Eagles of Death Metal @ Black Cat, April 22nd

First, a few notes on Rye Coalition:

*It was the first show I have attended this year that had guitar solos. Guitar solos that were more than 10 seconds. Guitar solos that extended beyond one scale. Thank you for that. I miss guitar solos.
*I am sticking to my assessment that these guys sound like an early Foo Fighters, which isn't a bad thing. I just wish their front man was a little scarier. He is very entertaining, but I just like to be a little afraid of frontmen (see Scott Weiland, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Maynard James Keenan, Ben Tegel). Entertaining and fun, nonetheless.
*They have some solid songs and they ripped through a great cover of AC/DC's "Whole Lotta Rosie"

Now, the main event, Eagles of Death Metal. I am sure that Jesse Hughes will be the first one to tell you this: Eagles of Death Metal aren't out there trying to change the world or change music. They are here to have fun and party. I went in with this expectation and I was not disappointed. As soon as Hughes & Co. got on stage it was a party. Black Cat was SOLD OUT and Hughes kept repeating how awesome the crowd was. I have to admit, I was pretty proud of DC. People were dancing, singing along, getting down, and having a blast. There was a little bit of moshing around, nothing serious, just people getting into the music. It didn't hurt that it was Saturday night and people were getting their respective drink on. It was hard not to notice people leaving, refueling and then hopping back into the melee. It was great. Their cover of "Brown Sugar" was awesome and unexpected, and for me, the highlight of a great show.

They played well over an hour and covered all of the hits that people were yelling for. Hughes kept on yelling "let's hear it for the ladies!" in between songs, as well as mentioning how many "beautiful babygirls" there were in the audience. Some of those "babygirls" were giving Jesse some material to work with, as well as encouragement and for the most part, everyone was enjoying the banter. At one point he mentioned that they had just played Phildelphia the night before and that "DC kicks Philly's ass!" Comments like this might be part of his schtick, and I don't mind that, people paid to see a show, to be entertained and Jesse was bringing it. But, it was easy to believe EODM's excitement for the show, given the crowd's energy and enthusiasm.

Their drummer, Samantha Maloney definitely brought a little harder sound to the equation than Josh Homme does on the albums. This could just be the live sound, or it could be her. Top and I both thought it was her. She added a few welcomed nuances to some of the songs, and she wasn't hard on the eyes. "Darlin' Dave" on guitar looked like a character out of HOSTEL and he hammed it up throughout the show with both Jesse and one of the techs who kept wiping down his bald (save a strange combed back mohawk) head in between songs. Jesse was the real centerpiece of the show and he kept it moving, kept the energy level up, and looked like he was having the time of his life. I will definitely give these guys another look at Coachella just because it is that much fun.