[show_avatar email=db@iwenttoashow.com align=left avatar_size=62]Once again, Those Darlins blew into St. Louis and wrecked the place.  They were billed as the second band in Friday night’s Twangfest 14 lineup at the Duck Room, but Those Darlins were there to host their own party.  Nikki Darlin (baritone ukulele/vocals) broke her arm after a gig at the The Nelsonville Music Festival in Ohio in mid-May.  The result was a cancelled show in Memphis and a cancelled Australian tour.  Friday night’s show at the Duck Room would be her first time back on stage with the band since the accident.

The band all dressed in slightly modified medical robes and other various doctor accessories.  The modifications to the robes were done purely for comfort, I suspect.  Nikki’s arm is still in a cast, but that doesn’t mean she can’t sing and that’s exactly what she did.  With Jessi Darlin (guitar/vocals) chasing whiskey with PBR and Nikki’s ukulele replaced by her own Pabst 2×4, the band lit the fire early, opening with “Red Light Love”.  Most of the songs were from their self-titled album and all of them were played at full volume.  Christian Schaeffer describes their music as “junked-up country rock that sounds like your grand-dad’s C&W record collection being kicked down the stairs”, and I think that’s about as accurate as you can get.

The antics lasted the whole set with Nikki and the rest of the band in full party mode.  At one point, Nikki spit PBR directly into the long hair of a guy who had been in the front row all night.  He loved it.   She continued to toy with the emotions of the men in the crowd by asking for someone to dance with her.  The guy to my right, wearing the sleeveless shirt and overalls, gladly volunteered straight away, but she declined his invitation.  With her robe barely hanging on, the man of her choice whisked her off stage and carried her around the floor before they finally started their dance of drunkenness.

They closed out the set with an extended version of  “Shakin’ All Over” with bassist Kelley Darlin leading the charge.  By this point, Nikki’s robe was gone and the first few rows of the crowd were a PBR soaked mess.  It was a classic Those Darlins set.  Check out more of Steven Ley’s photos from the night on his flickr page.

Sounds like a kick ass time, right?  If you missed Friday’s show, you’re in luck.  Those Darlins and The Monads will be playing a last minute show at The Wedge TONIGHT (Sunday, June 13th).  Music starts at 8:00 PM and tickets are $10 at the door.  If you were at the Deer Tick surprise Sunday show in March, you know it will be a wild night and you should certainly not miss it!

UPDATE:  The surprise show has been cancelled, according to The Monads’ latest Facebook update.