Lit Major at a New House of Blues

The show must go on . . . rock ‘n’ roll will never die . . . and where it all happens shouldn’t really matter.

But it does.

Which makes the opening of a new chapter of the House of Blues in Anaheim a newsworthy event, boding mostly well for Orange County music fans.

So on Friday’s opening of the Anaheim venue, located on the new Downtown Disney outdoor mall adjacent to Disneyland, a sold-out crowd came to hear local heroes Lit perform its anthems of pop-punk-metal self-awareness.

“We’re from Anaheim, and this is like a housewarming party,” said singer A. Jay Popoff.

Friday’s show was the first of two nights for Lit. It was also the band’s first opportunity to headline a hometown gig since becoming a hit band--the group is too big for smaller clubs, but not massive enough yet to headline the likes of the Arrowhead Pond.

The newest House of Blues shares much the same decor as the others in the chain--the same quilted curtain, the same type of folk art on the walls, the same row of religious icons above the stage.

It is a modern, sophisticated room, housed in a red brick building on the new Disney strip of stores and restaurants, a kind of Main Street on steroids, a la Universal’s CityWalk.

This new House of Blues feels somewhat roomier than its Sunset Strip counterpart and sight lines are generally superior to the other club, which suffers from a low ceiling in the rear. There is also not nearly as much folk art smothering the walls as in other Houses of Blues, treating the raw artworks more like gallery pieces.

Possibly due to the fact it was opening night, the crowd on hand didn’t seem like the usual Lit contingent. So there was noticeably less excitement than at the band’s Hollywood Palladium show last year.

But the band still inspired sing-alongs during “My Own Worst Enemy” and the tortured and catchy “Miserable.” In between, guitarist Jeremy Popoff, his blond goatee long and braided, revealed a weakness for crunchy metal flourishes and AC/DC riffs.

Currently recording a new album, Lit offered a small sampling of new material, including the torrid and plodding “Slip.”

“I think the girls are gonna like this one,” the singer declared.

The choice of Lit as the venue’s first attraction was fitting, even considering the band’s generally limited pop music boundaries. Like the veteran punk act Social Distortion, which is set to play five nights at the new venue beginning Jan. 23, Lit has roots planted firmly in the Orange County music scene, and its members often expressed hometown pride during the set.

A. Jay Popoff, his arms smothered in tattoos, was an amiable, relaxed host between songs, stopping to wave to his father in the balcony. At one point, he sarcastically dedicated a song “to all the people who bought the [rival band] 3 Doors Down record,” before singing the lyric: “I think I want my money back.”

The band seemed to virtually christen the new venue--rock ‘n’ roll style--during its version of the Aretha Franklin hit “Chain of Fools,” as bassist Kevin Blades stepped off the stage and walked on top of a bar while his bandmates tossed guitar picks, shoes, a tambourine and other souvenirs into the audience.

Support act Handsome Devil, another Orange County-based quartet, traded in the same brand of pop punk, with some worthwhile songs built on snappy pop hooks.