After an excruciatingly long week which included the traditional dysfunctional family holiday gathering, I decided to wander over to Mongo’s Saloon last Friday night to check out Axia, one of the Central Coast’s hottest rock bands. After one too many pints of Fat Tire Amber Ale, I told the drummer I’d write about it.

Left to right: Chad Land, Heath Seager, Travis T. Warren and Dusty Rhoads
Photo by Krystal Otis – January 2007

It happened something like this, as I recall:

At the end of the evening, I walked over with every intention of congratulating Axia drummer Dusty Rhoads on a great show and perhaps fleshing out a few details for some future article, then somehow managed to squeeze in a hug as part of my research. In my inebriated state, this seemed perfectly reasonable at the time.

Rhoads appeared puzzled. “What will you write?” he asked. After the hug, I’m sure he was concerned about the nature of my writing, fearing some kind of unauthorized, tabloid-style exposé. Don’t worry, Dusty. I reserve those for Heath Seager, who has tried to feel me up the last two times I’ve run into him out in a club. Okay, so it was a little less like he tried to feel me up, and a little more like he placed his hand against the small of my back to steady himself as he made his way through a crowd (and perhaps to keep my drunk ass from falling into him), but to a single woman of a certain age, it’s pretty much the same thing and nearly as satisfying.

Anyway, I digress. A promise is a promise, and so, while I’m no Lester Bangs, here goes:

I’d heard Axia before, but when I saw them perform an acoustic set in a relatively intimate setting at the Frog and Peach in San Luis Obispo a few weeks ago, I was won over, immediately and completely. When a band strips itself bare of all the hard-core, rock ‘n’ roll trappings and exposes itself naked on the stage like that, something of its soul emerges. I found myself mesmerized, loved what I heard and was eager to catch the band again soon for a live and plugged-in set.

So, when I heard the band would be performing virtually across the street from me last Friday night, at Mongo’s Saloon, I was set on seeing them. I was thrilled to find Axia in full rock mode, with electric guitars, mile high amps and the works. After special guests Heath Seager and Rob Hart of Criticnue solidly warmed up the venue, Axia took the stage.

I wasn’t disappointed.

With the added depth (and volume) of electric guitars, amps and a hard-driving bass line that reached the crowd’s core, Axia’s performance gave new meaning to the term “rock the house.” The band definitely shows the positive influence of progressive rock predecessors like Tool and Pantera, and even the classic influence of Led Zeppelin. Still, it easily goes beyond those influences to craft a sound of its own. Axia clearly takes its responsibility to its audience seriously, arriving determined to entertain and enthuse, to shake, rattle and roll, and leaving satisfied in having accomplished that purpose.

Lead vocalist Chad Land aptly performs double duty on guitar. Land’s voice has an intensely beautiful, sustained and melancholy quality reminiscent in this reviewer’s mind of Geoff Tate in his Queensryche days–maybe even moreso of Tate’s newer stuff–and perhaps Ronnie James Dio (but without the scary eyes).

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