Double live CD from Cali date on their 2011 tour, available exclusively via the band’s website (http://www.meniketti.com). Apart from a couple quintessential tunes, little overlap with the One Hot Night (European set) from five years ago. Two night stint was billed as a 30th anniversary for the “Earthshaker” album. As such, much of that disc appears in the running order as do Americanized hits like ‘Girl Crazy’ and ‘Eyes Of A Stranger’ (thankfully no ‘Summertime Girls’ though), apparently at the expense of some Yesterday & Today material. Amongst the 22 offerings, there’s also a half dozen off “Facemelter”: the opening prelude/’On With The Show’, ‘Shine On’, ‘Blind Patriot’, a rather pedestrian paced ‘I’m Coming Home’, the comical/juvenile (depending upon your taste) ‘Gonna Go Blind’ and ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’, which contains odes to The Who. ‘Squeeze’ is introduced as “long haird, hippy music” and during it, Dave Meniketti asks the crowd to scream so loudly that “Phil Kennemore will hear you all the way up in heaven.”

Seen the band at least three times in the last five years and every time they smoked, more sweaty and dirtier/grittier than conveyed here, but then they weren’t simultaneously co-promoting “Earthshaker” and “Facemelter” on any of those dates. Still, the three decades’ old charm of Meniketti’s voice, hot guitar licks (and occasional heartfelt ballad, ‘I Believe In You’ brilliantly combines both!) atop bluesy hard rock and wry smile at the often tongue-in-cheek lyrics never goes out of style. If you get the chance, see them live!