A pair of vastly underrated alternative bands that first rose to prominence in the 1990s dispelled the notion that their supposed heyday came in the previous century.

To the casual music fan, Texas’ Toadies might be best known for “Possum Kingdom” while Chicago’s Local H had “Bound for the Floor,” but both bands showed they were much more than just those singles on Wednesday night at the Roxian Theatre in McKees Rocks.

Toadies are touring in support of their new album, “The Charmer,” which came out on May 1. The band — singer/guitarist Vaden Todd Lewis, drummer Mark Reznicek, guitarist Clark Vogeler and bassist Doni Blair — showcased a lot of new material, playing 10 of the 13 songs off “The Charmer.”

After opening with the instrumental “Ash’s Theme,” Toadies launched into “I Come From the Water,” one of seven songs played from their 1994 platinum album, “Rubberneck.”

The crowd seemed receptive to the new material, like the bluesy “I Walk a Line,” the smoldering “The Charmer” and the macabre “Closer to You.” On “I Call Your Name,” Reznicek took a breather backstage while the rest of the band huddled at center stage to play the drumless section.

After “Damage,” Lewis offered his longest comments of the night, detailing how “The Charmer” was a journey through his mental health struggles, offering support and encouragement to those in the same situation. That led to “Normal” — with the impassioned line of “I just wanna be (expletive) normal” — and the band was joined by Vandoliers singer Jenni Rose for the final chorus.

Songs from 2001’s “Hell Below/Stars Above” like the creepy “Jigsaw Girl” and “Little Sin” also hit the mark. But the “Rubberneck” material resonated the loudest, especially on songs like “Happy Face” and “Mexican Hairless,” which they turned into an instrumental that sounded louder and punkier than normal.

“Possum Kingdom” had the crowd roaring, as did the set closer of a raucous “Tyler.”

After a short break, the band returned for a four-song encore. Local H frontman Scott Lucas joined the group on guitar for an eerie cover of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell on You.”

Two more new songs — “I Wanted to Be Everywhere” and “Get Out of Your Head” — culminated in the Toadies’ normal closer of “I Burn.” Vandoliers drummer Trey Alfaro and a roadie also hit the stage to triple the drum effect on the “Rubberneck” staple.

Local H

The two-man band Local H opened with a cover of Loverboy’s “Working for the Weekend,” with Lucas and drummer Ronnie DiCola playing as if weren’t a Wednesday evening in their 45-minute set.

Lucas skittered and skipped around the stage, and DiCola was soaked from the pummeling he unleashed on his drums.

After the cover, the band whipped through two newish songs —“City of Knives” and “Freshly (Expletive),” both off 2015’s “Hey, Killer” album — before revisiting earlier songs like “Eddie Vedder” and “Hands on the Bible.”

A nine-minute, psychedelic stomp through “Buffalo Trace” allowed the duo to stretch out, although there have been much longer versions in the past on their headline shows.

Then came the song that drew their biggest cheers: “Bound for the Floor,” which included a section of The Stooges’ “T.V. Eye” in the middle. The song slammed to a halt, with Lucas pausing for applause and taking a drink from his red Solo cup before ripping back into the song.

Pounding drums led to squealing feedback on “High-Fiving MF,” with the outro of the song feeling dangerously close to veering off the rails (in a good way).

Toadies bassist Doni Blair joined the band for their set closer of “Manifest Density, Part 2,” another lengthy romp from the band’s “As Good as Dead” album, which is getting a 30th anniversary release this year.

Vandoliers

Texas alt-country band Vandoliers opened their 30-minute set with recently released “Girl on the Run,” written by frontwoman Jenni Rose, detailing a trans woman running for her life.

Rose, who gave a shoutout to Club Cafe and said this was the band’s biggest show ever in Pittsburgh, said the night was high culture: “A trans girl backed by a country band at a rock show.”

After seven originals, the band closed with a rollicking cover of “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by the Proclaimers.

What was missing: The setlist from Toadies featured the majority of their biggest songs, but they skipped over three albums entirely: 2012’s “Play.Rock.Music,” 2015’s “Heretics” and 2017’s “The Lower Side of Uptown.” (On a selfish note, I would have liked to hear the title track from “Hell Below/Stars Above.”) From Local H, “Fritz’s Corner” and the self-deprecating “All the Kids are Right” were missing, but the band changes its set night by night.

The merch: Toadies merchandise ranged from the standard ($40 T-shirts) to the more unusual like a three-pack of drummer Mark Reznicek’s comic books to a band-signed stage crow (limited to one per night).

Last show here: Toadies’ last show in the area came on Oct. 15, 2022, at Jergel’s on the band’s 25th anniversary tour for “Rubberneck.” Incidentally, Toadies and Local H toured together in 2017, with an appearance at the Rex Theater on the South Side.

What’s next: The tour continues May 28 at House of Blues Cleveland and runs through June 17 in Phoenix.

 

Related

• Toadies drummer Mark Reznicek on working with Steve Albini on ‘The Charmer’ with Pittsburgh show on tap
• St. Vincent finding ‘abandon through precision’ in collaboration with Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
• 2026 Pittsburgh area concert calendar
 

Toadies setlist

Ash’s Theme

I Come From the Water

No Deliverance

Away

I Walk a Line

ATF Theme

Long Time

Song I Hate

Happy Face

Jigsaw Girl

The Charmer

Mexican Hairless

Little Sin

Closer to You

I Call Your Name

Possum Kingdom

Damage

Normal

Tyler

Encore

I Put a Spell on You (Screamin’ Jay Hawkins cover)

I Wanted to Be Everywhere

Get Out of Your Head

I Burn

Local H setlist

Working for the Weekend (Loverboy cover)

City of Knives

Freshly (Expletive)

Eddie Vedder

Hands on the Bible

Buffalo Trace

Bound for the Floor

High Fiving MF

Manifest Density, Part 2