Ruffians, Hellfire, Lowcaster
- Bleeding Priest
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Eli's Mile High Club
Oakland, CA
April 11, 2026
Third night in a row for Metal gigs brought me to Eli’s in Oakland. Sure it’s not nearly as cool as it was when the back patio was open but it’s still always a great time hitting this Oakland live music institution.
The sound is usually the issue I have with Eli’s but Sonny from Necrot was working the board so the evening was in very capable hands. And it sounded better than ever!
One thing that threw me for a loop was how early the show started. Eli’s is notorious for starting shows super late with bands running way overtime. And as a result the last band goes on well after midnight. Not the case tonight. I showed up at 9:30 and Hellfire were about finished setting up. Which means I missed opener Lowcaster. I don’t know anything about that band but people told me they were good Rock n’ Roll. I’ll be on the lookout for future gigs.
So Hellfire hit the stage and delivered their style of old school, NWOBHM meets Thin Lizzy meets a hint of Bay Area Metal. They always deliver the goods. They opened for Death Angel on a U.S. tour right before the pandemic and I never saw them put on a lackluster performance. Vocalist Jake Nunn has pipes of gold and never seems to run out of luster. They’re currently working on a new album and are in search of a label. Perhaps Hectic/Bleeding Priest records could do something with them. That would rule actually. In any case Hellfire are always a good time.
Headlining tonight’s festivities was early 80’s Bay Area unsung heroes Ruffians. This was my first time seeing them. It’s not like they play out that often. Their last gig was over 10 years ago. And I was way too young to catch them in their heyday. This was actually the first time I’d seen Craig Behrhorst play original music.
They really impressed me. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but they put on a quality gig. I don’t know how far back the vocalist goes with these guys but it seems like he’s been with them for quite a while. I know the late great Carl Albert (Vicious Rumors) was an early vocalist of theirs. The current vocalist was top notch and did a bang up job keeping the audience enthused and involved with the show. There was great energy and a festive environment in the room for sure.
Their music reminded me of early Maiden played through Def Leppard’s guitar tones with master skinsman Mark Hernandez powering it all through. How could you not love that?
They’re off to Europe next week to play the Keep It True festival in….you guessed it…..GERMANY! I would wager Germany has more Metal festivals per capita than any other country in the world. Safe bet.
I had a blast at this show. As beat as I was from going to shows the two previous nights I’m totally glad I went.
–Bleeding Priest
