(Must read in a grumpy old person’s voice)

Back in my day, I remember when rock n’ roll was a simple.  There was a guitar and a guy who sang and that was it and we liked it that way!  We didn’t have all this hoodoo with mixin’ different kinds of music.  This funky, punky, muckety muck has got too much bumpiddy bump for my pace maker to work right.  And what is this skinny jeans for boys. . .I’m confused. . .and I think I  like it that way.”

Sorry, that was my tribute to comedian Jeff Dunham’s curmudgeony old man puppet “Walter.”  But honestly, I didn’t know what to think of Fing when they first stepped out on stage.  They looked like an ackward mix of emo punks and preppies leftover from the swing craze 10 years ago.  Like an MTV journalist, I was trying to figure out what they sounded like by the way they looked.  And suddenly . . .they started to play.  First it seemed like ska.  No, wait, new wave groove.  Then it was a mix of alt rock, disco goth, hardcore, porno funk, and, dare I say, even pop (but in a good way).  I was confused and surprised and intrigued. . .and I liked it that way.  As if Beck, P-Funk, Mr. Bungle, and GG Allin had group sex, this would be the baby that popped out nine months later.  There was so much infectious energy and the crowd responded as if there were no other bands playing that night.  Each band members showed their genre versatility that is so missing from the supposed talent out on the main scene.  The vocalist (which I unfortunately have no name) was the personality glue that made this incredible show fit together.  With the vocal style mixtures of Mike Patton, David Draiman, and Danny Filth (yeah, seriously), this frontman worked the audience like a pro and was able to make the eclectic mixed sound so seamless.  Finally, a band with no limits.  Be this the future of music?  Be this the new sound of San Diego?  Then I weep for those in LA and New York because they have no clue. . .and I like it that way.

Photo Credit: Michael Klayman / www.seemichaelsphotos.com