These Legends of Stoner Rock just keep on giving.
Vista Chino are a band with a well storied, deep history, but as Brant Bjork explained to me before the show, this is just another step on the journey. They are technically a 'new' band and their latest release was technically a debut album, but that's only if you ignore the fact that this is Kyuss rebranded. As the band exploded into opening track of the night Adara the excitement across the floor reached fever levels as it became clear that this is still very much a live powerhouse.
The blend between tracks off of the new album and old school Kyuss hit a good balance across the night. New tracks such as Dargona Dragona and As You Wish actually receive as much enthusiasm from the head banging crowd as some of the old stuff. As with Monster Truck the sound in The Roundhouse tonight is absolutely spot on, the bass and drums in particular sounding absolutely huge, creating a genuinely earth shattering vibe. Perhaps the only clear gripe with their sound tonight is the same kind of criticism which people had of the album, and that's the fact that John Garcia's vocals are mixed incredibly loud. At times it just felt a bit too loud, like something that was just on top of the music rather than being part of it and complimenting it.
Of course, whilst the new album's tracks were indeed met with a great response, once the band started playing some old Kyuss it got ridiculously rowdy. Supa Scoopa And Mighty Scoop spurred on a phenomenal sing along, with the crowd singing along to both vocals and riffs. It was clear that the band still very much enjoy playing these old tracks and getting this overwhelming reaction. Guitarist Bruno Fevery was always going to be the element in the band most scrutinised, but tonight he absolutely nailed it. The riffs sounded huge, solo's great, and he was also able to offer some great off the cuff impromptu moments. His performance was met with a great response across the floor.
Overall then, Vista Chino pretty much nailed it! This was a big performance featuring a great blend of new tracks and classic material from a band clearly on form and enjoying every moment of it. Top performance.