Alive '05
Whether it was a matter of geography or a dearth of musical coverage, Illinois grunge band Local H never rocketed to fame the way their Pacific peers did. While Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam and others were sunning themselves on the West Coast in the adulation and acclaim of many music critics, H was making music that was just as great but much more underexposed. Their 1996 album "As Good as Dead," though a latecomer to the genre, became a minor hit, thanks largely to the iconic single "Bound for the Floor."
H is one of the few bands from the late '80s/early '90s alternative explosion still in operation. They have been consistently revered for their intense live performances, a trait as true today as it was 15 years ago. The band's stage presence is made even more remarkable by the fact that H consists of only two musicians: guitarist/singer Scott Lucas and drummer Brian St. Clair.
"Alive '05," so far the only official live release in the band's catalogue, offers a decent document of the intensity of a Local H concert. As the title suggests, "Alive" was recorded at several performances in 2005. The track list contains songs spanning the band's career from "Dead" onward, though most tunes are from "Whatever Happened to P.J. Soles?," which debuted in 2004.
,br>As a frontman, Lucas consistently displays the best qualities of both Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl and Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. He employs the powerful voice and crowd rapport of the former while never ditching the anguished yowling and guitar-sludge theatrics of the latter. Lucas, therefore, represents the perfect fusion of grunge and post-grunge, with both styles evident in every scuzzed-up solo and depressed (but not defeated) sing-along chorus.
Drummer Brian St. Clair, though, is the one who gives H its intensity at live shows. St. Clair's energetic work behind the kit propels Lucas' mammoth guitar riffs into the stratosphere. The duo's combined instrumental prowess commonly drowns out the rowdy crowd which, despite the mixer's best efforts to keep their presence audible in the background of each song, tend to get washed away during Lucas' and St. Clair's onset.
Several songs on "Alive" display not just the instrumental and vocal intensity of the band, but also the songwriting. The aforementioned "Bound for the Floor" still hits home with its disapproving critique of how ennui trumps authenticity, while "Hi-Fiving Mother F---er," possibly the band's best song, is the perfect assault on hipsters and their fickle tastes. H was commonly distinguished from other grunge bands by their location outside the Pacific Northwest. "California Songs," which Lucas introduces on "Alive" as "a song for the Midwest," perfectly encapsulates how Middle America views the Western cultural epicenter with equal parts tedium and malice.
The only real weakness of the setlist on "Alive" is the complete absence of the band's live covers, a frequent highlight of their shows. The album's bonus track, a stripped-down cover of Britney Spears' "Toxic," gives an idea how adept H is at transferring its distinct sound onto other bands' songs. Unfortunately, "Toxic" is a studio recording, leaving "Alive" completely bereft of the H-treatment so many non-original tunes have enjoyed. On bootlegs, the band has performed mighty covers of Pink Floyd's "Time," David Bowie's "Space Oddity," Pixies' "Tame" and an incredible version of TV on the Radio's "Wolf Like Me" that far surpasses the original. "Alive" never lacks energy; what it lacks is identity.