The Toadies Warehouse Live April 15, 2011
Friday night, The Toadies took Warehouse Live's main stage in front of quite a rowdy crowd, hyping the crowd with such well-known hits as "I Come From the Water," "Backslider" and, before the evening's entertainment had ended, a reinterpretation of the Beatles' "Don't Let Me Down."
In spite of all that, we found ourselves having trouble focusing on the happenings onstage. Maybe we just weren't as excited as everyone else, but by the end of the night, we had been pushed, shoved and flipped off by a considerable amount of fans.
And we're not exactly new to this whole concert-going thing.
Onstage, meanwhile, the Toadies performed an energetic set that was geared directly toward their most die-hard fans. There were no bells, whistles or anything flashy; there wasn't even a backdrop behind the band.
Instead, the whole night was dedicated to grungy rock and roll as performed by a few native Texans, all of whom seemed quite happy to be playing a packed house in their home state.
Guitarist Clark Vogeler was the most fun to watch throughout the night. He seemed to be playing his feedback pedal in a way that the sound was stressed beyond that of an effect; he was actually playing the feedback, if that makes any sense, not unlike the guitar style that Jimi Hendrix invented and honed.
While we wouldn't compare Herbert's abilities to those of the late, great Hendrix, it was refreshing to see and hear someone utilize his instrument's capabilities to the fullest.
