THE OTHER HALF: GIRLS, GUNS, AND GLORY HANK WILLIAMS TRIBUTE SHOW

According to Conor Oberst and his worldly opinion, all the best country singers died in the backs of classic cars. Hank Williams may have passed away at a gas station in the Middle of Nowhere, West Virginia but he did in the back of a powder blue Cadillac after revolutionizing country music with a ten-gallon hat and an old acoustic.

Now, fifty-nine years later, Boston based country outfit Girls, Guns and Glory played their second annual Hank Williams Tribute Show at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge on New Year’s Day. They were opened by The Sweet and Lowdown, another Boston-(ish) band that’s managed to stay under the radar for far too long.

The Sweet and Lowdown may be the best kept secret in Boston music--or at least the best kept secret from me.

Formed by Rachel Price (of Lake Street Dive) and Miss Tess, the group consists of their excellent female duo, Matt Meyers on the drums from Miss Tess and The Bon Ton Parade, a tall man named Kendall on the stand up bass, and a damn fine piano player named James. The Sweet and Lowdown are a strong group that only play about five times a year, but when they do they create a vintage show that’ll get you jumpin’ and jivin’.

Miss Tess rocks her classic guitar (ala Dave Rawlings) with a confidence and ease that makes it look too easy to play what she plays. The Nashvillian, Rachel Price sings with a sultry, southern, sexiness that’s built on a voice strong enough to fill a room – especially one as small and intimate as the Lizard Lounge. Matt Meyers is not only brilliant behind a bright blue drum set, but adds a sartorial aspect to the group that helps gloss their image (ala Justin Townes Earle). On top of Miss Tess’ excellent musical capabilities and a voice as icy as her blue eyes, she showed off a rare skill that most can only dream of doing as well as she can: Miss Tess plays a mean mouth trumpet. She hit every note from the highs and the lows with perfect timbre and pitch in her own little trumpet solo.

Girls, Guns and Glory came on with a classic microphone stand in the style of the forties and fifties big band singers. A heavy white frame with their name perfectly painted on the side and a vintage microphone that sounds as good as any other you’ll find – the piece fit in nicely with the dapper dark suits of the band, who featured an extra tall helping hand on the fiddle that night.

Girls, Guns and Glory are led by Ward Hayden, who has a voice as smooth as the suede hat he was wearing that can also drop to the lows in order to compete with the styles set by the likes of Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash.

Although on Sunday they may have been focusing on Hank Williams – a man with another smooth voice that flitters back and forth from falsetto – it’s still an essential element to an Americana band to have that vocal range.

The band started out in a contained vintage style. They played eight songs emulating Hank Williams – his voice, the smooth textures of the pedal steel, and the neat and tidy drum sections. They did it all in replication and they did it well, providing a sense of history and respect.

But it wasn’t until Girls, Guns, and Glory started to come through on their own that the place really got hopping.

Halfway through their set the band started to break from the chains of yore and started to filter Hank Williams through their own style and identity – fast and loose guitars with a tight rhythm section that glues it all together. Rather than emulating Hank, they breathed a breath of fresh air into his dusty songbook and paid a lively tribute to a man who is too often forgotten as a major piece in the landscape of country music today.

They ran through eight more songs with a style and punch that was more a celebration of his life and influence rather than a mourning of his all too quick passing.

The show itself was an excellently performed thank you to a man who created so much fifty-nine years ago. The ripples of Hank Williams are alive and well today in Americana and country – just look at the success of his son (Hank Williams, Jr.) who’s managed to carve his own place in country music’s hickory totem pole regardless of his father. Girls, Guns and Glory and The Sweet and Lowdown kicked off their New Year with an excellent homage to the man who influenced them so much with his music by doing what he did best:

Performing.