by Marc Fong
Local H delivered a lean, hard-hitting set that wasted no time in getting the crowd’s blood pumping. Kicking off with the intro “Turn the Bow” and diving straight into the familiar crunch of “Fritz’s Corner” and “Cynic,” the duo immediately set an uncompromising tone—tight, raw, and unpretentious. “All-Right (Oh, Yeah)” and “All the Kids Are Right” served as the backbone of the set, their jagged hooks and sardonic edge pulling the audience into full sing-along mode. Scott Lucas’ scathing delivery on “California Songs” hit particularly hard in the Bay Area, while “Hands on the Bible” and the pointed “President Forever” added a more introspective and topical dimension to the evening. Even without a sprawling runtime, the performance felt complete—bruising yet balanced.
Lucas’ mastery of the modified guitar-bass hybrid filled the Guild’s intimate room with a wall of sound that belied the band’s two-piece setup, while Ryan Harding’s drumming added the muscle and momentum to keep things fierce. The crowd responded in kind: fists raised, heads nodding, and a palpable buzz carrying through the room. Local H may have been sharing the bill with Everclear and Sponge, but their set stood out as the most uncompromising of the night—a reminder that, decades in, they can still deliver a no-frills, alt-rock gut punch.
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