By: Matt Burke
Kick starting the night at the three-story music venue, Music Box, was 90’s rock duo, Local H. Their spine-gripping drumming paired with crunching guitars and gritty-coarse vocals, shot adrenaline into the audience. Following was …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead. Another 90’s group that consist of progressive rock and songs of slow development. The sound was somewhat muffled, but the band was throughly engaging, as the drummer and guitarist switched off instruments between songs.
Headlining and capping off the night was Failure. Dressed for success, the band smashed out consistent songs from their latest release, The Heart is a Monster. Since their comeback show at the El Rey back in 2014, the space cadates have become noticeably cohesive from an ariel view on the third story of San Diego’s The Music Box. The showmanship has increased with help from guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, maneuvering like a snake escaping a bath tub. The quartet proceeded with songs off their earlier albums, sounding like they have been around for over 20 years. Songs like “Frogs” and “The Nurse Who Loved Me” increased enthusiasm throughout the crowd.
San Diego being their last show of their tour US tour, playing 16 songs, Ken Andrews announced they would play an extended encore which included “Stuck On You” and Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the Silence” before ending with Fantastic Planet’s closer, “Daylight” leaving the impression that these 90’s space-rock veterans are as relevant as ever.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6HL0BD4MN0