by Mike Tyler
photos by Martin Hoare
Walking into Southampton Guildhall and seeing the familiar Motorhead logo backdrop, it is hard not to feel excited about what is about to occur. Seeing Motorhead’s set Buy antibiotics online without prescription. Online Drugstore.up behind the support band’s kit serves as an ample reminder, not only of what Motorhead, do but how loud they do it. A wall of amps only separated by a raised drum kit – the stage was set. Cheap Levitra online Florida codes bank
Opening up the night was Skew Siskin – a band fairly similar to Motorhead in music style, with a female vocalist. In the short time they had on stage they were very impressive and came across as a tight live act. Slight sound problems aside, they had a good opening slot until the end which was somewhat tarred with awkwardness. Their last song was extended to incorporate some crowd participation, which is fine except no-one thought to inform the crowd. A crowd made of up of, seemingly, very few people who cared about this band. Order Doxycycline There was some participation but not enough to really justify extending the last song to the degree they did. Just a brief hint as well, if the room is not full for your set – turning the house lights on to expose this fact might not be the smartest move.
The main support was Michael Monroe. The best way to describe this performance is fun. The man himself runs and climbs all over the place like before coming on stage he has just been released from a cage. I will admit I wasn’t expecting to be able to say I had Michael Monroe hanging from Southampton Guildhall’s wall less than 5ft from me. The energy displayed by the rest of the band is equally impressive, especially considering the guitarist, Ginger, is sporting a cast to support a broken foot. The set was the perfect mix of Monroe originals and classics from Hanoi Rocks and Demolition 23.
Michael Monroe’s set was one that was not to be forgotten easily. Well, that is until these infamous words were uttered:
“We are Motorhead, and we play rock and roll!”
From that moment on, the support bands were a distant memory. Starting the set with strong renditions of “We Are Motorhead” and “Stay Clean”, Motorhead proved that even after 35 years – they were still a tremendous live act with phenomenal stage presence. The announcement of a new song, providing almost the same reaction as the classic material, proves this band is still as relevant as they ever were. This gig also proved Motorhead won’t rest on their history alone – mixing older material with newer material seamlessly.
Motorhead have a reputation for playing louder than anything else and sure enough after a few songs, the crowd were asked if we wanted them to play louder. I can’ t imagine any crowd at this stage not wanting the music volume turned up. Perhaps there was one person who disapproved of the volume being turned up however as a lone bottle headed towards the stage – a brave move when Lemmy is on stage. Expressing his bewilderment at the logic of throwing a bottle at someone trying to entertain you, he then invited the bottle thrower on stage to throw a punch at him instead. This invitation came with the warning that Lemmy would likely“knock them the fuck out” which got an enormous reaction from the crowd. Zithromax pharmacy
One of the many highlights of Motorhead’s set was the drum solo. There are very few occasions where a drum solo isn’t impressive but this one was something special. Starting the solo at blistering speeds and changing the tempo constantly, Mikkey Dee continued the solo for what seemed like ages but he sucked the crowd into every beat and finished with a party trick (always a nice touch). What followed was a blistering run through the best of Motorhead including appearances from Nina C. Alice (from Skew Siskin) and Michael Monroe (still full of energy) to lend a helping hand. The crowd went wild for Ace of Spades and Overkill but to my regret, this meant the gig was over.
Motorhead proved once again that they are a superb live act and in a class of their own when it comes to playing rock and roll, proving once again that “We are Motorhead, and we’re here to kick your ass” is not a threat to be taken lightly.
