Caned by Nod Debuts at Trees Dallas

What did you do for your Labor Day Saturday night this past weekend? I know that many of you were in Dallas at the Iconic Trees venue watching Caned by Nod make their debut! Approaching the venue, you could see fans lining up at the door waiting to see what was in store for this show we were about to see. Caned by Nod is a Rock and Metal band with Outlaw Country star Cody Jinks at the helm with a phenomenal band backing him. As the time got closer for the doors to open the line was continually growing down the street waiting to see what this show experience was going to be. Cody Jinks has never hidden the fact that he loves heavy metal music and country music very much. Based on the size of the line and the crowd that was about to be packing into the venue I would say a lot of his fans have a great love for both kinds of music as well. Walking around inside and outside you could a lot of people talking and trying to guess what kind of show Cody would deliver with his Rock and Metal band Caned by Nod!

Walking into the venue that night looking over at the stage and you can see a small set of drums set up at the front of the stage with the name TN JET on the kick drum up front. Cody had enlisted one of his good friends known as the one-man honky-tonk band, the insanely talented songwriting singer Tennessee Jet was set to kick things off for the fans on such a meaningful occasion. As the time got closer to TN Jet kicking things off many fans had already visited the merch table and grabbed some drinks and made their way to the front rail to get into their spot for the night. The lights went out in the venue as the stage lights went up just as the walk-out music for Tennessee Jet started playing. Then you could see him walking from the back of the stage in his cowboy hat carrying his bright red electric guitar making his way to the front. You could see that he was ready to get things started for us and struck the first crunchy tones and thunderous hits on the drum he started belting out his version of Waylon Jennings Waymores Blues and the fans started cheering and singing with him. He quickly followed that up with Hwy 51 off his self-titled album and immediately you could tell we were in for an incredible night of Rock and Heavy Metal. After this, he led us into a song that he had written titled Bury my Bones which is on his latest album South Dakota. He continued playing some of his original songs with some crazy guitar licks with one hand and playing drums with the other while singing never missing a beat! Towards the end of his set, he played a cover of Radiohead’s Creep and that got the fans going even more singing and head banging as he played and rocked and moved all over the stage. He closed out his set with Dead Belles and Bones which has more booming drum strikes and crispy guitar riffs. As he finished, he thanked the crowd and they all whistled and cheered as he closed out his set and had everyone ready for what was about to come!

As the time got closer to showtime for Caned by Nod to take the stage the fans began making their way back to the front rail or finding any open spot to set up and get ready for an amazing night of rock and metal music! The lights go out and as the walk-out music started playing, the lights slowly started lifting and you could see the members of Caned by Nod walking onto the stage one by one to get set up to get this night started. The band is Jake Letner on lead guitar, Joe Letner on Drums, Nick Jones on Bass guitar, and Cody Jinks on Rhythm guitar and Vocals. Cody and the guys gathered in front of the drums for a moment, then suddenly they kicked off into the title song of the debut album None the Wiser! They followed up none the wiser with a couple more of the great songs of the album and the fans were enjoying every minute of them. Cody stepped up to the microphone and welcomed the fans to the debut show for Caned by Nod and was taking it all in and looking over the packed house that had come to witness this momentous occasion. He also let everyone know that since there is currently only one album, they would be singing it in its entirety but also throwing in some covers as well. Cody said here is one that you might know that I used to sing my daughter to sleep it’s called Check my Brain by Alice in Chains and the fans cheered and sang along. After this cover, they jumped back into some more of their original music with Covet and Dying Trying. During these songs you could see Jake and Nick jumping, spinning, and moving all over the stage, truly giving us an incredible action-packed show. In between the songs, there were several moments when you would see Cody take a step back and take it all in and just smile as the crowd was cheering, throwing up the devil horns and headbanging as the band continued playing. From here Cody stepped up and was talking to the crowd a little bit and as he finished, he introduced the next song from his friend’s Corrosion of Conformity titled Clean my Wounds and the venue erupted as they struck the first notes of the song. The band played an amazing cover of Black Sabbaths Paranoid and quickly went into another one of the original songs Led Astray. As they drew that song to a close Cody took his guitar off, stepped up to the microphone, and let everyone know he was going to go stand to the side off stage and take a little break and let his incredible guitarist Jake Letner sing us a song. As he exited the stage the rest of the band started playing the opening riffs to System of Down’s Chop Suey the fans started jumping around and the crowd sang along with Jake and the band as they delivered an astounding performance of the song. As Jake and Nick were running around the stage and Joe was delivering thunderous blows to the drums, they brought the song to an end and Cody re-joined them on the stage.  As he put one of his guitars back on, he said they transformed one of his friends Paul Cauthen’s songs titled Saddle and made it a rock song and they were going to sing that for us now. This version of Saddle that they created was incredible and they truly made it their own very fast and heavy. At the end of this song, Cody told the fans that if any of them got that on video make sure they send that over to Paul and let him check that out! Cody, Jake, and Nick gathered in front of Joe’s drum set again huddled up and as they struck the first notes to Broken Wings they broke their huddle and returned to the front of the stage as the fans were cheering and headbanging along to the song. They followed that up with a cover of none other than Motorhead with Ace of Spades which was a huge hit with the packed venue of fans of heavy metal music.  Suddenly it got really loud and heavy and they started into Eyes off their None the Wiser album and they finished that up one by one they waved to the crowd and walked off the stage into the dark. The crowd was Chanting Caned by Nod, Caned by Nod and then a crew member walked up and grabbed a couple of stools and set them at the front of the stage and everyone knew then it wasn’t over, and you could feel the anxiety building waiting to see what was in store next. 

After the stage was set Cody and Jake walked back out from the darkness at the back of the stage and grabbed a couple of acoustic guitars. As he was tuning his guitar Cody asked the crowd if they would mind if they sang a couple of acoustic songs for them and it was a resounding yes from the packed crowd. Cody and Jake started off the encore with a Pantera cover of Suicide Note Pt 1. The crowd nearly lost their minds as soon as they started playing and singing the first words of the song being that it was Pantera’s home state. Cody said since we liked that so much, they have another B-side song for them and started playing Mama Said from Metallica and again the fans began singing along and cheering as they made their way to the end of the song. As they wrapped up that song the two of them began the chorus and verse of Middle Finger and abruptly stopped and Cody stood up and said we are not going to do that like that. He invited Joe and Nick back up on the stage and told us they were going to close it right and play this song loud and heavy for us. They all gather in front of the drums for one last time and without delay, they started playing Middle Finger for us. The fans were all moving around, singing, and putting their middle fingers to the sky all over the venue, and Cody and the guys all started smiling and returned the favor as they continued playing and singing. There were devil horns, middle fingers, and hands waving as they waved and thanked the crowd for being there on such a special night for them.

If you got the chance to be at this Debut show for Caned by Nod you know that it was a truly incredible experience and one that will not be forgotten. No one really knew what to expect with this show since it was their debut and I think the band really outdid themselves and set the bar high for the next shows to come and hopefully soon. It was a very loud and heavy show and had the fans holding onto the rail and moving throughout the whole venue hanging onto every note and word sung. The band’s whole performance was amazing, and it sounded like every cover they performed was their own and that they have been playing together for many years. If you get a chance to see them when they tour some more go, see them you will not be disappointed!

Words and Photos by Craig and Paula Youngblood

TN Jet Set List:

Waymore’s Blues (Waylon Jennings Cover)
HWY 51
Bury My Bones
Apolitical Blues
Soul
Johnny
Zoom Zoom Blues
Creep (Radiohead Cover)
Dead Belles & Bones

Caned by Nod Set List:
None the Wiser
Seeing Ghosts
Can’t Hide the Truth
Check My Brain (Alice in Chains Cover)
Covet
Dying Trying
Clean My Wounds (Corrosion of Conformity Cover)
Half A Life
Paranoid (Black Sabbath Cover)
Led Astray
Chop Suey (System of a Down Cover)
Saddle (Paul Cauthen Cover)” Metal Version”
Broken Wings
Ace of Spades (Motorhead Cover)
Eyes

Encore:
Suicide Note Pt 1 (Pantera Cover) (Acoustic)
Mama Said (Metallica Cover) (Acoustic)
Middle Finger