Fu Manchu / Moab / Lord Howler - Casbah - 12/07/13

[Ryno]

What a fantastic night of Rock and Roll.  I was sicker than shit and had every intention of bailing out.  But my buddy bought tickets a month ago and he lives in Albuquerque.  He also got a hotel right down the street from the Casbah.  So up until Thursday night, I was all fired up to get out of the house, away from wifey and kiddo, and let loose.  Lo and behold, every time I make that kind of a plan, the evil of the universe creeps up on me and knocks me down with some bullshit sickness.  Anyway, I didn't want to be a giant vagina and pull the sick card, so i went.  Picked him up at the aeropuerto, went to Stone Brewery for a few cold ones, (i was drinking water), and then rolled into the Casbah with some Alka-Seltzer Plus and a desire to lay down in a booth and take a nap.

That's when Lord Howler came on and put me in my place.  About thirty seconds in to their set, I knew I made the right decision.  I hadn't seen these guys before but knew the name.   With a bag full of late 80's/early 90's thrash riffs, technical dueling leads, and gruff, but clean vocals, they jumped right in and didn't let up for 30 mins.  They had a big ol' dude bashing the skins.  My buddy even mentioned that you don't often see a big, fat guy play like that, but he drove that kit with fury and finesse.  They were a solid start to the night. 

Next up was the elusive Moab.  I couldn't find much on these guys in terms of web presence, so I was stoked to see them with my own two eyes.  Which were watery and bloodshot, and not for the right reasons.  They have a 7" split with the Fu, so they have to have some sort of history.  Moab consists of three very skilled players and a mixture of interesting influences.  They were solid in their attack mixing heavy riffing with quiet moments.  There were some Zep moments, some Om-ish moments, and they finished with a slowed-down, off-scale version of Rush's "A Passage to Bangkok", which was well placed since dude singing sounded a lot like Geddy.  In the end, the were grateful to be there, and we were grateful to have them.  Seemed like three 40-something dudes just doing what they love.

I haven't seen Fu in a few years.  I missed both the "Action is Go" and "In Search Of" tours, which was a bummer because those are my favorites albums.  I've had an up and down, back and forth relationship with these guys for years.  I was a die-hard fan when Eddie and Ruben were in the band, then Brant came along with Balch and it was another beast.  King of the Road was decent.  Then California Crossing came out and I began referring to them as Nu Manchu, as I did not like where they were going.  Kind of like the first 4 Metallica albums or the first 4 Sabbath albums, I loved the first 4 Fu albums, and then I thought they were slipping.

The Casbah has always been good to Fu Manchu.  They've played that joint a bunch of times over the years.  I think this was my 10 or 12th time seeing them and at least half of those times were at the Casbah.  It's a short drive from San Clemente, they have family and friends here, and it makes for a super fun time.  You could see it in their faces and hear it in their jokes.  But when it came time to turn up and go to work, they were 100% business.  The opened with Asphalt Rising, which is probably my favorite tune they've done.  The sickness I was feeling was immediately channeled out of my body through my banging head while the roar of Marshall JCM full stacks flooded the place with that fattest, thickest tones available.  From there they went through almost their entire catalog.  Hell on Wheels, Time to Fly, Anodizer, California Crossing (which was actually solid), King of the Road, Gathering Speed and a few other old gems.  They "ended" with Saturn III, took a two minute break, and came back to encore with Mongoose and of course, Evil Eye.

It was absolutely the tightest show i've seen from those guys.  They are as solid right now as they've ever been.  And can i just sing a little praise for Bob Balch for a second?  The guy is a fucking stud on the guitar.  He was pulling off all kinds of shit last night with pedals and effects, not to mention he's just a solid lead man.  I was standing about 6 feet from him all night, completely sober, and witnessed a clinic in the intricacies of rock guitar.  And we got to see a lot of Scott Hill's sense of humor last night.  Cracking jokes, busting on people, throwing out albums while yelling he was Santa.  Brad Davis is Brad Davis.  A pillar of bass.  But Scott Reeder was also in my sights all night and I have a whole new appreciation for that guy too.

All in all, a great show.  My faith in the Fu has been fully restored.