Hot Snakes, The Widows, Sumatraban @ The Casbah, San Diego

First there was Pitchfork. Then came Drive Like Jehu. And then, John Reis and Rick Froberg formed Hot Snakes in 1999, along with Jason Kourkounis and Gar Wood. The band toured and recorded sporadically until 2006, and since 2010 have done occasional reunion shows. But their last record was 2006’s ‘Thunder From Down Under,’ released at the time of the band’s break-up. Now, twelve years later, on the eve of the release of a new full-length LP, ‘Jericho Sirens,’ and on the verge of their first full-scale tour in years, Hot Snakes made a home-town appearance at the world-famous Casbah, the club that has been home to so many great San Diego bands for over a quarter of a century. Performing songs from the new album as well as old favorites, Hot Snakes were joined by local garage rockers The Widows and experimental psych-grunge trio Sumatraban.