Review of Local H, The Dig @ Brighton Bar 4/23/11 It’s been a long time since I last saw Local H live. Back in 1997 I saw them open up for Veruca Salt at the Birch Hill. Ah, how that brings back memories…Veruca Salt’s, “volcano girls” was all over the radio, as was Local H’s, “bound for the floor”(especially the old WHTG, R.I.P.) , and the Birch Hill was still the place to see bands on the way up or way out. At lot has changed in those 14 years, Nina Gordon left Veruca Salt to release some mellow solo albums, The Birch Hill is now a seniors community, and WHTG…the loss of that once great station is still too sad to talk about. But Local H are still around (albeit with a different drummer than when I saw them in 1997). The duo of Scott Lucas (guitars, vocals) & Brian St. Clair (drums), brought their “singles” tour (promoting the “Island Years” singles collection) to the Brighton Bar in Long Branch. Local H took to the stage, opening with the back to back rock intensity of “Fritz’s corner” and “all the kids are right”. This was a true rock show, like I haven’t seen in a long time. They barreled through single after single, rarely stopping to talk to the audience, but when they did Scott always had something witty to say. It’s not often that I get caught up in an entire set by a band, but during the 100 minutes or so that Local H were on stage, I was bobbing my head, jumping up and down, and having a damn good time rocking out. By the encore, which included covers of Agent Orange, Concrete Blonde, and Pink Floyd, a mosh pit had formed near the stage. I was so into the show I was tempted to jump in. Local H is a band that must be seen live! A true punk rock band. Younger so-called “punk” bands should take note. These guys could out rock many of the bands that play the Warped tour these days. Which leads to the question why aren’t these guys on the Warped Tour? Opening the show was NYC band, The Dig (not to be confused with 90’s band Dig, who had the hit, “believe”). The first two songs of their set were really dull, and I was getting ready to write them off. Then out of nowhere they came alive, as if the first two songs were a warm up (or sound check) for the rest of the set. The remainder of The Dig’s set was comprised of indie-blues-grunge riffs, with keyboards and pop vocals. And it didn’t hurt that covered Neil Young (which I think every indie band does at some point). My advice to the Dig is either to warm up before hitting the stage so that the first two songs sound as good as the rest of the set, or if they are just bad songs, scrap ‘em. All in all, and excellent night of rock at The Brighton Bar, and one I think I will remember years from now. -Lazlo www.localh.com www.myspace.com/thedigisup Photos Local H The Dig