Sacramento Rockers Play To A Packed House Of Blues On July 18, 2014

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Ahhh, the 80's and early 90's were a good time in music, at least for those of us who enjoy the hard rock genre. From Hard Rock to Glam Rock, Hair Bands and Heavy Metal, there was a complete overload of bands to choose from. Quite a few, however, were flashes in the pan, one or two hit wonders if you will that rose quickly and then just as quickly faded off into oblivion. For at least one band, Sacramento rockers TESLA, their career was more of a 'slow and steady wins the race' journey. Based on the strengths of their songwriting and muscianship, the quintet rose to stardom by releasing good, quality hard rock-n-roll, in particular the band's first 3 releases; the debut album, Mechanical Resonance, in 1986, The Great Radio Controversy in 1989 (which to this day still holds a spot in my Top Ten albums of all time) and 1991's Psychotic Supper. The band went on to have other solid albums, but these 3 really established the band's fan base, one that continues to this day, steady and consistent, much like TESLA themselves.

With a brand new album, Simplicity, under their belts, the California natives took to the road to support the opus and made a stop at the House of Blues in dowtown Houston, Texas on July 18th. And in an obvious testimony to the band's continued popularity the place was absolutely packed! A good crowd was to be expected, but sold out (or very near to it) was a very pleasant surprise.

Though not widely publicized, the support act for this tour was none other than AMERICAN DOG, the band fronted by former DANGEROUS TOYS and SALTY DOG bassist Michael Hannon. AMERICAN DOG's brand of gritty hard rock was a perfect compliment to TESLA and made for a great opener. AMERICAN DOG have been around for quite awhile now, mostly flying under the radar since their debut album, Last Of A Dying Breed, was released in 2000. Now armed with an new album themselves, Neanderthal, which was released barely a month ago, the band took no prisoners with their set. They kicked things off at 9 pm with "Stuck In The Mud", a track from the aforementioned Neanderthal disc. The band gave the anxious crowd a nice, enthusiastic, 7 song set which included the title track to Neanderthal, "Human Garbage Can" from 2006's If You Want Bud and "Boozehound", from the Mean album of 2009. The band, completed by guitarists Steve Theado and Vinnie Salvatore and drummer Michael "Hazard" Harris, was very tight in their delivery and gave the crowd every cent worth of the admission paid. And much to their credit, the band afterwards made their presence known at the merchandise table for the complete duration of TESLA's headline performance. If you haven't checked out AMERICAN DOG yet, what are you waiting for? You have been depriving your ears with sensory pleasure all this time.

www.americandog.us

Setlist:

• "Stick In The Mud"
• "Human Garbage Can"
• "The Real Nitty Gritty"
• "Beaten, Broken, Etc"
• "Boozehound"
• "Drank Too Much"
• "Neanderthal"

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