Horton Heat Has Cooled

Reverend Horton Heat’s reverb-drenched music about women, booze, cars and ‘50s rebel culture peaked in 1993 with the band’s lauded second album, “The Full-Custom Gospel Sounds of the Reverend Horton Heat.” Playing the Hollywood Palladium on Friday, the Texas punk-rockabilly trio underscored that what began as a hoot can, years later, slide treacherously into self-caricature.

That’s a shame, because singer-guitarist Jim Heath is a suave host who seemed made for the stage. But his early enthusiasm for his Reverend Horton Heat persona--a cross of revivalist preacher, gas-pump jockey and lounge singer--wasn’t evident at this show.

Instead, he and his bandmates (stand-up bassist Jim Wallace and drummer Scott Churilla) strained to take themselves seriously, churning out a bland mix of rockabilly, spaghetti-western soundtracks, lounge ballads and surf instrumentals.

In the process, they lost the punkish edge that made possible their early, irrepressible songs such as “Nurture My Pig!” and “The Devil’s Chasing Me.”

On this night the band mostly focused on tunes from its new album, “Space Heater,” and they carried none of the group’s earlier rowdy spirit.

Part of the group’s early promise was that the band itself was a half-cocked goof. This show proved that sometimes a good joke can be stretched out so long that even the teller doesn’t think it’s all that funny--or fun--anymore.