It’s about an hour until show time.

Local H’s only two band members, drummer Brian St. Clair and singer / guitarist Scott Lucas are sitting in their Otto’s dressing room, getting ready. Lucas is making a sandwich and St. Clair is lounging in a chair.

“How many arguments have we had today?” St. Clair asks Lucas. Lucas says none. “Normally we b—- about stuff,” says St. Clair.

Interestingly, Local H (or at least Scott Lucas, since St. Clair only joined the band a couple years ago) has been playing shows at Otto’s for the past ten years. In fact, the first time they played Otto’s, they were a three piece band.

So does Local H ever hang out on the mean streets of DeKalb before or after their shows?

“I’ve been to the Thai place across the street (Thai Pavillion) and Walgreens,” says St. Clair, “But after a show, I usually go to sleep. Scott stays up all night.”

Since Local H is a hard rock band, it’s no surprise that Lucas’ major influence is Led Zeppelin and St Clair’s major influence is Black Flag. “Led Zeppelin influenced you,” says Lucas to St. Clair, “You just don’t know it.”

Between Lucas and St. Clair, their favorite all-time albums include “Dark Side of the Moon” and “Nevermind.” Both agreed that rock ‘n’roll is fine right now, but neither thanks the radio nor MTV.

“The only reason I listen to the radio is for the weather or traffic report,” said St. Clair. Lucas has one word to describe the popular radio stations around the country: “horrible.”

On this particular night, Lucas had his work cut out for him; he also played guitar with the opening band, Cisco Pike.

After a quality, medium sized set from Cisco Pike, the angry kids of Sullen took the stage. It wasn’t until nearly midnight that Local H finally graced the stage.

Some people traveled quite a distance for the show. Two of them, Tony Rapp and Chris Williams, drove an hour to see Local H.

“It’s worth it,” said Rapp, “this will be my fourth time seeing them and they are always great.”

Williams, on the other hand, was a first timer. When the show was over, he wasn’t disappointed. “I knew they would rock,” said Williams, “I’m just so glad to have finally seen them.”

Local H played a decent chunk of their catalogue, including songs from their new release, “The No Fun EP.” They also played the usual fan favorites like “Fritz’s Corner,” “Alright, Oh Yeah,” and of course, “High-Fiving MF.”

Local H ended the show in style. Lucas climbed a set of giant speakers to entice the people in the balcony into clapping and joining along with the chant, “The Motherf——- Soul!” Lucas started this chant at the end of “F— Yeah, That Wide,” in which the only lyrics are “You got the money. We got the soul.”

Considering the show was only $10, Lucas was dead on.