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Setlist
Tour Dates
05/14/16 Kansas City, MO Knucklehead’s
05/29/16 Leavenworth, KS Gaia Festival 08/12/16 Kansas City, MO Crossroads KC Read More
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It was a cool, gray, and crisp Saturday, fitting for the last full day of winter, but that all could change at a moment’s notice—a Rainmaker had come to town.
Kansas City based singer-songwriter, musician and painter Bob Walkenhorst, the lead singer of The Rainmakers, was making his first area appearance in five years. The occasion was the Rock n’ Jock Expo, an annual and somewhat odd pairing of local sports stars and memorabilia, and vinyl records as well as a musical performance or two. A west metro sports memorabilia store and north metro music dealer combine forces to make this show happen.
In addition to Walkenhorst, That Metal Show co-host and comedian Don Jamieson, boxer Caleb Truax, and former Minnesota Vikings players Daunte Culpepper, Randall McDaniel, and John Randle were all also on hand at various times.
Walkenhorst was the show’s sole musical guest, best known as leader of the Midwest roots rock band he’s led for almost thirty-five years. In addition to Rainmakers albums, Walkenhorst released a solo album in 2003, The Beginner and 2011’s Spare, which featured re-interpretations of old favorites as well as new songs.
What was supposed to have been just a single half-hour set, turned into two sets and a running time of almost three times that, with Walkenhorst cracking jokes, taking requests, and telling stories along the way.
The setlist was predictably Rainmakers-heavy, with the first 55 min. set getting going with the foot stomping ‘Downstream’ from The Rainmakers’ 1986 self-titled debut, Walkenhorst distilling the song down to acoustic guitar and harmonica, while still maintaining its backwoods drawl vocals and clever turns of phrase.
Walkenhorst recalled fondly playing locally with his band in the late ‘80s- at the Cabooze, First Avenue, and even opening for Rush to 16,000 people in 1987. Walkenhorst was even selling copies of the debut album on vinyl- not re-pressed, rather recently unearthed from his manager’s storage.
‘Reckoning Day’ was written in 1987, one of the band’s most political songs, with its lyrics somehow still relevant in the election-year climate of thirty years later. ‘Small Circles’ from the band’s second album, Tornado, remains a sweet storytelling roots masterwork. ‘Spend it on Love’ from their third release, was done by request from a couple paying rapt attention to the performance.
The second set began with The Rainmakers’ biggest chart song, ‘Let My People Go Go’, which was a staple on Midwest FM rock radio and even charted #18 on the UK charts. Walkenhorst revealed after the song that the music video was filmed at a church in nearby Golden Valley, complete with dancing extras and a tall top hat for the singer.
‘Shiny Shiny’ harkened back to 1950’s muscle cars, ‘Half a Horse a Piece’ began as a mis-heard phrase at a cabin in northern Minnesota, and the afternoon ended with ‘Hoo De Hoo’, a swampy toe-tapper that could as easily come from the Georgia Satellites catalog as much as the Rainmakers.
Walkenhorst wrapped his set to return to Kansas City, where he has a weekly residence at a local club with musical cohort Jeff Porter and other musical friends, and where The Rainmakers still do 4-5 dates annually in the area.
“Looks like it’s sunny out there now, which is a good thing”, Walkenhorst mentioned, looking out through the bar’s window as he finished his last song- maybe the Rainmaker did have an effect on the weather.
Kansas City based singer-songwriter, musician and painter Bob Walkenhorst, the lead singer of The Rainmakers, was making his first area appearance in five years. The occasion was the Rock n’ Jock Expo, an annual and somewhat odd pairing of local sports stars and memorabilia, and vinyl records as well as a musical performance or two. A west metro sports memorabilia store and north metro music dealer combine forces to make this show happen.
In addition to Walkenhorst, That Metal Show co-host and comedian Don Jamieson, boxer Caleb Truax, and former Minnesota Vikings players Daunte Culpepper, Randall McDaniel, and John Randle were all also on hand at various times.
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Bob Walkenhorst |
What was supposed to have been just a single half-hour set, turned into two sets and a running time of almost three times that, with Walkenhorst cracking jokes, taking requests, and telling stories along the way.
The setlist was predictably Rainmakers-heavy, with the first 55 min. set getting going with the foot stomping ‘Downstream’ from The Rainmakers’ 1986 self-titled debut, Walkenhorst distilling the song down to acoustic guitar and harmonica, while still maintaining its backwoods drawl vocals and clever turns of phrase.
Walkenhorst recalled fondly playing locally with his band in the late ‘80s- at the Cabooze, First Avenue, and even opening for Rush to 16,000 people in 1987. Walkenhorst was even selling copies of the debut album on vinyl- not re-pressed, rather recently unearthed from his manager’s storage.
‘Reckoning Day’ was written in 1987, one of the band’s most political songs, with its lyrics somehow still relevant in the election-year climate of thirty years later. ‘Small Circles’ from the band’s second album, Tornado, remains a sweet storytelling roots masterwork. ‘Spend it on Love’ from their third release, was done by request from a couple paying rapt attention to the performance.
The second set began with The Rainmakers’ biggest chart song, ‘Let My People Go Go’, which was a staple on Midwest FM rock radio and even charted #18 on the UK charts. Walkenhorst revealed after the song that the music video was filmed at a church in nearby Golden Valley, complete with dancing extras and a tall top hat for the singer.
‘Shiny Shiny’ harkened back to 1950’s muscle cars, ‘Half a Horse a Piece’ began as a mis-heard phrase at a cabin in northern Minnesota, and the afternoon ended with ‘Hoo De Hoo’, a swampy toe-tapper that could as easily come from the Georgia Satellites catalog as much as the Rainmakers.
Walkenhorst wrapped his set to return to Kansas City, where he has a weekly residence at a local club with musical cohort Jeff Porter and other musical friends, and where The Rainmakers still do 4-5 dates annually in the area.
“Looks like it’s sunny out there now, which is a good thing”, Walkenhorst mentioned, looking out through the bar’s window as he finished his last song- maybe the Rainmaker did have an effect on the weather.
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Bob Walkenhorst (of The Rainmakers) at Outtakes Bar, New Hope, MN (19 Mar 2016) |
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