From within the confines of the Rumba Café in Columbus on Saturday evening, the music poured over the crowd.

INBOKEH (Columbus) and The Filthy Lowdown (Pittsburgh) opened the four-band bill, massaging the assembled fans into a lather for DAYMARE and CADAVER DOGS.

Ed. – more on the two opening bands coming soon.

Taking the stage at that “shank of the evening” moment, DAYMARE played a tight 10-song set. The crowd packed tighter around the stage as the band opened with Hope, segueing seamlessly into the driving groove of Blinders. Their down-tuned guitars accent their music nicely, adding a punch to your senses.

DAYMARE at the Rumba Cafe – 2/18/17 (Photo Credit: Jacob Thompson/Music in Motion)

Meet Me Halfway was next, with vocalist Dustin Rinehart proclaiming, “This is a love song, if I’ve ever heard one…”

The hardcore, yet melodic strains of Orange Sky were played with a tightness that forced the crowd into paying rapt attention to the band. The in-your-face spacey-guitar of Headlights was top-notch.

Villains built to point where the band seemingly wanted to crush your skull, followed by the changing tempo of Needles.

The guitar-driven Leaves had an almost Foo Fighters feel to it that was rocker through-and-through.

They allowed the crowd to catch its collective breath with the slower Grounded, before launching into their set-closer, Bleed Out. That final song, played live, is hard-f*cking-core to the bone.

Dustin Rinehart (vocals/guitar), Austin Spears (drums), Eric Lozier (guitar) and Kyle Hull (bass) played a tight set that was the perfect band to precede the headliner. If you haven’t seen DAYMARE live yet, we can only ask you “why not?”

Photo Credit: Jacob Thompson/Music in Motion

After a short change-over of band equipment, the crowd pushed towards the stage, knowing that they were about to be aurally assaulted.

Cadaver Dogs didn’t disappoint, launching into the fast-paced Superloose & Turbohigh, with the throngs of fans attempting to get as close to the stage as humanly possible.

Mathew Franklin announced that the next song was about “f*cking a ghost”, as the blues-driven chugging of Get Out! Began. Switching seamlessly between his guitar and bass rig with only three effects/switch pedals, Mathew’s vocals made you feel as if the ghost was inside of you.

Cadaver Dogs’ Mathew Franklin (Photo Credit: Jacob Thompson/Music in Motion)

Opining that Feel The Heat was inspired by Shakira, Mathew and Lex got the crowd moving with the grinding beat. Ed. – the video for this song is fantastic!

While their entire set was an experience to behold, the crowd enthusiastically welcomed the band’s cover of Nancy Sinatra’s These Boots Are Made For Walking. Alternating between a slower tempo before amping-up the speed, their version was pure punk with naughty overtones. It was one of the highlights for me, without a doubt.

The blues-infused ballad Aberdeen Queen was punctuated with Mathew’s emotional wailing on vocals as Lex meandered through the crowd, enticing them to join the band in singing the chorus.

They turned Voodoo Drug Sluts into a dirty, nasty, sexy grinder that had everyone thinking lascivious thoughts.

The way that they play to, and work the crowd is a wonderful sight to behold. Their bombastic assault on the fans has a Spinal Tap quality to it that harkens back to arena rock of the 1970’s.

At this point, a fan passing-by inadvertently spilled a very cold and very wet beverage on my show notes. Consequently, I’m going from pure memory after Voodoo Drug Sluts. So, please don’t be too harsh with your criticism.

Mathew grabbed the microphone stand and waded into the crowd to sing with the fans surrounding him, before launching right into a wildly chugging rendition of The Racer. This sent the packed confines of the Rumba Café into a frenzy.

Cadaver Dogs’ Lex Vegas (Photo Credit: Jacob Thompson/Music in Motion)

They closed the show with the slow blues-grinder Trippin’. As Lex moved his cymbals to the edge of the stage and into the crowd for them to play along, Mathew’s plaintive wailing made for the perfect end to the evening. As he said, “This is the moment…”

We can’t say enough about these bands, having experienced a full evening of excellent music. Seeing Cadaver Dogs live should be on everyone’s bucket list, if only for the way they can make you feel so many emotions with just a one hour set.

Cadaver Dogs left not one single person unsatisfied, with a majority of the crowd wanting more. We could have listened to these two hellions for hours.

When it was all over, we give the bands and the entire night 4.5 fist-pumps out of five. Remember, kids… keep those “Horns Up!”

Ed. – we’ll have an in-depth interview with Cadaver Dogs on February 24.

Cadaver Dogs – Feel The Heat (video)