San Francisco Warfield Theatre

Definitely not shite...

It used to be simple. Punk was ace and metal was shite. And never mind the revisionist bollocks about [a]AC/DC[/a] – they were shite as well. Radical and relevant, or Neanderthal throwbacks, the choice was all too clear. Not any longer. The Deftones are in town, making [a]Blink 182[/a] and their ilk look as redundant as The Clash made Purple, or as Nirvana made Poison. You can’t hide – as another old punk rocker once said – from the turning of the tide.

They are almost local boys from Sacramento, an hour’s drive up Interstate 80 and with all the glamour and nightlife of St. Albans. As Chino Moreno and his valley boys wander onstage and bang right into ‘Be Quiet And Drive’, the whole room feels the love. This audience knows its band – multi-cultural, weed-smoking, ridiculous facial hair-sporting California kids. No bullshit, no gawking, hell not even much of a backdrop or light show, just bottom-clenching, knuckle-crunching, stomach-churning rock music. For them, and by them.

The first half-hour is relentless, ‘Bored’ and the Brazilian game show tribute ‘Feiticeira’ sending the pit into a frenzy. Moreno shows remarkable restraint in waiting until the second song to join them. As bassist Chi Cheng‘s dreadlocks blur into an airborne snake-swarm, the singer perfectly executes the classic fake fall-in, as seen at public swimming pools worldwide.

Out of the deep end (unaided by bouncers, note), it’s time for a slow one. ‘Digital Bath’ and the new single ‘Change’ have the little fiddly bits and ’80s crooning that have got nme.com so worked up about new album ‘White Pony’. Smashing Pumpkins are the obvious reference – right down to the [I]”Tonight”[/I] chorus of ‘Digital Bath’ – but rougher, less designed. Further evidence of Moreno‘s pop tendencies are revealed with a cover of Weezer‘s ‘Say It Ain’t So’, inserted smartly into old fave ‘7 Words’.

It’s still metal, of course. The tunes, although present, are not exactly soaring. The rhythmic shoulder and head bob is still the dance of choice in the cheap seats. But it’s honest, exciting and yes, even innovative. And definitely not shite.

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