No Rest for the Wicked, 76, Here Holy Spain Double Wide Saturday, January 7
Better than: Listening to "live" records that were never recorded in front of live audiences.
Saturday night at the Double Wide was a mixed bag that ran pretty late, even for a weekend show. A few minutes before 10:30, No Rest for the Wicked took the stage with two large red and black banners reminding you who was onstage. Fronted by Nikki McKibbin (yes, from Popstars, American Idol and Celebrity Rehab) and joined by a backing vocalist and the members of Wicked Attraction, the band debuted new material along with songs from McKibbin's Unleashed solo album. There were a few covers thrown in as well, including Hole's "Celebrity Skin" and the Cranberries' "Zombie."
The frustrating part? McKibbin is a hell of a scorcher on the microphone (as is her backing vocalist), yet her Wicked Attraction bandmates looked and played like they came from the nu-metal school of posturing. Guitarist Eric Von Der Heide seemed possessed by Korn's Brian "Head" Welch while the bassist made good use of his wireless amplification. He even left the stage and grabbed a Shiner from the bar during one song. Things had to be better with 76.
As a sequel to the acoustic sets on Thursday night, Terry Glaze and company shook the place for 45 solid minutes. Backed by the thwack of Taz Bentley, the four-piece was a perfect concoction of Ted Nugent, KISS and Cheap Trick, circa the mid-'70s.
Glaze, smile on his face throughout, played songs from his latest solo release, Lord Tracy material and the Deep Purple classic "Highway Star." Since Glaze lives on the East Coast, 76 can only practice a few times prior to a gig. They blew No Rest For the Wicked off stage, leaving Here Holy Spain to do clean-up.
The local favorites hit stage a little after 12:30 to a much smaller audience. Blazing through four songs with barely any breathers, Here Holy Spain delivered their fine blend of bruised pop-punk for almost 40 minutes. They even had time to introduce a new song they'd recently debuted live.
Critic's Notebook
Personal bias: I've seen Here Holy Spain a few times but I'd never seen 76 or No Rest for the Wicked before. And yes, this was my first time to see Bentley slap the skins. That's the price of getting into Rev. Horton Heat too late and never seeing The Burden Brothers.
By the way: There was a bass solo in the middle of 76's set, and the bassist broke a G-string. Luckily, there was a back-up bass lying around and the solo picked back up.
