The rapture, the apocalypse, the final battle between good and evil (too soon to namedrop Ragnarok without sounding like a total nerd), the Second Coming of Sam Russell: whatever you want to call it, Doug Hood (née the aforementioned Mr. Russell) and the Wholly Heathens—a cast of characters including actual musicians and very possibly an entire bar crowd—are bringing it by way of Captain Mike’s, a hangout in the primary heathen’s hometown. Naming several gals who have been scorched in various ways, Hood claims there’s been a “Fire at Captain Mike’s” and promptly calls for beer and having a little fun, despite the dancing having come to an end. But we know that the partying never really stops for those who have seen “the future in the flames,” and even while Captain Mike’s may be a metaphor for something bigger and more terrifying, the band let nothing stand in their way here.
Doug Hood and the Wholly Heathens’ “Fire at Captain Mike’s” may essentially be a rewrite, rearranging, and reimagining of Sam Russell and the Harborrats’ song of the same name (a non-secret the Prophet Hood/Russell openly shares), but that’s not the point: the fire, the beer, the fun—the ages-old Corinthian maxim, “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die”—THAT’s the point. The crazy thing is, carried along by a mutant country/gospel rave-up complete with wild horns, wah guitars, wurlitzering organs, and a barroom choir, you feel too alive to believe for a second that you could ever die. Or maybe it’s already happened and this is the other side? If a fire at Captain Mike’s is what it takes to transcend this plane and dance into oblivion with this crew of heretics, then grab the matches—I’ll bring the butane!