Great band, great song, nice guitar, cool video concept.

I generally approach any manifestation of the so-called supergroup with a raised eyebrow. The formula usually boils down to a group of has-been rock stars who pool what’s left of their collective fame and make a last-ditch run at the charts for the sake of a paycheck, and/or in some pathetic bid for resuscitated rock cred. And it usually turns out to be more of a novelty than anything worth actually listening to (e.g. Tinted Windows).

Not so in the case of Them Crooked Vultures. Guitarist / singer Josh Homme (Kyuss, Queens Of The Stone Age), drummer Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters), and guitarist Alain Johannes (session ace, producer) are anything but has-beens — in fact, it could be argued that they’re all at the top of the respective games right now — and bassist John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) is a straight up legend who would have to put in some serious downgrading work to sully his reputation as a consummate musician. From the sound of the music and the demeanor of the players on stage, this feels more like fun than anything else, like they might very well be doing it even if no was paying attention…which, of course, is certainly not the case, as evidenced by the hype around the record and the fact that their stop at the Fox in Oakland was a sold out show.

It’s always great to see Grohl playing drums; in fact, I think there should be a law that he can only play drums from now on, enough with the Foo already. Dude is a beast on the kit. His attack is like Animal from the Muppets, but there’s nothing funny about the dynamics of his power and style, it’s serious business. Homme is a great guitarist and songwriter, and backed by Johannes, has managed to pull off really interesting, extremely well executed guitar parts rich with inventive depth.

Jones is easily one of the most well rounded musicians I’ve ever witnessed. Not only did he play myriad basses throughout the show, but he played an electric organ — handling those songs’ bass parts on foot pedals — a guitar, and even a keytar. Plus, you know, he’s fucking John Paul Jones, the quiet yet unwavering foundation of Led Zeppelin. To see him play live, especially these days, is to see one of the greatest rock musicians of all time — a serious treat.

I snapped off about 100 photos from my vantage point on the second-tier of the floor area, and about 20 of them made the cut; as usual, you can click over the set on Flickr to see them in all their largeness:

Many thanks due to my ace homie Lydia for the hookup on tickets to this show.

“I have always lived violently, drunk hugely, eaten too much or not at all, slept around the clock or missed two nights of sleeping, worked too hard and too long in glory, or slobbed for a time in utter laziness. I’ve lifted, pulled, chopped, climbed, made love with joy and taken my hangovers as a consequence, not as a punishment.”

— John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley in Search of America

Photo: AV Club

“The bands that get adopted by the tools of commerce as soundtrack music, they are not being used for their cultural importance. They are just being used because they are recognizable music.

You hear Iggy Pop’s ‘Lust for Life’ being used by Carnival Cruise Lines and that’s a song about heroin and butt-fucking in Berlin and it’s been turned into the family-friendly shuffle board music. It’s beyond ironic. It’s kind of the dulling effect of time on something that was once shocking.”

— Steve Albini, in The Daily Swarm

Pittsburgh Pirates’ pitcher Dock Ellis pitched a no-hitter on acid.

I’ve heard this story a million times, but always as MLB lore, never from an official of the league, never from a television sports historian, and never from another professional player. So I always thought that, despite the plausibility of the tale, there was a chance it was an urban legend.

But sure enough, it’s true, proven beyond doubt by No-Mas, which posted the animated version of the story, narrated by Ellis himself. Priceless…

I ventured out and across the newly reopened Bay Bridge on Monday night to catch Big Business at the Bottom Of The Hill in San Francisco. It was my fourth time seeing the bass-and-drums metal duo (who are now a trio, with guitarist Toshi Kasai from Altamont), and by far one of the best performances I’ve seen from them.

Local heroes Triclops opened (those guys get all the good gigs) and while I like their music a lot, I find the lead singer’s approach a bit annoying — too many vocal effects, and a weird affected stage presence that bothers me, though I can’t really explain why. Maybe it’s just me. But the band kicks out the fucking weird noisy jams with reckless abandon, and I can definitely get down with that.

I always enjoy seeing Big Business — I’ve been a fan of bass payer Jared Warren since he was in Karp and the mighty yet short-lived The Whip, and a fan of drummer Coady Willis since Murder City Devils — but this show reminded me that I prefer to catch them when they’re not opening for The Melvins. Don’t get me wrong, I love The Melvins, but when Big Business tours with them, I feel like their duo metal thing is too easily overshadowed by the fact that they’re half of The Melvins, like they don’t get their full due as their own band. For the record, Big Business wields more than enough rock power to anchor the headline position at a show, and they’ve proven that beyond question.

I was blown away (almost literally) by the sheer size of Jared’s bass rig (two 15″ speaker cabinets driven by a GK 800RB, topped by a Crate 2×12 and a Marshall 4×10 powered by a Sunn Beta Bass head, all stacked up in a giant square of air-pushing monstrosity), and by the unrepentant yet finessed fury that Coady unleashes on his drum kit. They played for over an hour, ran through a bunch of songs from all three albums, and didn’t disappoint.

The show was pretty amazing. Here are a buncha photos (you can click over to the set on Flickr to see the photos in all their glorious bigness)…