Zebrahead show the others how to rock!
Second on the bill tonight, California's Zebrahead bring forth a great blend of rap/rock without being under that awkward rap/metal label. The first thing I notice is that as for first band Army Of Freshmen, the sound quality is poor, meaning that the drums are a little too loud, and Matty Lewis's singing vocals aren't loud enough, so the harsher spat vocals of Ali Tabatabaee over power things.
Starting off with the great, 'Rescue Me' from their great selling album, 2003's 'MFZB', there is an energy here that other bands would find it hard to emulate. Ali spends most of the gig running, or bouncing around like a hyperactive kid. Next is 'Postcards From Hell' from last year's, 'Broadcast To The World'. It's another song that sums Zebrahead up with fast paced guitars, thumping drums and thick basslines, with the contrasting vocals of melodies and harmonies against the spat rap/singing, there is something very original and of course very good about the band.
Before 'Back To Normal' we are told that if we jump up and down we will, "Get a reach around at the dinner table." Well you don't have to tell me twice! This isn't the end of the sexual revelations as after the great fast-paced, 'Hello Tomorrow' we are told by Ben, that Zebrahead supports world peace, and as such promotes masturbation wherever possible to combat war. Next song 'Anthem' is slightly ska-influenced and shows another side to the band that musically remain very tight, before the last song, 'The Set Up' whereby we are encourage to make a large circle in the middle. "Lie to me // Tell me everything will be alright" sings Matty, and although there are no guarantees in this world, I can certainly confirm that Zebrahead brought the most energy and hard rocking enthusiasm to the bill that any other band.
Luckily, I'm a fan of all of the bands on the bill tonight, however for me Zebrahead were the best. The mixture of pop/punk harmonies, with metal guitars and half rap, half punk vocals, give the band an undeniable edge. Great stuff!