Jackknife Powerbomb @ The Firebird

The first thing you'll notice about Jackknife Powerbomb is their stage presence. As soon as they walk on stage, all members of the band take on a different, dangerous persona. Each musician approaches this differently either by a 'power stance', being visibly angry, or spitting frequently. The second thing you notice is the loud, furious sound coming out of their amps.

They're essentially a metal band but that doesn't really describe their sound. It's an epic, fast, tight, riff-driven breed of heavy rock.  The closest comparison would be Kyuss, the band that sort of evolved into Queens of the Stone Age. The vocals are mostly growly and rough. In the opening song, the vocals were shouted in one-syllable bursts. The singer, Paul, frequently reminded the audience that each song was called "Karate Bikini," the name of the band playing after them.

"Staring at the Face of God" built up until it seemed to fall apart and then came back even stronger. The closer, "Explosions in the Sky," was a complete anthem with several powerful riffs. The lead-guitarist, Mike, rolled out a few gritty jams.

Although they don't have any recorded material, there was some talk after the show about recording an album soon. Let's hope they do.