For some reason I was initially hesitant to brave the Bike Week crowds and catch Jackyl at Destination Daytona for a second year in a row (‘How different could it possibly be this time?,’ I originally thought). But I was glad I ignored those early instincts and had my wife/photographer grab her gear and get ready to cover them again for Rewind It Magazine this past Saturday, March 12. It was all the more special having our teenage son, as well as a friend of the family, with us to experience it this time around (not to mention running into some familiar friendly faces while there as well).
Maybe it was the surprisingly cold weather that night, but for some reason the vibe was much more laid back this time around. This was apparent when the Georgia-based openers and neighbors to Jackyl, The Angie Lynn Carter Band, took the stage. The six piece group had a definite Fleetwood Mac feel to them (and even covered one of their songs, “Dreams”). Other standouts were covers of The Allman Brothers’ “Midnight Rider,” and originals like “Rumors.” But to be completely honest, although the band was tremendously talented, I’ve never been much of a fan of that era/genre of rock, and was more than ready for some Jackyl by the time their set was finished.
Right at the nine o’clock hour, Jesse James Dupree and company took the stage to rock yet another Bike Week audience. Starting off with a virtual repeat of last year’s set, the band opened with a trio of heavy hitters in the form of “Blast Off,” “My Moonshine Kicks Your Cocaine’s Ass,” and “Mental Masturbation,” before debuting a brand new song for the first time, which for the life of me, I can’t remember the title of.
It wasn’t long before the guys got back down to business with more classics in the form of “Screwdriver,” “Down on Me,” “Back off Brother,” “Push Comes to Shove,” and one of my personal favorites, the blues-ly ballad “Secret of the Bottle,” which was omitted from their set last year. Afterwards, the band once again brought out a Harley and several contestants on stage, with yet another Wisconsin-based rider taking home the prize (if memory serves me right, I think the winner’s name was Tim?).
Once that business was settled, it was back to business for the band, with an array of hits that included “I Stand Alone,” “Dirty Little Mind,” “When Will it Rain,” and “Redneck Punk,” before finally closing things out with “The Lumberjack,” complete with Dupree’s chainsaw solo and onstage carnage of a bar stool, which he once again set on fire before promptly smashing on stage. This was capped off by yet another blast from his custom shotgun microphone stand. It was another epic conclusion to yet another great time hosted by Jackyl – an event truly worth witnessing firsthand if you haven’t yet had the pleasure.
