Mastodon & High on Fire @ The Fox in Oakland

E, Matt and I met up with some friends at the Trappist for a few brews before the show. Walked over at about 7pm. Super excited to finally check out The Fox Theater after it's reopening. The theater sign looked awesome from the distance as we approached. The venue is amazing. Super ornate architecture. A perfect environment for this metal show! Got there for the last few songs of Baroness. Need to check 'em out more. Went down near the front for High on Fire. The local following was out in force. The sound unfortunately was muddy and much of the music was indistinguishable if you didn't know what the songs. They had good stage presence though and put on a great show. Between the Buried and me was much more interesting than I thought they would be. Lots of diverse musical styles dominated by progressive metal. Mastodon was good but not outstanding. The vocals just aren't quite where they should be in their live performance, but the music is dead on. Played some cool, trippy art on the digital display behind the band in the style of their new album art.