RECAP: Toadies / Local H / Olive Vox @ Empire Live, 8/13/2026

By OP Callaghan.

Packed house for this Thursday night ’90s flashback.

Opening act Olive Vox kicked things off with a too-short set of high-energy Nirvana- and Turnstile-influenced rock n roll.  Hailing from Texas, these guys brought all the angst and fury we needed to kick off a great night.  Lead singer Parker James seemed right at home on stage, and along with guitarist Caden Shea, Ben Reid on bass, and drummer Dayton Phillips, turned in a short but impressive set.  Look for their debut album to drop in September!

Next up was Local H, a surprisingly powerful 2-piece (that’s right,  just guitar and drums).  Hailing from Zion, Illinois, and featuring guitarist/vocalist Scott Lucas and touring drummer Ryan Harding, Local H is known for such alternative classics as “Bound for the Floor” and “Eddie Vedder.” This duo ripped it up for a super sweaty and hungry-for-heavy alt-rock crowd.  Clad in a vintage 7 Seconds shirt (much respect, as 7 Seconds performed in Albany on this night 41 years ago), Lucas’ vocals and heavy guitar work were flawless and genuine. Drummer Harding’s heavy hands and Bonham-like grooves held it down and brought it to a boil on fan favorites  “The Misanthrope,” “Bound for the Floor,” and “Manifest Density Part 2,” which also featured Toadies bassist Donivan Blair.

For those of you who have not been to a show at Empire, do yourselves a favor and get down to South Pearl Street to experience one of the finest venues in the capital region.  Amazing venue, with some of the greatest staff ever.

Fort Worth’s Toadies headlined the show and blew the place apart with their signature southern grunge.  Kicking things off by taking the stage to the theme from “Rocky,” and opening with “Ash’s Theme” from their most recent release, “The Charmer,” the band absolutely lit it up.  Drummer Mark Reznicek‘s thunder launched into “I Come from the Water,” featuring a crowd-electrifying sing-along chorus, igniting an already charged-up crowd.   “No Deliverance” followed in the band’s lengthy and powerful set list of band classics and brand-new material from “The Charmer,” the Steve Albini (Nirvana, Cheap Trick, Jesus Lizard) -produced album released this year.  The newer material was effortlessly woven into fan favorites, with guitar/vocalist Vaden “Danger” Todd Lewis still delivering his trademark intense and urgent vocals, proving that the Toadies are still a powerful creative force in alternative rock.  Despite their calm professional demeanor on stage, the band’s sound is a tightly controlled frenzy of sonic delight, highlighted by lead guitarist Clark Vogeler.   Slower melodic songs granted the crowd a much-needed rest before returning to a rapid boil with instrumental “Mexican Hairless” and radio/MTV favorite “Possum Kingdom.” This was a real rock show, with all of the sweat and grime that we love.  Before launching into the finale and encore, singer-guitarist Lewis took a moment to recognize and pay tribute to those affected by suicide, and acknowledge his own past feelings of self-harm,  encouraging anyone struggling with similar feelings to remember that they are “important, and part of this thing we do” before launching into “Normal.”  After a brief exit from the stage, followed by an all-crowd chant of “Toadies! Toadies!”,  the band returned for an encore including Screamin’ Jay Hawkins “Put a Spell on You”  which left us delirious and looking forward to their next show.  Do yourself a favor and catch Toadies live, and pick up a copy of “The Charmer.”  You won’t be disappointed.

Photos by Shana Callaghan