No shortage of live entertainment in The Bay Area this brisk March eve. There were Metal, Rock and Punk shows at just about every venue on both sides of The Bay and up and down the coast. Rather than list all the shows you could’ve gone to I’ll talk about the three I went to.
I started the evening off at The Fox Theatre in Redwood City. A venue I’ve only been to once before (AC/DZ gig) for I don’t make it to Redwood City very often. But this is a great spot to see a show with exceptional sound. This venue is known for catering towards cover/tribute bands and this night was no different. On the menu was Union Jack And The Rippers (NWOBHM covers), Heartless (you guessed it, a Heart tribute band) and Mean Streak (Y&T tribute). I don’t frequent tribute shows all that much but I wanted to support Linda Mortonsen’s return to putting on tribute shows under her brand Bay Area Tributes which was a very popular thing throughout 2000’s. Personally I’d much rather see a band doing their own material but I can’t deny these shows are usually a very good time.
First band up was Y&T tribute Mean Streak. Some drunken, long haired German dude pretty much fell into my lap and shouted “THIS IS THE GREATEST COVER BAND I’VE EVER SEEN”. It’s hard to disagree. It was freakish how much the lead vocalist sounded like Dave Meniketti and the band were pretty spot on as well. They played to a packed house. I wonder how many people there knew that the ACTUAL Y&T were playing 45 minutes down the road in Santa Cruz? If they did they clearly didn’t seem to care cause the audience LOVED them as did I.
Up next was Heartless. Not only did these men and women pull off the Heart sound, they pulled off the Heart look! Yes, even the men. I mean honestly, when was the last time you thought about the dudes in Heart and what they look like? And it was an amalgam of the 70’s and 80’s heart image right down to the bassist’s moccasin boots. The last time I saw those on a man was….well never. But I haven’t seen those on a chick since high school. A very popular choice of footwear for the “stoner” girls hanging out in the “smokers pit”. Musically they were strictly classic 70’s Heart and they did it wonderfully.
I didn’t stick around for Union Jack for there was bigger fish to fry up in the city…
Those fish were Exploited (downstairs at the DNA) and Jetboy (upstairs at the DNA). I couldn’t have gone to two polar opposite gigs in the same building if I tried. Let’s start with the Exploited. They basically mowed me over with a complete frontal assault of angst ridden Thrash tinged hardcore. I mean fucking HOLY HELL! It doesn’t get more aggressive, up tempo, riff laden, bleak and single minded as these dudes. Being a dj at the DNA (not this night) I see a shit ton of bands there and I can honestly say their sound was near perfect and one the best sounding sets I’ve ever seen there. The place was packed and the energy in the room coming from the crowd as the stage was palpable. The whole experience seeing Exploited was truly inspiring. And then there’s Jetboy….
Don’t get me wrong, I dig Jetboy well enough and I was in a band (Mindzone) with two of the guys back in the 90’s. But the drastic shift from one show to the next in terms musical styles and overall crowd energy couldn’t have been so blatantly different. First off, there were only about 30 folks watching them which is a shame because they sounded and performed very well. In fact, of pretty much all of the “hair” bands from the 80’s I’d say Jetboy sound the most authentic and true to what they sounded like back in the day. Hell, they sound EXACTLY like they sounded back in the day and I can’t name a single other Glam band that I could say that about. Next time they play the city they should make sure there isn’t an insanely brutal hardcore Punk show happening in the same building. Jetboy certainly deserve better than that.
--Bleeding Priest