The Hoa Hoas

Only blissed-out psych rockers wouldn't complain about malfunctioning microphones during a particularly important CMW gig. Too bad for the Hoa Hoas. Despite musical acumen, their almost total lack of audible vocals hugely dampened a highly anticipated set. All the Ray Manzarek keyboards, avalanching guitars, blues riffs and throbbing drums in the world couldn't make inaudibly singing into a microphone look cool. The show had impressive moments, particularly "Grew Up on the Seeds," which earnestly marched amongst tumbling guitars, and ''Vinyl Richie,'' which pulsated toward a massive climax, though these were bittersweet. Incidentally, given the title, the latter probably had decent lyrics.