I'll say this 'til the day I die: Bottom of the Hill might be thee best place to see semi-big bands in the city. The place is small, always looks packed, and it's far more intimate than Slim's. Southern California fuzz lords graced this club with their presence to celebrate the 15 year anniversary of the album In Search Of, and decided to play it start to finish. As a whole, I prefer No One Rides for Free but the classics on tonight's set list are far more timeless.
I'm developing a soft spot for openers Dust Angel. They are where I'd like to be, musically, in 10 years, if I have a day job. Featuring members of B'last, Dusted Angel are a bunch of guys who've decided to pay tribute to stoned and heavy music from the last 30 years. They're great: super rockin' and totally heavy. The vocalist, Clifford, sings a little like Wino meets Pepper from C.O.C. but since he doesn't play any instruments, he's left to whirl his lion's mane of hair. These guys were fun! They played just long enough that I wasn't bored of them, but not wanting more. As far as I'm concerned they're a Bay Area cult classic.
The information regarding Fu Manchu's set for the night (aside from playing In Search Of all the way through) would also include selections strictly from their other early works, the first two albums, I was told. I was hoping to see them play 'Ojo Rojo' and 'Evil Eye', but instead, they played jams from all over their cache of albums, never a bad thing. While I like the whole vintage era sets, the 'Chu have a reliable and predictable career for the most part and to deprive the fans of tunes like 'Wierd Beard' would be a crime, fortunately that was the encore. After almost 25 years the band looks likes what I imagine every dad who grew up on the beach, smoking pot, skate boarding and listening to Black Flag would look like. I imaged them getting out of their van and a billow of pot smoke masking their faces. "Which way is the club, man". Their set was heavy and high energy. Hearing their tone live makes your whole body vibrate, but not like it does when you see the Melvins. It doesn't hurt as much. It made me want to relive 14 years old, skating down the block and kickin' ass, but I'm too lazy and frail to do that anymore. To witness this show was to say the least fucking sweet. I'm never a huge fan of band's playing albums in their entirety, but sometimes you have to make an exception.
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