The bros banged hard in the pit for Down, too, even though the sludgy supergroup features riffs inspired more by THC than ADD. After an extended opening vamp led into "Eyes of the South," the band cut loose with the rollicking swamp groove of "Witchtripper," the new single from Down IV Part I - The Purple EP.

All eyes in the room were on Anselmo. The man effortlessly commands Texas metal crowds like no one else can, and he drew huge cheers just scratching his elbow. The Kid's voice sounded fresh and clear on old warhorses like "Lysergik Funeral Procession" and "Losing All," a happy corollary of the tour's opening night.

At times, he could barely be heard over the crowd singling along, as they did for "Ghosts Along the Mississippi." The joints in the crowd, snuck past the stringent security at the door, smoldered in the dark as Keenan's thick, distorted tone billowed out of his Orange amplifier cabinets. A lot of heads banged from the waist during the stomping "Misfortune Teller."

In between songs, Anselmo dedicated numbers to Dimebag Darrell and Mike Scaccia, two Texas metal lifers that have sadly been lost to us. He also praised the audience's loyalty, no doubt recalling the countless times he's played to packed house in this city with bands large and small.

"We just played here, and you still come out to the show," he beamed. "What it is, Friday? You could be out doing whatever you want, and look at you!"

Down rewarded that loyalty by playing the hits. Well, the closest things to hit that a sludge metal band from the Deep South is likely to score, anyway. First came "Stone the Crows." Then Anselmo took a quick crowd poll.

"Let's make this obvious as a motherfucker," he said. "Transparent as shit: What do you wanna hear?"

The answer, of course, was "Bury Me in Smoke," the classic cut from Down's 1996 debut. As the audience screamed along to the song, the stage began to fill with various Texas metal types, from Honky guitarist Bobby Ed Landgraf (who took a solo) to local shredder Marzi Montazeri. There were a lot of hugs and back-slaps going around up there as the first night of the tour wrapped up successfully.

The size of the crowd Friday night would seem to indicate that Down will be welcome back at Warehouse Live anytime. The band might hail from Nola, but they can rightly claim Houston as their home turf.

In all likelihood, they'll probably be back fairly soon. If you're a fan, catch them if you can. As Mike Scaccia's tragic passing proves, we've got to enjoy the talents of our Third Coast metal icons while we can, because they won't be out there touring forever... even if it sometimes feels as if they never left.

Personal Bias: Down shows can sometimes resemble a support group for frustrated Pantera fans. I'm ready to become a member.

The Crowd: Black T-shirts everywhere. XXL, in most cases.

Overheard In the Crowd: "Hit him, Phil!"

Random Notebook Dump: I was severely annoyed at the thorough metal-detector frisk to get in on Friday night until I remembered that one of Anselmo's ex-bandmates had been shot dead in a club none too different from Warehouse Live some years back. That sobering thought simmered me down quite a bit.