Review - Filter, Helmet, Local H @ the Independent (7/15/14)

Filter's Richard Patrick (Credit: Kevin Keating)
If you've listened to your favorite 'modern or alternative' rock radio station here in the U.S. over the past few years, you've unquestionably been bombarded with banjo folk indie 'rock' from artists like Mumford & Sons or Bon Iver.

But this past Tuesday night at SF's Independent, the "Anti-Folk Revival Tour in Drop-D" squarely set its sight on reseting the 'alternative' on rock radio back to the sound of the mid-90s when bands like Local H, Helmet and Filter were in regular rotation on the nation's modern rock stations. This was only their third show on the current tour, and playing to a sold-out crowd, the three bands (Local H, Helmet, and headliners, Filter) definitely came to rock. Separately, we caught up with Filter's Richard Patrick a couple of weeks before the tour kicked off, and you can find the interview here.

Filter's Richard Patrick (Credit: Kevin Keating)
Filter's setlist started with a handful of earlier classics like "Captain Bligh" and "Jurassitol" and it wasn't until their fifth song when they finally broke into a track from their most recent album The Sun Comes Out Tonight (iTunes) -- one of the most overlooked rock albums released in the past year.

Filter's Johnny Radtke and Richard Patrick (Credit: Kevin Keating)


Mid-way through their set, they slowed things down a bit with ballads, "Take a Picture" and "Surprise" before picking up the pace again with "Self Inflicted" and "Skinny".

Here's "Take a Picture":


The evening came to a close shortly after midnight and my only complaint was that it didn't end with the high of Filter's original anthem, "Hey Man, Nice Shot". Instead, the band played two more of their heavy hits, "Welcome to the Fold" and "Dose", but the intensity of the evening peaked with "Hey Man, Nice Shot" as you might be able to tell here:



Earlier in the evening, Page Hamilton's Helmet led a largely single-free set that excluded my personal favorites, "Unsung" and "In the Meantime", but spanned over his 25-year career -- and highlighted the 20th anniversary of Helmet's critically-acclaimed album, Betty.

Helmet's Page Hamilton (Credit: Kevin Keating)
Helmet closed their set with "Milquetoast":


And Local H opened the night with a solid set that included their biggest hit, "Bound for the Floor".

Overall, the night was a solid rock show that should have arguably been played at a larger venue like the Great American or Bimbo's, but for those in the audience, we were treated to an intimate show by three great acts. Be sure to catch this tour if it comes to your city. You can check out the remaining tour schedule here.

The setlists from the evening are below.

Filter's setlist:
Helmet setlist:
  • Better
  • Welcome to Algiers
  • Renovation
  • Speechless
  • In Person
  • The Silver Hawaiian
  • Vaccination
  • White City
  • Rollo
  • Crisis King
  • Smart
  • Impressionable
  • Bury Me
  • Milquetoast
Local H setlist:
  • All-Right (Oh, Yeah)
  • Heavy Metal Bakesale
  • Team (Lorde cover)
  • Another February
  • Fritz’s Corner
  • Misanthrope
  • Back in the Day
  • Bound for the Floor
  • That’s What They All Say
  • High-Fiving MF

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