The Outlaws

Cranberry anyone? Left to right, Jeff Aulich, Jimmy Dormire, Randy Threet, Henry Paul IV, Henry Paul. Not pictured, Mike Bailey and Dave Robbins

Penns Peak hosted the American Southern rock band, the Outlaws this past Friday night. The Outlaws are from Tampa, Florida and have been around for more than 50 years with various band members coming and going during their tours. I saw them in 1976 at the Scope in Norfolk Virginia and again in 1979 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia.

The Outlaws typify the days when bands featured multiple guitars with heavy riffs and even harder solos. Of the original members, only Henry Paul remains with some members passing away and others retiring or moving to other groups.

Their sound is as fresh and relevant as it was back in the early 70's, and Friday's performance was tight, well timed with even better chorography. Current members include:

• Henry Paul - Guitars and vocals

• Jimmy Dormire - Guitar and vocals

• Dave Robbins - Keyboard, backup vocals

• Jeff Aulich - Guitar and vocals

• Randy Threet - Bass and vocals

• Mike Bailey - Drums and vocals

• Henry Paul IV - Guitar and vocals

You may notice a few things - FOUR (Count 'em) Guitars and a bass player and with the exception of Mike Bailey, ALL sing either leads or backup vocals in some ways!

Two things stood out during the performance to me. Everything on stage was a sort of cranberry red color...The guitars, the keyboards, the drums, the amps and electronics, even Henry Paul's glasses... There doesn't appear to be any information as to why everything is red but according to Guitar World Magazine, Henry Paul owns a unique, one‑of‑one red Gretsch Falcon, which is a guitar that stands out visually and historically throughout his career. The last time I saw a band do something like that was Ted Nugent back in the '70's when he brandished a white guitar, wore a white jumpsuit and all his amps were stark white.

The other interesting aspect was that Dave Robbins on keyboard was back row, next to the drums rather than out front with the guitarists. This allowed the five string musicians room to work next to one another in tight unison or move back and forth in the front row. This was definitely an interesting visual.

Jimmy Dormire and Henry Paul IV (Henry Paul's son) traded lead guitar solos all night. Jimmy's blistering fast fingers and appearance reminded us of Edge from U2.

The show started precisely at 8:00PM on the dot and ended with the final encore right before 10:00PM without a break. They played 18 songs nonstop, starting with Gunsmoke and finishing with their best-known Green Grass and High Tides as an extended encore.