The Xtra Hard show didn't leave anyone disspointed. In addition to teeth, bones and boots, the venue's wooden rafters shook with high-powered energy and raw angst.
Sacramento's Deftones opened the show with a scathing set that sounded a little like headliner's Korn.Agressive ramblings and a tight snare popped out tight, double-time beats as the band raced across the stage. Selections such as "Bored," "Nosebleed" and "Lifter" brought mixed reactions from the audience. Some screamed to their hearts' content and others applauded with ho-hum enthusiasm.
Still, there was no denying the band's effort. Vocalist Chino Moreno, guitarist Stephan Carpenter, drummer Abe Cunningham and bassist Chi Cheng played loud and ruthless and carried themselves well, without flash or gimmickry.
Gravity Kills, the buzz band from St. Louis, brought a little more aggressive moshing from the pit. Vocalist Jeff Scheel, drummer/bass pedalist Kurt Kerns, guitarist Matt Dudenhoeffer and keyboardist Douglas Firley kept the crowd rolling as they collectively pumped out cuts such as "Guilty," "Down" and "Enough."
Though not as powerful as the Deftones' set, Gravity Kills brought more enthusiastic cheers and moshing. And even if Scheel's voice had a hard time cutting through the mix, the band delivered well.
Sister Machine Gun's industrial grind (which, incidentally took on a more metal sound live) seemed to grab the audience and toss it about. The mass on the main floor became nothing more than a moving amoebic mass of people jumping, bumping and slamming together.
"Hole In the Ground," which had the same catch lick as the Doors' "Wild Child," blasted from the speakers as band master/keyboardist/guitarist Chris Randall, guitarist Patrick Sprawl, drummer Kevin Temple and bassist Richard Deacon clamored together as one.
And speaking of the Doors, a surprising remake of "Strange Days" - written before many of the audience members were born - was a welcome sound amidst the grind. Sister Machine Gun's version made the tune more gothic and eerie, with haunting keyboards and quick-time pauses.
Other tunes the Chicago-based band chucked out included "Burn," "Disease" and "Overload."
Hardcore monger Korn finished the night with a rousing set of dynamic doom. The Huntington Beach quintet gave the people what they wanted as it assaulted all in earshot with tunes such as "Daddy" and "Blind."
The audience chanted the band's name during the breaks and chaotically slammed around when the powerchords cranked away.
Guitarists Brian Welch and James "Munk" Munkey, hunched over in angst, gunning out loud friction leads and rhythms as bassist Fieldy and drummer David punched out well-timed starts and stops.
The night went mostly without incident although a tough and tumble fight did happen during one of the breaks. Surprisingly, the two-minute fight was over before all the security types walking around realized what was happening.