Toadies

Toadies 9/21/22

For the last official day of summer 2022 I did what I set out to do almost exactly a year to the day earlier: see Toadies again, since the original date fell victim to the tail end of the pandemic. Toadies were to play the entire Rubberneck album top to bottom in sequence but this was actually the second time I had the privilege of seeing Rubberneck in full as I caught the performance to celebrate the 20^th anniversary at the Belly Up back in 2014. I cannot believe this was eight years ago but really can’t believe that means the album is now 28 years old!

The show time was listed as 6:30 pm so Bob and I figured the actual start time would be 7. We showed up right before that to make sure to catch The Reverend Horton Heat at the behest of my buddy Joe. The next thing you know four fellows wearing matching sleeveless red leather vests appeared onstage. I had heard of RHH but did not really know much about them or what they looked like although I was pretty sure this was not them. The singer immediately started saying something over and over again but I could not quite make it out. After a while we figured out he was saying “Draculas,” which ended up being the band name that they stylize as DRAKULAS. These guys definitely had heard The Stooges and The Ramones before as their punk rock ways resembled both of those bands. Very fast, energetic songs with a frontman that took his cues from Iggy as he wriggled about onstage and spat out amusing banter in between songs. Their music was not so much my cup of tea but they were entertaining.

I did not know what to expect from The Reverend Horton Heat, which made their performance that much better. RHH’s sound was a mixture of rockabilly, country, surf, punk, swing and big band. I do not think it an exaggeration to say that Jim Heath is the best guitar player I have seen in a really long time. He was an absolute beast while Jimbo Wallace held down the fort on the upright bass and Jonathan Jeter would have fit in nicely with a full-on punk band. To keep with the theme of the evening they played their entire 1994 album Liquor in the Front. This album was produced by Al Jourgensen from Ministry and Jim playfully ripped on Al for taking 10 days to play his slide guitar part on one of the tracks. They ended the set with a spot-on version of Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades.” The interesting thing is that as I was researching something for this piece I learned that there is a 1925 American silent Western film serial called The Ace of Spades with a character named Jim Heath….

SETLIST: Big Sky, Baddest of the Bad, One Time for Me, Five-O Ford, In Your Wildest Dreams, Yeah, Right, Cruisin’ for a Bruisin’, I Could Get Used to It, Liquor, Beer and Wine, I Can’t Surf, Jezebel, Rockin’ Dog, The Entertainer, Ace of Spades

There is an excellent little documentary on YouTube called “Clark Vogeler’s “Dark Secrets – The Stories of Rubberneck.” I re-visted this before the show and noticed five different people in the documentary wearing a Reverend Horton Heat hat so it was nice to see them pay homage by having RHH open for them. “Little Sin” was a perfect opening song and we even got to hear an excellent new track called “The Charmer” before they were true to their word and played all of Rubberneck faithfully. “I Burn” was especially cool when they brought out the drummers from the opening bands to beef up the percussion. “I Put A Spell On You” was a fun way to come out for an encore as was more help from their friends for the closer “Rattler’s Revival.” Toadies never disappoint and this time was no exception.

SETLIST: Little Sin, No Deliverance, The Charmer, Jigsaw Girl, Mexican Hairless, Mister Love, Backslider, Possum Kingdom, Quitter, Away, I Come From the Water, Tyler, Happy Face, Velvet, I Burn, I Put a Spell on You, Push the Hand, Rattler’s Revival

Local H/Toadies 9/23/17

This was the fifth time I had the pleasure of seeing Local H and ironically the last time I saw them was at the same venue for the 20^th Anniversary of As Good As Dead at the beginning of last summer. These guys tour relentlessly, as evidenced by the fact that they were technically still touring on 2015’s Hey, Killer. Apparently the newest drummer Ryan recently had a baby so he was sitting this tour out. I don’t know where Scott finds these guys but whomever he had behind the drum kit was the fourth drummer I have seen him play with and although I prefer having Ryan behind the kit, this guy killed it too. Even though this was not her usual scene I convinced my wife Ingrid to go with me and we were nearly front row for the whole energetic performance. I very much enjoyed “Hands on the Bible,” an absolutely blistering version of “Bound for the Floor,” and the one-two ending punch of “Fritz’s Corner” and “High-Fiving MF.”

SETLIST: John the Baptist Blues, The Misanthrope, City of Knives, Michelle (Again), Hands on the Bible, The One With ‘Kid’, Bound for the Floor, Gig Bag Road, “Cha” Said the Kitty, Cooler Heads, The Last Picture Show in Zion, Fritz’s Corner, High-Fiving MF

This was my sixth time seeing Toadies and the third time seeing them at the Belly Up. This time they were touring for the excellent album The Lower Side of Uptown that had just been released a couple weeks before this. I did not keep track of all the songs they played (too busy rocking out) but do remember “Take Me Alive,” “Tyler,” “Happyface,” “My Sweetness,” “I Come From the Water,” “Summer of the Strange,” and the closer “I Burn.” Two badass bands that I love for the price of one? These two bands were a match made in the clouds, which is where I was the entire time.

Toadies 8/14/15

A rare concert on a weekend night…in the summer. Ken lived in a Penthouse right beside Balboa Park facing the south towards downtown. It was very convenient for seeing a show not far away so me Bob and I met up with Ken at his place and had a few on his rooftop deck before venturing out into the night. We got into the House of Blues right as Fuel was performing their last song. I was not that distraught because I think there is exactly one song of theirs that I like and I did see them open up for Aerosmith at the Gorge several years earlier. I don’t know what it is about Toadies that I like but I like it a lot. They consistently release great rock n’ roll albums and that is more than enough for me. I always forget how small the House of Blues is until I actually go there again. Toadies rocked through their set and then revealed the new song “In The Belly of the Whale” and news of an upcoming acoustic album of selections from their catalog. I also met the band afterwards at the T-shirt booth. I’m pretty sure I came off as a drunken creep but in the end I walked away with having seen the Toadies one more time, a kick-ass T-shirt and pictures to prove I was there being a drunken creep.

SETLIST: Rattler’s Revival, Backslider, Little Sin, I Am a Man of Stone, Happyface, Push the Hand, No Deliverance, Away, Sweetness, Possum Kingdom, In The Belly of the Whale, I Burn, I Come From the Water, Hell in High Water, Tyler, Paper Dress, Dollskin, Got a Heart, Jigsaw Girl, Stop It (Pylon cover), Summer of the Strange, Heel

Toadies 3/20/14

My birthday came two days late in the year 2014 when Toadies played a show at Belly Up to celebrate the 20^th Anniversary for their album Rubberneck. My very first show at the Belly Up was Toadies back in 2008 and I had not seen them since about a year after that show. I somehow convinced Ingrid to come with me despite the show falling on a Thursday (I think it was because of my birthday). This was a rare time when I actually saw the opening band, which on this night was Supersuckers. They were good but it would not have mattered how good they were because I was chomping at the bit to see Toadies.

I was so stoned I could not move or talk, just soak in the songs from a classic album in the same sequence as they appeared on the album. These songs have been on rotation ever since I got the album in 1994 so I think it is fair to say they have withstood the test of time. Vaden’s voice and the rest of the band sounded as fresh as the first time I heard the songs come out of speakers 20 years before this. After they played all of Rubberneck in sequence they took a little break and came back to play a full second set that included a pretty awesome cover of Blondie’s “Heart of Glass.” Do yourself a favor and go see Toadies.

SETLIST: Mexican Hairless, Mister Love, Backslider, Possum Kingdom, Quitter, Away, I Come From the Water, Tyler, Happy Face, Velvet, I Burn

Push the Hand, Song I Hate, Little Sin, No Deliverance, Summer of the Strange, Heart of Glass, Dollskin, Rattler’s Revival, Stop It, Sweetness, Hell In High Water

Toadies 7/16/09

Toadies twice in less than a year? Yes please! Straight-ahead rock at it’s finest. Toadies were still touring No Deliverance and basically had zero stage show including lack of a proper backdrop. They let the music do the talking and that was all that they needed to get their point across. Vaden had this cool dual microphone thing going on, one for clean vocals and one for a different sound like when he says “We gonna show you a thing or two about love” in the breakdown section of “Mister Love.” Marvin, Jason and I did not leave the pit once. Okay maybe we left once to get a beer.

SETLIST: Mister Love, So Long Lovey Eyes, Little Sin, I Come From the Water, No Deliverance, Sweetness, Got a Heart, Song I Hate, Possum Kingdom, Mexican Hairless, Push the Hand, Quitter, Paper Doll, Away, Backslider, Nothing to Cry About, Tyler, I Burn

Toadies 9/9/08

I love Toadies. I was lucky enough to see them when they were touring for Hell Below/Stars Above back in 2001 right before they broke up and I was also lucky enough to catch Mr. Vaden Todd Lewis in Burden Brothers about four years before this. Now Toadies were back together and touring for their killer new album No Deliverance that was less than three weeks old.

The Belly Up is an intimate venue holding just 600 people tucked away just a block off the 101 in Solana Beach. I had never been before so Marvin and I jumped at the chance to see the newly reunited Toadies at a famed San Diego venue. After a couple beers in the truck we were both in awe of the venue made up pretty much entirely of hardwood which also created a really great ambiance in the room. Toadies had not lost a step. I was in hog heaven and may or may not have screamed “What We Have We Steal” at the stage. Instead of hearing the song get played I may or may not have gotten a slight scowl in return but nothing was going to kill the vibe in the room that night. A great band in a great venue. Welcome back Toadies!

Toadies 4/25/01

I first heard the Toadies via their song “Possum Kingdom” late one night watching MTV (when they still played videos). I ordered the Rubberneck album from Columbia House based on liking this song and loved it. Fast-forward about seven years and they had finally released their second album, Hell Below/Stars Above, in late March of 2001. By this time I had completely forgot about the Toadies but saw the new album randomly on a trip to Fred Meyer, my preferred place to buy a new CD. I initially didn’t get totally into the new album but jumped at the chance to see them when I learned they were coming through Portland in support of the album. Jack and the same girlfriend he had from the A Perfect Circle show accompanied me on my second trip to the famed Crystal Ballroom. After drinking some beers in the car we ventured in. I can’t remember everything they played but I know they split their set pretty evenly between both albums and hit all the songs that I really wanted to hear. The amazing thing to me was how hard they rocked. Their songs at their heaviest are not super heavy but that changed when translated to a live show. This was demonstrated by how much action was occurring throughout the audience. I feel especially lucky to have seen this show because less than three months later the Toadies broke up due to the departure of their bassist Lisa Umbarger.

Rock N Roll Recollections

Fuzzy recollections of bands that rocked my world