The kids love a show, and well, so do I. And the kids at Water Street Music Hall last night got a show. Wearing masks that looked like fractured china dolls, Cleveland band Mushroomhead served up an intense blast of heavy rock couched in a nightmarish irony due to the outfits. They had a skinny minion, or slave, or jester --- whatever you want to call him --- bounding around the stage, writhing, playing dead, antagonizing the crowd with a flashlight, and beating kettle drums with a layer of water on them so that they sprayed with each thundering wallop a la the Blue Man Group. The mosh pit was brought to the edge of a brawl when the singer dove in with mucho aggression for the band's last number. Kinda like GWAR, but without the gore.

Headliner Hed(Pe) blew me away with its punk/hardcore/hip-hop hybrid. The OC band was funny and funky playing one-drop grooves right next to thrash chops that reminded me of classic Suicidal Tendencies, or even a little Bad Brains. Audience participation was high, as the band raged. It's when hybrid bands like this mix often-abused genres together that those genres get a second chance. Shit, after seeing it last night, Hed(Pe) is going to save everything...including me. What a great show. Gimme Hed 'til I'm dead.