Review: Motorhead

Photos by Chris Oberholtz/The Star

Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister will turn 64 on Christmas Eve. Thursday night he brought his 35-year-old heavy-metal power trio, Motorhead, to the Midland by AMC theater. Age and longevity are all relative these days -- all the rock legends are sexagenarians, right? -- but endurance and stamina are other matters. Lemmy doesn't move much these days and he doesn't have a lot to say, but he and his mates can sure muster some youthful speed and they like their volume way past 11.

For about 80 minutes and change on Thursday night, they subjected a nearly full house to a bone-crushing tour of the Motorhead catalog. Complaining about the volume at a rock show -- especially a metal show -- can be like complaining about the blood at a UFC brawl. It's one reason everyone's there. But when the volume dramatically affects the sound, it becomes relevant. And this evening the volume pretty much destroyed whatever nuances exist in a Motorhead song.

All night, lyrics were undecipherable; so was most of the very limited banter that came off the stage. So the show became a test of endurance -- the crowd's; not the band's -- and of recognition: Oh, that's the bass line or guitar riff to "Iron Fist" or "Metropolis."

Up front, where the noise was borderline painful, the crowd was stirring up the usual mosh-pit bedlam. But back by the soundboard, where, it seemed, the techs just cranked all the knobs, stood back and watched the room ignite, a lot of fans stood, watched and then roared when a song came to a halt. It's hard to sing-along when the vocals sound way over-amplified through a megaphone.

Still, there was plenty to be impressed with; and most of it had to do with the execution. "Muddy Waters at warp-speed," a friend texted. Yes, this trio can whip up some serious manic thunder. This was the swan song for borrowed drummer Matt Sorum (The Cult, Velvet Revolver), who filled in for Mikkey Dee while he played the Swedish TV version of "I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here." Sorum didn't slack or shirk on his last day.

Likewise, Lemme and his longtime guitarist Phil Campbell helped keep the machine in overdrive all night. Fury has its virtues; at times -- like during "Killed by Death" and "Ace of Spades" and especially during "Whorehouse Blues" --  Motorhead''s fury was awe inspiring. You can't fake power or mail it in. 

At one point during the encore, Lemme growled his motto, which goes something like: "We're Motorhead. We play (effing) rock and roll." Yes they do, and we have the ringing in our ears to prove it.

| Timothy Finn, The Star

The Reverand Horton Heat: His metal-blues/rockabilly trio was one of two openers (Nashville Pussy was the other). It sure seemed like they were introducing themselves to a big portion of this big crowd, but by the end of their set, which included mainstays like "400 Bucks" and "Jimbo's Song," they had won over most of them.

Motorhead setlist: Iron Fist, Stay Clean, Be My Baby, Rock Out, Metropolis, Over the Top, One Night Stand, I Got Mine, The Thousand Names of God, Another Perfect Day, In the Name of Tragedy, Just 'Cos You Got the Power, Going to Brazil, Killed by Death, Bomber. Encore: Whorehouse Blues, Ace of Spades, Overkill.

Comments

[Geordan]

Loved the energetic opening sets by Nashville P*ssy (the female guitarist was awesome!) and the always fun Reverend Horton Heat. However......I found Motorhead to be kinda boring. Most songs sounded the same and the sound was pretty lousy in the balcony where I was. I stuck around for almost an hour and had reached my point of tolerance. I thought Matt Sorum was awesome on the drums, but couldn't make out one word out of Lemmy's mouth and their guitarist was third-rate (just my opinion). It was my first time seeing them and I feel that the original band in their prime was probably pretty special, but for as loud as the show was, the headliner almost put me to sleep.........

[wadkc]

50 minutes was my limit. I was back by the sound board and was laughing wondering why at the sound engineers had 3 computers running. For what? It was a true "plug and play" show. Glad I brought ear plugs.

My son thought Lemmy was metal's answer to Bob Dylan in the vocal department. yep.

"Overkill." Never truer words spoken.

[pellboy]

Enjoyed the show overall. The Rev never disappoints. First time (and most likely last) seeing Motorhead who were just alright. As TF said, their power is undeniable (Matt Sorum was very impressive) but I also agree with what Geordan said, most of the songs sounded the same so unless you're a big fan, they can get old pretty quick.

The few times they altered the tempo some were the highlights for me...I Got Mine (probably their best song) and a bluesy number towards the latter part of the main set where the guitarist actually got to show off his chops a little bit.

And Droz from PCU would have went nuts...more of THAT GUY at this show than any other I've ever been to. Sometimes I think for fans of Motorhead, it's more about the t-shirts than it is about the band. More black than at a funeral.

[Hepcat]

My first show at the "new" Midland by AMC. Other than the missing seats on the floor, I didn't see much else is different. More security and staff perhaps. I sat on the front row of the balcony and like the review mentioned, the vocals and really a lot of the top end was buried in the mix somewhere.
Nashville Pussy's songs sounded familiar, a couple of them sounded much like Motorhead. First time to see Rev. Horton Heat, and being a real rockabilly fanatic, I did enjoy them, but again, the vocals were indecipherable and even the guitar at times was lost in the mix. Like I told a friend, with Motorhead you get Motorhead. So in that context, I enjoyed them tremendously despite the technical problems. For me Motorhead, along with AC/DC are among the last of the great hard rock groups. I grew up watching Zep, Deep Purple, etc. so for me they help to fill the gap. I don't agree that Phil Campbell is third rate. To the contrary he's very talented. Perhaps being in Motorhead limits the perception of that talent, but it seemed to me that he showed off a fair amount of variety within the context of the band. I really enjoyed the encore with the "unplugged" performance of "Whorehouse Blues" followed by their signature songs "Ace of Spades" & "Overkill" both drawn from the band's early and most memorable period. But at least they are consistent and continue to release new material. It ain't Pink Floyd, but what is? The audience was a hoot as well. I noted several Hawkwind shirts, signifying truly geeky hero worship for Lemmy or at least a nod to his earlier membership in a slightly more progressive band.
It was also fun watching the guitarist from Nashville Pussy sitting behind the amps and thrashing along during most of the Motorhead performance. I'm too old and feeble for the mosh pit, but it sure looked like some participants were having a pleasant evening. My only regret is that Motorhead did not perform the bone crushing "March or Die" or the folksy "1916" which is actually a sentimental anti-war ballad. I hope they get the sound and the seating right for the Leonard Cohen show in November. Those tickets are significantly higher than tonight's show. Deaf forever!

[NEW]

This sounds like it was a great show. Sorry I missed it. Hepcat, you the same Hepcat who was the co-host of Rockabilly Moodswing? I miss hearing Hepcat's history corner!

[pellboy]

Hepcat, you're right on about the similarities with AC/DC but the difference I see is that AC/DC's SONGS (more hooks, more blues-based rock)are better so their sameness seems to work better, at least for me. Still like and respect Motorhead, just didn't get so much out (except maybe an earache) of their live performance than I could from a record.

[Joel]

I'm not sure what all the complaining about the sound is about. I guess maybe I'm a big Motorhead fan, but I could hear all the lyrics just fine. For as much volume as they put out, in a theatre like that, I think it sounded good. Lemmy was classic Lemmy, and I think it was great!

Nashville P*ssy wasn't very good IMO. I've heard their music before, first time live, they didn't impress me at all.

Rev. Horton Heat was awesome. Great, fun music, loved the lyrics, funny stuff.

My ears are still ringing, but I'm not complaining, it's Motorhead!!!

[mankvill]

AMAZING show. I do agree that it was really loud, but for it's volume, I thought the music was surprisingly clear.

Such an awesome show.

click my name for the Rev's setlist!

[MetalHEAD]

Zombie tix went on sale today....should be killer at the Uptown 11/14.

[Bubba]

Just like MARS VOLTA last week, the MOTORHEAD gig was a bit too loud. Still had a good time at both shows. Way to go 98.9 + thanks for a memorable evening. REVEREND HORTON (hears a who) HEAT and NASHVILLE PUSSY were worth openers.

[Lemmy Rulez]

... but wait .... where are all the naysaying little pussies who always wanna discuss a bands birth age, and are always saying how everyone should quit rock an roll when they turn 35? where are you lildorks?? or are scared of lemmy you lil ***s?

[Lemmy Droolz]

Scared of Lemmy?? Ha, Ha, Ha! He could barely MOVE the other night! Afraid of those hideous WARTS on his mug, perhaps............

[CH]

Thought the show was a lot of fun, but still a bit sore from the crowd surfer that kicked me in the face as he went over the barricade.

I thought NP was a lot of fun and wished they had played longer. RHH were good, but maybe played a bit too long. Motorhead are Motorhead, just like AC/DC and Slayer are themselves respectively. They do what they do very well. Think Whorehouse Blues was probably the favorite performance of the night.

And a tip for everyone complaining about the sound - wear earplugs. I'm not joking. They practically eliminate the distortion and makes the loudness more comfortable. And there is none of that nasty ear-ringing that can last for a few days. Have been wearing them for years and couldn't imagine going to a gig without them.

[Shaggy]

Thought I was the only one that thought the sound sucked, would have been a great show if not for the lousy sound engineers, and it was not the venue, have seen good shows there.