Friday, Dec. 12, 2003 | 8:57 a.m.
That honor went to Static X, an industrial-metal outfit based in Burbank, Calif. Thousands of X-treme Radio (KXTE 107.5-FM) listeners flocked to Orleans Arena in time to see the third of the night's four performers.
Static X's fans poured into the venue's empty hockey rink enclosure on the floor and absolutely raged to 45 minutes of the band's heavy-duty brand of loud, fast metal.
Wayne Static certainly felt the love in the room. The Static X frontman paused between songs several times to survey the mosh pit -- and the occasional foolhardy crowd surfer -- and to toast his supporters with shots of booze.
"Las Vegas, thanks for having us back to our home away from home," the singer/guitarist announced, his stark black hair pointing straight up from his head and straight down from his chin.
The locals weren't just cheering for your average trash or death metal. This stuff was completely relentless. And loud. Really, really loud.
How loud?
Legend has it a photographer at a Static X show once involuntarily burst into tears as soon as the band started playing. Sounds possible.
When the lights flipped on following Static X's set, a stream of people headed toward the doors, apparently not sticking around to see the recently relaunched Jane's Addiction.
They didn't miss anything particularly earth-shattering.
Jane's didn't seem at all angry enough for its youngish audience, and the four core band members seemed to take notice of that fact, attempting an early escape after playing for just 40 minutes.
They returned less than 30 seconds later, played for another 20 minutes and called it a night.
Credited with spearheading the "alternative" rock movement more than a decade ago, Jane's Addiction crafted two of rock's enduring albums during its short first go-round: 1988's "Nothing Shocking" and 1990's "Ritual de lo Habitual."
Cuts from those discs worked best Thursday night, particularly the mesmerizing "Mountain Song" and a properly rocked-out rendition of "Ocean Size."
The band tossed off a blase version of its best-known song, "Been Caught Stealing," and skipped its other big hit, "Stop!"
Fan favorite "Jane Says" served as a spirited sing-along encore for those remaining from a crowd once topping 5,400.
Clad in a black-and-red leather body suit, Jane's singer Perry Farrell wiggled and jiggled his way around stage, stopping now and again to tweak his echo setting on a giant vocal effects box near his microphone.
The band's other central figure, guitarist Dave Navarro, looked like a seriously bad dude, his bare chest covered in piercings and tattoos. The myth was shattered midway through the set, however, when the devilish ax man tripped to the floor on his way up the drum rise.
Most of Jane's material came from new album "Strays," the band's first studio project in 13 years. Much of it sounded dated, encumbered by meandering instrumental passages and lengthy guitar solos.
It was a lukewarm performance by a band famous for being incredibly vital.
The night's other two acts, Yellowcard and Smile Empty Soul, did their best to impress during brief 20-minute sets.
The former played edgy pop-punk, and featured a violin player in its lineup. The latter specialized in melodic, yet gloomy metal, and paused midway through a song to sip drinks in unison before resuming the tune.
Anything to get noticed in a crowded hard rock landscape. Perhaps Static X already has the remedy: simply turn up the volume.
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