Marathon show at the SOMA in San Diego. I use the word 'marathon' cause that's what it's like to sit in that box for 5 hours with little air ventilation, no place to hang and sit down between bands (well, the floor usually works) and no chance of nourishment until you bail (they do sell water). It's a good thing SOMA books decent bills or they'd have trouble even getting the smattering of crowd in attendance tonight. The night started off askew as the Los Angeles based promotional company Goldenvoice decided to stuff the bill with one more band (Lit) with little pre-show notice (after adding Dial-7 to the originally established line-up of ZebraHead, 13A and Teabag).

Y'know, I feel for local bands that go out and promote their shows, drag their friends down to every show (because if you're a local band, you know all about pressures to 'draw' a crowd) and then get bumped last minute by an out of town promotional company that obviously isn't too concerned with the impact it will have upon the bands. As a result, local extremities Teabag had to start their set shortly after 7:00 (most bands usually start after 8:00 at SOMA). Teabag's singer opened their set by stating to the dozen or so that were here at this ridiculously early time that he was 'just getting over the flu - but he'd do his best'. Although his stage presence was none too animated, the rest of Teabag seemed to attempt to take up the slack. The first song started off really loose and sloppy, but by the end of the number, Teabag found it's line.

The Teabag guitarist used every inch of his side of the stage, often doing this high-step march/strut thing that reminded me of Scott Ian from Anthrax. I was thoroughly impressed by his guitar work. A bit much on the lead side, lots of sparse bits of soloing, but talented and smooth in execution while maintaining the crushing dull edge that exemplifies the TeaBag sound. He uses riffs and progressions that go back to the days when Dave Mustaine actually had viable cred as a guitarist (think Rust in Peace era) that utilize rapid single note rhythms that are tricky as hell and are then supported by more traditional thick chord chunk riffs. Teabag is abrasive and loud and are very derivative of their genre, meaning if you like loud, hard edgy/thrashy metal with gruff bark vocals you should have no problem swallowing this (readily).

There is enough originality amid the grumble of bass and intricate guitar to warrant a listen. The lyrics can be somewhat juvenile at times 'Fuck You....Piece of Shit' and the like, but at the same time, I find myself screaming 'Fuck You....Piece of Shit' every time...so it works on some level. As the crowd grew in appreciation and in numbers (a whopping 25 people, maybe) someone kept shouting 'Slayer!'. 'Go see a Slayer show then' was the singer's response. 'This is a Teabag show...you're gonna hear Teabag.' The few loyal were upfront from the start and these little bits of enthusiasm seemed to charge the band - especially their bassist who seemed to intensify proportionately to the crowd and song's tensions. Solid set even if Teabag's singer wasn't too animated. Selections consisted of offerings from Teabag self-titled debut that the band gives out by the handful at any show. Go see Teabag live and get a free disk.

Next up were the additionally local 13A. 'They are Macho and Scary' was the description offered by a cool girl I know who refused to attend the SOMA when I invited her. Accurate. I doubt 13A will ever be one of those bands that people fall in love to.

What is cool about 13A is they play hard rock. No, not metal, not punk...none of that Korn-fed rehash. Nor are they a retro Sabbath rock rip-off or radio packaged grunge band. It's straight ahead, guitar riff sludge rock. Adding to the sludge is Barnes 'Pissed off Fat Albert' sounding vocals. Pretty inaudible at this venue - Barnes' presence was more about physical presence and tone rather than a lyrical connection (on CD, the gravel laced delivery is much more decipherable). Generally preferring to sway with the mike and snarl at the crowd, he sporadically will bust out into a sly jig and spin to accent more dynamic breaks in the songs. Barnes vocals will probably be a dividing point among new fans, but personally...they are somewhat unique with the only quick comparison I can think of being the singer from Clutch (and an old 80's glam band called Cats in Boots - don't ask). Anything different is welcome in this reviewers ears, Barnes is different. He's also good at interaction (which sometimes takes the form of taunting) with the crowd. 'You can stare all you want....I'll just stare right back atcha. I ain't scared of none of ya!' Barnes glared during a quiet pause between songs. the 13A Bass player is the rock star off the group posing and posturing and generally rocking out while supplying the thickened low end upon which the rest of 13A stamps out their brand of meth laced-molasses rock.

Guitarist is competent and supplies some weaker (but much cleaner) vocals for a few numbers and was sporting his yellow-tinted U2 Bono shades. He's got twice the stage presence of their 2nd guitarist who supplies the often used 'wah' and other solo textures while staring at his feet and generally just filling in the holes. The only sonic weak spot I could detect was the drumming. They filled in the songs with beats, but that's about all. They seemed way to content to allow the guitars to control the dynamic, which for 13A is a mistake because the guitars tend to get behind a good riff or two and then ride'em. With the bass attempting to create it's own rhythms separate from the guitars...the drums should strive to do the same. The crowd was warm, if not enthusiastic. Could've been the early set time and lack of solid attendance. 13A were tight with a flairs of intensity thoughout their set. If they can learn to keep that energy up at top notch for a whole set, I think newcomers will be more likely to bite.

Having skipped all nourishment this day (and having to scramble to get to the SOMA by 7:00) I chose to step out to get a really crappy chicken sandwich from Carl's Jr. during the Lit set. I figured they would have to be the band that misses print since they were the band added last minute. I got back in time to catch their last two songs. The first made me think I might've made a mistake in missing their set. The sets closer convinced me I made the right choice. From what little I observed...Lit are a guitar driven alternative sorta pop band. Whatever.

Dial-7 brought the good vibes from up the coast once again to the SOMA. The Warner bros. recording artists have recently finished the full tour their debut 'Never Enough Time' and are now playing shows around their home region (lucky for us).

Showcasing the verbal talents of dual front-men Shauny B and Mike Lord, Dial-7 create a mash of soul, core, rock, hip-hop and sprinklings of ska/reggae. High in energy and execution, the band opened the obvious single from there album "Never Enough Time". Bassist Barret was a firecracker of movement while flawlessly throwing down the many demanding style changes and tempo switches Dial-7 utilize. This was a dramatic improvement from the statue-like (and flu-induced) presence of his last performance on this stage a month or so back.

Tonight, all of Dial-7 was in form. Despite a pathetic crowd turnout, Dial-7 executed their set with all the energy and enthusiasm of an arena-rock show. Constantly engaging the 15 people or so deep crowd gathered at the front (especially engaging the young hotties shaking their money makers to the infectious Dial-7 groove), Dial-7 pull you into their songs and make even the hardest metal guy bop his head in rhythm.

Guitarist C-Lo (sporting the chic plaid zipper bondage pants) was all smiles and pogos and along with bassist Barret, kept up his end of the impressive task of supplying the varied guitar styles, breaks and textures that add the spice to Dial-7 songs. But the focus is usually on the verbalizings of Shauny B and Mike Lord. Shauny B is an ex-gangsta rapper and has the presence of someone straight outta Compton (know what I'm sayin'?) and can lay out rhymes faster and smoother than most of the Yo! MTV Raps roster.

Contrast that with the butter-silk smooth delivery of Mr. Lord and blend with both of their abilities to harmonize together on the chorus and you've got a vocal presence that steps far above any band that would boast the same musical approach. There is a radio friendly commercial slickness to it, which might turn off the average critic of this kind of music (myself included)...but sheer talent is recognizable, and Dial-7 overflows with it. Highlights included the deeply meaningful and soulful laid-back "S.J.L." with it's opening "I'm in that mood - kick off my shoes - sit back relax and smoke a fat joint - here's a new point from the groovy galactic gumshoe dude" - (if you're confused, 'Galactic Gumshoe Dude' (according to Mike Lord) is a character that might appear in future songs and was a character created by his younger brother Kid-Bone (who was an original member of Dial-7 before tragically losing his life in a car accident).

The Spanish flavored "Siete" found the ever colorful Shauny B donning his sombrero and poncho and doing his interpretive Mexican dance. Shauny B finds the attention focused on him often even when he is not singing due to his extravagant stage presence consisting of lock-n-pop break dancing, kung-fu moves and general wide eyed craziness. Mike Lord hold his own though with sly smirks and swooping side steps, he's definitely a dancer. They closed with the paced 'Faster' which opens with it's twisting guitar line before falling into a hard-edged rap/rock explosion. Dial-7 are one of those rare bands that make you feel good and keep a smile plastered to your face the whole set. Even the metal kids were giving mad props to the band all night after their set. Great, great, great live band.

Headliners (finally....this was a 5+ hour show by the time they finished) ZebraHead took the stage. I was familiar with the name only so I was curious as the bulk of the people still remaining started gathering closely to the stage. And after seeing their set...I am still unsure as to what exactly Zebrahead are all about. They've got a singer that spits out speedy raps with little emotion, little dynamic, little volume and no stage presence.

Conversely, they have a smarmy guitarist that sang on all the chorus' (often with singer no. 1 not even backing him up) and spouted many lines to other songs as well. He's got a smart-mouthed (but friendly) attitude that reminds me of those snotty SoCal punk kids that liked to pick on the lesser cool kids for not wearing the right tennis shoes or something. He was charismatic though, offering lots of relatively humorous stage patter and taking up the silence between songs. His voice was pretty decent too (if not falling into the whine reminiscent of Green Day) and he liked to run around the stage a lot with his tongue hanging out.

ZebraHead's other guitarist is phenomenal. He uses a ton of effects (kind of like how a DJ might uses a bunch of sampled sounds) to achieve quirky sounds he'll somehow turn into a rhythm. On top of that he rips out some seriously demented lead work. Not necessarily solos, just weird ass riffs on top of the power chords the other guitarist/singer puts down. The 'play some Slayer' kids were back again to which this guitarist laid down the intro to a Slayer song and it's like the requesters didn't even get that it was a Slayer riff. Idiots. Another thing Zebrahead is good at is synchronized jumping. They all like to jump up and down a lot. I like that kind of thing. Keeps the energy level up and the crowd moving.

For being a first listen, I was on a rollercoaster. Every other song had me either wanting to rush back to their merchandise table and snag a copy of their disk, or just giving up on them completely and going home. They seem to walk the line between the intelligent hook and the sickeningly catchy. Ever being the optimist, I chose to purchase the disk. They had none to sell. Whoops. Maybe next time.....