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.

High On Fire, Mono, Panthers, Coliseum at the Cashbah, San Diego September 20, 2007

It was a sold out show at the Casbah last night as High On Fire and company kicked off their tour. Coliseum, hailing from Kentucky, started the night playing their punk-tinged doom metal. After breaking a snare drum on the first song and dealing with other drum issues described by their singer/guitarist as their "broken drummer", they ripped their set. Not quite my type of music but it was they were a good opener. Hope their drum issues get worked out for the rest of the tour.

From Brooklyn, New York Panthers were slotted next. After a couple songs apparently the power went out on stage left and the guitarist had a broken string. Panthers have that New York garage rock sound mixed with the heaviness of Black Sabbath for a sound I haven't come across so far. Usually with their type of music the vocals are never melodic, but their singer brought a Strokes-like vibe with his delivery.

Continuing with the diverse lineup was the New York-via-Japan instrumental band Mono. This was the second time I've seen Mono and they put on a hell of show. Perhaps it was because it was my second time seeing them, but I thought their set wasn't quite as good this time around. They've been touring for a long time and starting to tire of it. Nonetheless they played some of their best tracks incorporating the quiet to loud formula to perfection.

Closing out the night was the mighty High On Fire whose fourth album came out on Tuesday. The trio is getting huge and probably could have played a much larger venue. This was my first time seeing Matt Pike and company and they sounded great with their new bass player. New songs like 'Death Is This Communion', 'Turk' and 'Rumors Of War' were highlights of the show. An interesting note is that Mike is playing a 9-string guitar on these tracks. That certainly helps fill in the gaps that a trio usually has.