Easter with Lemmy

Mar 27- Denver, Colorado-Looking back, I can't remember where I was or what I did for..oh, the last 31 Easters. This year, Easter happened to fall on my birthday and Motorhead also happened to be in town. An appropriate night for the eStragand 31st Anniversary Special.

It was a quadruple bill, with Slunt, Zeke and Corrosion of Conformity as opening acts. We knew C.O.C would be there, but didn't know about the first two bands. We also had been informed that doors opened at 8, when they actually opened at 7...so we didn't get there until around 8, as Zeke was going on. I thought it was no big deal to miss Slunt, but after checking around the Fucking Internet this morning, I'm extremely bummed that we missed them. Two words: Abby Gennet. Their lead singer has a degree in photojournalism, a nice case of hottness and is currently fronting a rock band that opens for Motorhead. In the words of Garth Algar: "I love you, dream woman".

Anyways, Zeke was allright...typical opening band. One of their songs, "Twisted", apparently lives in my CD collection, as I've heard it played over my home stereo before. They're a four-piece band, and break the Rules of Rock, slightly: their bass player stands in the middle of the stage, with the guitarists on each side. Usually, the bass player is only in the middle if he's the lead throat. They might be closet baseball fans- be strong up the middle (bass and drums) and the flash on the corners (guitars and vocals). Their set was decent, but they had the longest "outro" since "Return of the King". The singer introduced the last song, thanked the audience and said COC was up, next. 10 minutes and 4 songs endings later, the final tune kept re-starting and they kept thanking the audience AGAIN. These weren't encores, they kept slowing down, saying "thank you, good night", and kept on playing. The drummer also stood up on his seat and flashed the audience with his belly. Umm..yeah. Bad ending to an otherwise acceptable set.

The last time I saw C.O.C was in 1992 when they resembled a typical metal band. Since then, they've refined their sound a bit and have gone from a five-piece to a four-piece. Guitarist Pepper Keenan also took over the lead vocals, giving the band a much rougher/sludgier sound. With the exception of the bassist, the band looks like the cast of "Quest for Fire". But that bassist...looks like Frasier Crane--I wondered which office cubicle he had crawled out of. Nice, evil set, and they managed to hit my favorite COC tune, "Vote With a Bullet". They also did "Clean My Wounds", "Fuel" and new tunes "Stonebreaker" and "Infinite War" (I'm hoping the latter tune was about Thanos, Adam Warlock, and the Infinity Gauntlet). They ended their set with "In the Arms of God". Lead guitarist Woody Weatherman rips off some sick Iommi-esque riffs and carries the show.

Set List (I think) Dr. Rock Shoot you in the back Stay Clean Killers Love me like a Reptile No Class Metropolis I Got Mine Sacrifice In the Name of Tragedy Killed by Death Ramones Just 'Cos You Got The Power Going to Brazil Over the Top Iron Fist Whore House Blues Ace of Spades Overkill

During the break, instead of the typical crowd noise or filler tune over the PA, we had to sit through almost the ENTIRE length of the Rollins Band's "The End of Silence" CD. It was actually played at a level LOUDER than Zeke. Truly sucked and the soundboard people deseved a good cock-punch for playing this shit. I'd be allright if it had been played at normal "between sets" levels...but to blister it through the speakers, that's highly fucking annoying. I know Lemmy's a supporter of Rollins and old Black Flag, but a line needed to be drawn.

Motorhead saved us from the hecatomb of Rollins as the lights went down. Lemmy walks out, smoking a cigarette and wishes us: "good evening....how are you doing? We are Motorhead...we play rock and roll!". They tear into "Dr. Rock" and rarely stop for the next 90 minutes. They pile on after the opener with "Love Me Like a Reptile", "Shoot you in the Back", "Stay Clean" and "No Class".

Lemmy's pretty comical, and I'm always left to wonder: after 30 years, hasn't someone found a microphone stand that fits him?! He always has the mike above his head, having to tilt back to gurgle his lyrics. Its become his trademark. Meanwhile, lead guitar Phillip Campbell roams around the stage in a wool cap, bobbing his head like a muppet. Drummer Mikkey Dee is incredibly animated and in tremendous shape. The guy never stops pouding away. That's not a colorful verb, he actually POUNDS. During his drum solo, the roadies supplied him with industrial strength earmuffs! After about the fifth song, Campbell asks the audience if they would like it louder. We're sitting by the soundboard and can see the tech actually turn up the levels!

Back into the tunes, the guys stop to wish us a Happy Easter. Campbell goes into one of my pet peeves, though. He asks the audience "we're trying to find the loudest audience in the world", to which everyone screams and raisestheir horns. Campbell says we are, in fact, THE loudest audience. Neato..so do we win something? A special sticker that sez "We ARE the loudest audience on the Motorhead tour"?! I mean, that's not a title you lightly toss around....

Coolest moment for me is at the beginning of "Metropolis". Lemmy and Phil stand in the middle of the stage, tilting their heads back while they generate feedback with their axes. A good "soak it up moment" that sticks with me. The show loses a little for me as they go into "I Got Mine" and "Dancing on Your Grave". They bring me back with "Just Cos' You got the Power" and "Killed By Death". Lemmy did some funny fingers motions and really got into the lyrics of "Killed".

The show winds down and Lemmy announces the last song- "Iron Fist". The crowd is a bit bummed, but Lemmy lightens everyone up: "well, it's not the REAL last song. You know how it is..we go in the back, you make noise, and we come back out". For the encore, the guys come out with acoustic guitars for Motorhead Unplugged! It's" Whore House Blues", with Mikkey and Phil on guitars and Lemmy on harmonica. Fun stuff. Then it's "Ace of Spades" and "Overkill" to close the night. "Overkill" is accentuated with flashing strobe lights. All we can see are smoky silhouettes of the band, playing in front of their logo. Cool visual.

As the show ends, Lemmy asks us: "Dont' forget us. We are Motorhead..and we play Rock n' Fuckin' Roll". Not just your average rock n' roll.

It's now roughly 16 hours later, and my ears are STILL ringing. Motorhead prides themselves on their Marshall stacks and NOISE. They deliver.

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