“This is the first song…on our new album,” declared a particularly wry John Davis, frontman to Superdrag and focal-point to the tightly packed audience of the Troubadour, his tongue planted firmly in cheek at the now ironic pop-culture reference to Cheap Trick’s legendary Live At Budokan tagline. The band did not launch into “Surrender,” of course, but rather Davis began the unaccompanied introduction to “Keep It Close to Me,” the vitriolic vendetta against the record industry that leads off the Knoxville group’s most recent superb release, In the Valley of Dying Stars.
From there, Superdrag exploded to life, tearing through songs with the reckless abandon of a rock band that—gasp—actually enjoys performing live! “Gimme Animosity” followed next, bristling with an energy that just cannot be captured on tape. In fact, many scientific studies have ended in naught trying to dissect the phenomenon, but the crowd didn’t seem to care at all.
Songs from Superdrag’s breakthrough debut, Regretfully Yours, were greeted with gleeful bobbing and singing, from the stinging “Phaser” to the fuzzed out bass of “Garmonbozia.” The hit single, “Sucked Out,” was missing from the set, but given the overwhelming strength of Superdrag’s catalog of material, its absence was hardly conspicuous.
All the while, Davis was vibrating around the stage like a madman, slashing out power chords and twisted leads. On the bass, the most recent addition to the Superdrag family circus, Sam Powers, was windmilling away like Pete Townshend, and always seemed to have his feet in the air. Don Coffey, Jr. was nothing more than a blur of drumsticks, pulling off rolls and fills with expert precision and keeping every foot in the house stomping.
A reverent hush fell over the club as Davis began strumming the opening chords of “In the Valley of Dying Stars,” delicately delivering the lines, “Keep it quiet and meaningless,” while the audience obeyed. Such were the rare moments when Superdrag slackened the pace a bit. The masterful “Annetichrist,” a sordid gem from their last record, Head Trip In Every Key, was received with the gusto and glory of an AOR radio staple. Davis even stepped away from the microphone for a bar, allowing the crowd to fill in the lyrics without missing a beat.
A couple of delectable treats surfaced deep into the set. First was the cacophonous “Bloody Hell,” a relic from their pre-Elektra days that contained hooks aplenty, and mostly of the rusty, dirty nature. Besides that was a brand new tune, “Extrasensory,” which rang out with open-chords and bittersweet melodies.
“Do the Vampire” was like vinegar on an open wound. By the time that they got to “Lighting the Way,” and “True Believer,” the floor was alive with moshing, and Superdrag tossed out their final song, “Destination: Ursa Major,” like a beef carcass to the ravenous piranhas.
Naturally, every lung in the room screamed out for more—and if the lung was no good, an appropriately rhythmic clap would suffice—and Superdrag was happy to oblige. Coffey began the encore with the opening beats to the ethereal “She Is a Holy Grail,” which the rest of the band complimented to exotic ideality. Davis and Powers dedicated the next song, “to daddy,” bursting into a blistering take on the Replacements’ anthem, “Bastards of Young.”
When the dust had settled, the rock soldiers had trooped through 100 minutes of concert, spanning well over twenty songs, and leaving the collective crowd with the musical equivalent of the post-Thanksgiving satisfied stupor.
By Casey Lombardo
Long Beach Union
Originally printed 1.29.01
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