Cantina Flys / Rockhouse Dive Bar Kitchen Venue / 28 April 23 / El Paso, Texas

Have you ever been to a show and had no clue who the opening band was or maybe even a touring band you’d never heard of and after their set, you say to yourself, ” Man, that band kicked ass, who was that again? That’s the way I felt the first time I heard Welcome to the Jungle in 87, or saw Nickelback play to about 10 people on a Saturday morning over 20 years ago, I thought, these guys are great, I really enjoyed that, hope to see them again, ya know, something like that, I’m sure you get the gist. Well, that’s exactly how I felt back in 2014 when I saw Cantina Flys open for Red Dragon Cartel in a little tiny bar in downtown El Paso called the Network and yes, I got to hang with Jake E Lee that afternoon, very nice, super cool guy, but that’s not why we’re here, it’s about Cantina Flys and them making a solid impression on me 9 years ago, having my hair blown back is an understatement, just a fantastic set, short as it was, the name Cantina Flys was burned into memory and just as fast as they appeared to me, they were gone, never heard of them again and believe me, as active as I am in our local scene, it was if they dropped off the planet, oh well.

As fate would have it, Cantina Flys has risen from the ashes like a Phoenix, 7 years have passed and the boys are back and they are on a mission to pick up right where they left off and I for one couldn’t be more excited and I’m not alone in saying this, this band is super popular here in the Southwest due to extensive touring in California, Texas, Arizonia and Nevada back in 05 thru 08 and have shared the stage here in El Paso with the like of Shinedown, Queensryche, HELLYEAH, Puddle of Mudd, Saving Abel and Buckcherry. During the years they have 3 releases “Hellhounds from Chucoville”, “Queremos Rock” and “Star-Spangled Daredevil”, not to mention one or two lineup changes occurred with singers and bass players, but now the chemistry is on point, Ernie on guitar and Marco doing percussion are the founding members since 98, Danny became the front man in 08 and Charlie is the newest member on Bass, truth be told, this show was Charlies first with the band and he killed it, but we’ll get back to that later. As I said, the boys are back, the energy is off the charts with these guys, and it showed Saturday night at the Rockhouse.

I knew that this was going to be a rather big show, seeing they’re all hometown boys, I got another one of these in two weeks with Pissing Razors, this town always turns out for local hero’s and Saturday was no exception, it was as if the elite of El Paso’s music scene was in attendance, more of a family reunion if you will, I must admit, our scene is tight, no doubt. The boys hit the stage just after 10 and torn into a 16 song set list like an unstoppable rebel force taking no prisoners, its not hard to get excited by this performance, everyone was on their A Game, having the time of their lives and talk about chemistry, Charlie on Bass and Marco on drums are the well-defined backbone of the stellar act, Danny is a maniac on stage, outstanding voice and a dramatic front man, really fun to watch and the best part is, you never know what to expect from Danny, that’s what I call a true entertainer, but for me personally, it was Ernie on guitar, Marshalls, a Gold Top and years of shredding, what a showman, really fun to watch. They did two sets, the first was all originals, the second was as well, but peppered with a few tribute songs, not covers, but tributes as the band puts it, some Van Halen, ACDC, Nazareth and Danko Jones, as expected, knocked them outa the park! Everyone had their individual time to shine and shine they did and hopefully that continues as we know it will with plans of getting back in the studio in 6 months, putting out a new release followed by getting back out on the road to support it. If you like hard and fast in your face Rock and Roll, Cantina Flys fits the bill and honestly, I’m not easily impressed, especially after 50 years of attending shows, but these guys are the real deal, straight outa El Paso, check them out, you too will be impressed, thats a promise.

Set List (Act One)

Crank it

Beautiful Mess

South of the Border

Smackdown

Monolith

Milan Candy

Purple Jesus

Intermission-

Set List (Act Two)

First Date

Hair of the Dog