The Hype: Buoyed by the critical acclaim of the superb 2008 documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil, Canadian cult favorite metal band descended upon the House of Blues Anaheim for their first ever appearance in Orange County. Anvil frontman Steve "Lips" Kudlow called it a trip 30 years in the making.  Bands such as Motorhead and Metallica would not cite Anvil as an influence if they didn't have the musical chops. Kudlow was nailing all the notes and displaying his prowess by quickly changing  from machine gun, palm-muted power chords to harmonic ear shattering squeals. Kudlow even literally blew off the guitar knob during one of his many gratuitous guitar solos. The axe may have been responding the gold vibrator solo that sparked everyone with a camera to stick it in the air for YouTube documentation.

Robb Reiner was a blacksmith behind his double bass drum kit smiting out sharp beats, especially for "This is Thirteen." One could not deny the chemistry between Kudlow and Reiner as they seemed to be telepathically connected. The sludgy riffs of "Thumb Hang" were recalled Ozzy Osbourne's first band, as Kudlow had prefaced the song with a story of how after all these years he still is just a kid that listens to Black Sabbath. "Forged in Fire" and "Metal on Metal" closed out their main set with people still chanting "Anvil!" After a salacious story about a groupie experience, "Jackhammer" drilled home the point that after three decades Anvil were going to stick to their metal roots.