It was a little after 11:30 Friday night. The High Noon Saloon was filled with the tepid buzz of rock fans facing the cold reality of being middle-aged at a late concert. Chicago-based rock band, Local H’s delayed entrance was the only thing keeping the crowd.

Local H’s brand of high-octane, up-tempo rock is not at all conducive to siesta-taking. As they showed Friday, they bring every bit of energy they have to their live set. It was a show for rock purists– no gimmicks, elaborate lighting or digital backing sound. But two skilled rock musicians thrashing about the stage did not make for a revolutionary show. However, it was successful in simply being a rock concert.

Existing stereotypes prevent most from thinking a graying, 45-year-old man in unassuming jeans and Adidas Sambas could play a livewire set that gets heads thrashing. However, frontman Scott Lucas defied all stereotypes. Armed only with a single, beaten-up, basic model guitar, Lucas covers the roles of guitarist and bassist with his single instrument. Using a foot pedal, Lucas is able to provide a sweet bass line to the intro of a song and seamlessly switch back over and shred out a solo within the same track. Paired with Ryan Harding’s thrashing drums, the duo is able to create a very fleshed-out, complete sound without a big band accompanying them.

Lucas, who showed off his sterling sense of humor, came on stage wearing an eyepatch and said he wanted to address the elephant in the room.

“I know you all want to know what I think of the Kanye West, Beck Grammy thing,” Lucas said.

Later Lucas made a crack at soul patches.

Aside from his comical banter, Lucas stood out with his guitar work. With heavy reverb effects, he pounded out grimey notes that fit the essence of their rock music.

Lyrics from “The Misanthrope,” played early in the set, accurately portraying the rock sentiment of the show.

“There’s nothing worse than people!” yelled Lucas. The music isn’t angry in the conventional way a metal song may be, but it definitely isn’t feel-good music.

Most interesting in the set was the band’s cover of Lorde’s “Team.” The song’s inclusion in the set comes as no surprise — they have released a studio version and it has been a staple of their live show lately. Shrouded under the roaring guitar and drums, the structure of the song was barely detectable until Lucas got to the chorus. In many ways, Local H’s rendition of Lorde is the perfect cover. It takes a song, completely switches the genre dynamics, adds the band’s own flavor and comes away with a song that is just as good as the original.

Local H’s set Friday night was as much of a greatest-hits set as a band like Local H could have. They included favorites such as “Eddie Vedder,” “California Songs” and “Bound for the Floor.”

Although it was fun watching Lucas bounce around the stage and thrash on his guitar, the appeal quickly wore thin for the crowd. After the first half of the set, the show felt as monotonous as Top 40 radio. Aside from some stand-out, catchy choruses, the songs became repetitive and tired, much like the audience.

Celebrating their 25th anniversary this year, Local H showed Friday that 40-somethings can rock, just not in an innovative way.