The Higgs Release Party for “Road Less Traveled, Vol 1: Live From Crazy Horse Saloon” at Wayfarer, Costa Mesa, CA
The Wayfarer was jam packed for this Friday night show, and its apparent that The Higgs will probably be outgrowing this venue in the near future. Although we arrived a little late, and missed the opener, I re-listened to the whole show before writing this review. As a side note, before I get into the set-list, I have a bit of housekeeping to attend to. I didn’t notice it as much during the show, but upon re-listening, it is apparent that a lot of people can’t seem to restrain themselves from conversation during the music. This ignorant behavior is not exclusive to fans of The Higgs but is something that I have been noticing more and more. It is normal to want to catch up with friends and chit chat…I get it. However, during the music, it is extremely self centered and rude. If you are one of these chatty people, I implore you to PLEASE Shut The F*ck Up during the music!
The band wasted no time starting things off with a blistering Can I Ride. Sad that I wasn’t there for this, as it had plenty of massive builds laid over some powerful driving beats. Next up was Change, which I was able to catch most of. A fun version that had everyone smiling and singing along. Change segued into The Wonder Why, which started with some beautiful bluesy riffs. Johns vocals were heartfelt and the jam in the middle was insane. The song climaxed with frenetic crescendos as the band tore the roof off of The Wayfarer. A nice soft landing back into “Bluesy Riff Land” showed just what pros these guys are and how tight their playing has become. A short and sweet Saturdays Children was nicely placed next. Like the rest of Circles Around the Suns catalog, this song feels very familiar as it is reminiscent of several Dead tunes, but it is in fact its own original tune. A feisty cover of Take Me to The River really got the crowd moving. There was a smoking jam in the middle and everyone in the room was having fun with this one. A well-executed debut of Gram Parsons I Can’t Dance followed Take Me to the River and first set wrapped with a standard but solid Lydia.
t After a short breather for both the band and the dancers, Set 2 got underway with Gotta Know. You gotta know, gotta know that this song kicked off what turned out to be one epic set from front to back. The calypso/ reggae sounds of Road Less Traveled brought a lot of smiles from all the people that came along. Those smiles turned into dropped jaws as the band expertly moved into the jam of the night IMO. The Road Less Traveled quickly became the Vortex Less Traveled as these wizards did what they do best launching us through a portal in space and time! I’m pretty sure that all of the chit-chatting ground to a halt for this one. After reentering the atmosphere and finishing Road Less Travelled, the band jumped right into a masterful version of the Allman Brothers instrumental In Memory of Elizabeth Reed. The first of several Dude Wears Socks teases showed up here along with some fun Bathtub Gin (Phish) Teases. A super funky dancy jam gave way to a nice little drum solo by Garrett “Mothaf*ckin” Morris. A well-played Through The Shore was up next (again, please shut the f*ck up during the music people), and then a nice, tight Rose Will Fall Part 2 wrapped up the second set.
When the boys came out for encore, Jesse announced that The Higgs will be headlining at The Mint on New Years Eve as well as opening for Oteil, Melvin, and John K on December 16th! Suh-weet! Everyone rocked on to the Rick James classic, Electric Avenue, to close out this incredibly fun evening.
The Higgs are killing it! Go see them…but leave some space for my lady and me to dance please.
