Thursday, Sep. 03, 2009
Chickenfoot at H.O.B.
Chickenfoot Gallery
I'm standing at the box office at the House of Blues at Barefoot Landing on Aug. 29 and this hipster doofus sporting a derby-style hat sidles up and says, "Who's playing tonight?
The box office attendant tells him Chickenfoot, featuring Sammy Hagar, his former Van Halen band mate Michael Anthony on bass, guitar whiz Joe Satriani and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith.
"Are they signed?" the doofus asks.
Then he goes on to rattle off a few Hagar hits such as "I Can't Drive 55'' and "Three Lock Box."
Sorry, doofus, you won't be hearing those tonight.
Instead, Chickenfoot delivered a 13-song set focusing on material from the supergroup's debut album, with only one nod to Hagar's past, the Montrose classic "Bad Motor Scooter," and ending with a truncated rave-up of The Who's "My Generation."
The doofus may have been disappointed, but the near-capacity crowd of Chickenheads - plied with Hagar's signature Cabo Wabo tequila and brandishing merchandise with the band's altered peace symbol logo - gobbled it up, from the rumble of set-opener "Avenida Revolution," a song ostensibly about the California-Mexican border.
The foursome hit the stage to a noticeably loud audience pop and ruled the roost for the better part of two hours. It was loud, it was dirty, it was a rock 'n' roll show.
"In the house,'' shouted Hagar, clad in faded grey jeans, an even more faded Van Halen "OU812'' T-shirt, and red sneakers (he is The Red Rocker, after all, symbolized by his bizarrely-shaped bright red microphone stand at center stage).
"Avenida Revolution'' chugged along with a brief bass-n-drum duel between Anthony and Smith before the band launched into "Sexy Little Thing,'' one of the catchier tracks off of the band's self-titled disc.
Then came one of the night's first extended extemporaneous moments as Satriani noodled around with a jazz riff before the other band members cut him off, declaring: "the jazz police are here tonight.''
Unfazed, Satriani, the noted guitar master whose students include Kirk Hammett of Metallica and Larry LaLande of Primus, tried his jazzy licks again.
The joke over, Chickenfoot launched into its - undeniably - best song, the foot-stomping, almost funky rocker "Soap On a Rope'' (check out the hilarious video for this song on www.chickenfoot.us.)
This song features the band's aggregate talents at their apex as Satriani plays a muscular opening riff, Hagar wails, Smith swings and Anthony and Hagar provide Van Halen-style harmonizing, as the latter half takes off in a Chili Peppers-meets- "Surfing With the Alien''-era style rage.
The lyrics are a bit on the goofy side ("Don't forget to bring your rocking shoes/You grab a tooth brush, soap and a comb") but, hey, this is rock'n' roll not a dissertation.
"Get your buzz on, right here,'' Hagar and Anthony sang, their chemistry as former Van Halen cohorts still in effect. And it was apt; the buzz was on, and palpable.
I would have liked to have heard some of these guys' other works (say "Satch Boogie'' or Hagar's "Heavy Metal''), but I understand what they were doing: hammering home that Chickenfoot is its own animal with its own identity.
But here's the rub: apart from "Soap on a Rope,'' the songs really aren't that memorable.
The concert was expertly performed - you'd be hard pressed to find more able and talented rockers - and except for the somewhat stilted Satriani, the band had bounds of energy defying their collective ages. And the fellahs seemed generally appreciative of the rabid response from the near-capacity crowd and seemed very fan-friendly tossing drum sticks and picks into the pit repeatedly, and autographing numerous items folks from the front row piled up near Hagar's monitors.
I'd give the concert an A for effort, but a C-plus for material and hope that Chickenfoot isn't a one-off project and their various commitments will allow these four talented musicians to get back together to focus on songcraft for a second helping.
Still, on this night, no one forgot to bring their rocking shoes.
Click here to see exclusive video footage of Chickenfoot at H.O.B.
Here is the set list:
"Avenida Revolution"
"Sexy Little Thing"
"Soap on a Rope"
"My Kinda Girl"
"Down the Drain"
"Bitten by the Wolf''
"Oh, Yeah"
"Learning to Fall"
"Get It Up"
"Turnin' Left"
"Future in the Past"
"Bad Motor Scooter"
"My Generation"
