-ass punk band. Damron's since of humor rings out in the lyrics especially on 'Saturday', an ode to his childhood watching cartoons and eating Cap 'n Crunch but then proclaims "Mama, you're never gonna hit me again." The chemistry between rock and country is seamless and inspiring especially with their raw, emotional delivery.
Willamette Week, 02/03
Mike Damron wasn't satisfied with the usual shell game of revolving Portland players, so he went out and recruited himself a bunch of young punk cubs and whipped 'em into the ferocious band his snarling voice and scathing material demanded. It's like Steve Earle fronting Silverchair. The forthcoming second disc features such articulate, angry diatribes as the post-9/11 "Things That Fail" and anti-gun "Dear Mr. Heston," plus powerful personal tunes. Now more than ever, this band does what it says on the label. (JR)
