New York’s Adrenaline Mob brought the metal to Brick by Brick last week.

The supergroup — made up of guitarist Mike Orlando (Sonic Stomp), singer Russell Allen (Symphony X), bassist John Moyer (Disturbed), and drummer Mike Portnoy (ex-Avenged Sevenfold) — attracted an interesting mix of metalheads, progressive rock devotees, and a surprisingly high number of folks who had made the trek up from Mexico.

Everyone was there to basically worship at the altar of Mike Portnoy. The man is an absolutely amazing drummer, and it was a treat see him perform live in such a small venue. Unfortunately, a tour bus breakdown caused the band to start four hours late, deflating the crowd’s excitement a bit. (Thirty minutes of pre-show drum kit tuning didn’t help, either.)

Despite the complications, many fans stuck around, rocked out, and sang along to Adrenaline Mob’s originals and covers. The band played a full set and didn’t cut the songs or the energy short. The group is currently touring on an all covers based album entitled Coverta, which features tracks from legendary bands like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and even Heart. In a cool twist, Adrenaline Mob is currently allowing fans to pick the covers they want to hear by voting on Facebook before each show. For the Brick By Brig gig, San Diegans picked “Kill The King” by Rainbow and “Romeo Delight” by Van Halen, both of which got a heavy, virtuosic treatment.

As a rather small local venue, Brick by Brick struggled to meet some of the demands of these seasoned pros, but Adrenaline Mob’s energetic performance made up for everything.

Photos – Adrenaline Mob at Brick by Brick