Mastodon and Deftones at Gibson Amphitheatre, 10/12/10

We all make mistakes.  I look back at some of the music I used to listen to, hell, love, and I can't help but cringe.  KoЯn in particular seems an example of bad judgment, not least of all due to the opening salvo of "Justin:" "Fuck all that bullshit!"  But if there's one band from that time period that I'll still defend and happily listen to, it's Deftones, and seeing them paired with the best metal band alive at the moment, Mastodon, was like going into my own personal Mosh Pit Time Machine(™, © and all that).

I'm sure some of you would disagree with that stance, but too bad.  Adrenaline sounds every bit the adolescent whining its target audience so often engaged in , but Around the Fur and White Pony are excellent metal records.  The band had been on hiatus for a while after bassist Chi Cheng went into a coma as a result of a serious car accident in 2008, but they returned this year with a new bassist and Diamond Eyes, a solid addition to their catalogue.  At this show, however, they chose to play heavily from the three albums I mentioned above, and it was, in a word, awesome.  After starting with a new song, they played a three song pack from Around the Fur, including the title track and "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)," then later did White Pony standout "Passenger."  They closed with three songs from Adrenaline, ramping up the crowd to a fever pitch before closing with the charmingly juvenile "7 Words," leaving us wanting more.

Mastodon opened (the headliners were a re-constituted Alice in Chains, but that band without Layne Staley is not something I need to experience), creating an interesting contrast between my tastes now and ten years ago.  Sadly, and utterly ridiculously (and adverbly!), they started at 7:15, making it nearly impossible for anyone who came from Orange County and has a job to make it in time.  Thus, my friends and I only got the second half of their forty-five minute set, though that did include the epic "The Czar" and "Colony of Birchmen."  After seeing them play Crack the Skye front to back twice last year, it was a welcome departure to get some older songs.

Mastodon Set List: Naked Burn / Divinations / Oblivion / Crystal Skull / Colony of Birchmen / The Czar / Megalodon / Blood and Thunder

Deftones Set List: Rocket Skates / Around the Fur / Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away) / My Own Summer (Shove It) / Diamond Eyes / You've Seen the Butcher / Sextape / Passenger / Change (In the House of Flies) / Birthmark / Engine No. 9 / 7 Words

Photos by Andrew Youssef, OC Weekly