Big Business will never let you down

Jared Warren (bass) and Coady Willis (drums) are best known as the occasional rhythm section of the Melvins, but they’ve been making their own noise as Big Business for over a decade, mixing straight hard-rock riffage with liberal doses of squealing mayhem. So when Warren announced that he’d blown out his voice during a sojourn to the bar and that Willis had sprained his ankle, the packed crowd seemed shell shocked and nigh on despondent.

Or were they still recovering from opening act Ghetto Blaster and the touch of Ryan Foxe’s cattle prod? Regardless, they were stunned. There would be no vocals, Warren announced, nor would Willis utilize his prodigious kick drum.

Instead, we got a kinder, gentler Big Business. Shuffling grooves fed cool, funky bass lines as the band led us through a jazz odyssey and an exciting new direction in interactive entertainment. The crowd seemed perplexed. But wait! Was that a tear I spotted in a bearded bro’s eye? Was he hallucinating Warren’s afro ministering to his ears like a giant fuzzy aural Q-Tip? Who cares. Just know that Big Business, much like their heroes in corporate America, will never let you down.

• Concert: Big Business, Ghetto Blaster
• Seats: Stage right
• Date: February 21
• Venue: Casbah