POP MUSIC REVIEW : Firehose Runs the Gamut at Whisky

Remember when plaid flannel was a fashion statement? It was again on Wednesday at the Whisky, where the veteran San Pedro trio Firehose celebrated its first major-label album, “Flyin’ the Flannel,” with a vibrant set as full of cross-patterns as the favored fabric.

With a multifaceted attack that far transcends the standard mosh-makers, Firehose has been among the best in the business since rising from the ashes of the Minutemen in 1985. And the Minutemen was the best in its day.

Wednesday’s set offered everything you’d want from that legacy, with pieces running the gamut from hyper-speed spews (delighting the often violent slam-dancers) to solid, shift-filled riff-rock to almost delicate, neo-beatnik spiels and tone poems. Capping it off were encores of Blue Oyster Cult’s “The Red and the Black” and the Who’s ambitious mini-opera “A Quick One While He’s Away.”

Mike Watt’s jagged, hard-attacking yet fluid bass was front and center. Bass playing just doesn’t get much better. And Ed Crawford showed continuing evolution as a distinctive, rough-hewn singer and guitarist, offering a paradoxical image of rootlessness and resolve that fits with the plaid-wearing lost boys.

Another paradox, though, involves Firehose’s being on a major label. While many lesser “alternative” bands were grabbing that brass ring, Firehose was developing a unique style that seems by definition best suited to a small independent label. But if Columbia can actually sell these lads, more power to ‘em.