Deftones bassist Chi Cheng remains in a “minimally conscious state” since a 2008 auto accident, but a small burst of hopeful vibes emitted from the Deftones stage last night in San Francisco: Cheng’s replacement Sergio Vega turned over bass duties for classic Deftones jam “Root” to Cheng’s teen son, Gabriel.

Video footage (above) shows Cheng the younger — a four-stringer and poet like his dad — rocking wildly (awesome) beneath a shiny spray of long hair (nice) and donning bass-playing gloves (sure) on the encore jam, for which he could kinda put his head down and play the same riff throughout. That’s good cuz in that situation holy shit who’d want to concentrate on more? (Even so, the lad got a moment of tech assistance at 3:35, cute.)

Head over to OneLoveForChi to throw in on Cheng’s healthcare costs.

–ADF

The Deftones’ seventh album Koi No Yokan set for release on November 13 (pre-order). They’re playing like four songs from it on tour now.