Saturday, February 2, 2008

The Blackout Party, Earthless and Blue Cheer at the Casbah, San Diego February 1, 2008

Considering how long the headlining band has been around I was expecting a very diverse crowd (age-wise) and I was correct. Lots of older folks showing up to see the mighty Blue Cheer rock the Casbah. The house music was particularly good which is usually not the case for some shows. Turns out they had Brainticket DJ's spinning some vinyl records from the past and present.

First up was The Blackout Party. Instead of checking them out on the web before the show I decided to let their live show be my introduction to their music. They play a style of country-folk rock music with lyrics heavy on drinking, women and other topics usually associated with country and blues. I like how they have a guitarist doubling on flute and a lap slide guitar player (and apparently they also have a fiddle player). They had some nice jams but ultimately didn't suck me into their set.

Switching gears to first of two power trios for the night, Earhless continues to melt people's faces. Seems like every time I see them they are winning over people in the crowd. Reuben was on fire tonight on the kit. They're using much variation in their jams these days.

Having been around since the late 60s, Blue Cheer have been a huge influence on fuzzy, bluesy hard rock bands. The trio sounded massive with the original rhythm section of Dickie Peterson and Paul Whaley and with fantastic guitar playing from Duck MacDonald. With a mix of classics and new cuts, they got better as the set progressed. They played most of (if not all of) their debut album 'Vincebus Eruptum' with the highlights being 'Parchment Farm', 'Sumertime Blues' and a 25+ minute version of 'Doctor Please' that included a drum solo. 'Just A Little Bit' was the only song from their second album I recognized but it was enough of their classic songs to make me happy. Their new tracks blended in well and while I've only listened to their new album one time, it sounded great. It's great to these veteran rockers showing the young kids how it's done.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It's Mario...not Reuben on the kit, way to do your homework.