Heavy in Hollywood: Mondo Generator & Doors To No Where rock Loaded Bar

By Lisa Burke

February 10th 2017, Loaded Rock Bar, Hollywood CA: Sometimes the more intimate the setting, the more pleasurable the live music experience becomes. Depending on whether you’re in the front row or not in the front row in a stadium concert, a few elements of the experience get lost in translation. Think about how exciting it would be to see Iron Maiden play in your living room, and now you understand my point. On Friday, February 10th 2017 at Loaded in Hollywood, I attended the Mondo Generator headline show with Doors To No Where as main support.

On this occasion, I was really surprised that there was not a bigger turnout as Mondo Generator has a long standing reputation of popularity, yet the room did fill out by the end. Whenever possible, I strongly urge people to come early and get a taste of new bands because sometimes you discover something new and just your type. Especially when bands travel far to play at a small venue such as this, your support means everything to them.

Doors To No Where is a trio that comes to us from Santa Cruz and they put on a very solid and entertaining show. They definitely have a stoner metal vibe and the cleanliness of the guitar tone with the jams of the multi-string bass that was intelligently played was a refreshing antidote to set off my mood in the right direction. The vocals also have a great pitch and tone, and sound a touch in the realm of Chris Cornell but with a heavier styling. There was something very peaceful about watching these guys even through the heaviness that came out. It all had a great flow and I am interested to see what their future holds as they are definitely headed out to the correct ball park and fit the line up with Mondo Generator well.

Doors To No Where

Then it was time for the main act Mondo Generator, which is another trio led by Nick Oliveri, who has also been a part of bands such as Kyuss and Queens Of The Stone Age, and he fronts this band on bass and vocals. This perfect blend of punk, rock, and stoner metal really entices the audience and there is no denying the talent here. I lean more towards enjoying the punk side of it, and while I am captured by it all, I tend to respond most to the speedier riffs and vocals. In a set that included their own hits such as ‘I Never Sleep’ with its catchy bass heavy jam, as well as a cover of Kyuss’ ‘Green Machine’, there was never a dull moment. This is one of those bands that keeps you in the zone from start to finish and the beats that walk a fine line between rock and punk keep the momentum going nicely. Some of the vocal stylings remind me of the way they are attacked in Clutch, while other times that dirty raw punk sound rings through. Whatever the main jam is, it is never without full energy that you absolutely can’t stand still to. While they’ve had many lineup changes and hiatuses over the years at one time including Dave Grohl in the band as well as Josh Homme, the current line up is as strong as ever. I highly recommend checking them out as they are seemingly very active right now, so get it while it lasts.

Mondo Generator

This was definitely a treat to have seen in this intimate setting, and again a shock to not see the show sold out, but perhaps it was not as publicized as it should have been, or they really are quite underrated. I’d love to see them tour with The Obssesed or something of that nature because they are highly worthy in their originality and talent. As Loaded Rock Bar suffered a temporary closing of the band room last year due to rent hikes, it is great to see it in full force once again and with high quality shows that everyone can benefit from.

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