Motorhead Takes Over The Swindon Oasis With The Help Of
The Damned And Girlschool
It's almost a given that if you like any form of hard rock or
metal, you like Motorhead. No other band has the longevity, the
honesty and the volume that Motorhead carry with them at all times.
Not only do they live rock and roll, they are the embodiment of it.
So having them come to perform in Swindon (which they have only
done about three times before in their 34 year history) was a real
treat for all concerned.
Opening the show this evening was Girlschool, who have been
going for nearly as long as Motorhead, forming in 1978. I
unfortunately missed quite a bit of their set but what I did see
was alot of fun. They gave a performance that showed how much they
enjoy not playing their music, but being on the stage in general.
They were definitely a great opening act and set the mood for the
great evening of rock and roll that was to follow. I look forward
to seeing them again in the future and hopefully getting there on
time!
Next up was British punk rock legends The Damned. A little bit
of pub trivia for you, The Damned were the first British punk band
to release a single, an album and tour the United States, not the
Sex Pistols as so many people believe. As Michael Caine might say,
not alot of people know that! The Damned approached their live show
with a great spirit and got plenty of the crowd excited from the
opening sentence of "Hello... We're The Damned.... And we sound a
bit like this... Is she really going out with him?" before the
pounding drums of "New Rose" kicked off a fantastic performance. I
personally had been wanting to see The Damned for six years and it
was well worth the wait to see them tear through classic songs like
"Neat, Neat, Neat" and "Love Song." They were also as hilarious as
they were exciting, with guitarist Captain Sensible joking about
the recent Morrissey show in Swindon that ended after the singer
collapsed on stage after one song. He declared the tour to be "very
anti-Simon Cowell" and a "celebration of rock and roll." They
closed with the always classic anthem, "Smash It Up" which was
followed with Captain Sensible running over to lead singer Dave
Vanian's microphone to perform a bit of his 1980s novelty hit song,
"Happy Talk" before being dragged off the stage by his guitar
straps by Vanian. If I had to ask anything of The Damned, it would
be that next time they play "Machine Gun Etiquette" and "Melody
Lee." "Nasty" would be a good addition too, but really, those are
only requests. If you're a fan of punk rock, go and see The Damned.
You won't regret it!
"We are Motorhead... We play rock and roll" was the introductory
growl from the iconic singing bass player Lemmy as the headliners
took the stage. After that it was into the classic, "Iron Fist" and
the onslaught of loud instruments and great songs continued from
there. The energy the band brings didn't stop for a second and the
band brought a few surprises into their set too, which is always
good to hear, performing a cover of the Twisted Sister song, "Shoot
'em Down" and the acoustic blues vibe of "Whorehouse Blues." It was
also nice to hear songs from their new album, "Motorizer" as well
as songs from the previous two albums, "Inferno" and "Kiss Of
Death." The band performed the awesome, "One Night Stand" from the
latter album and "In The Name Of Tragedy" from the former. They
also included timeless songs such as "Going To Brazil," "Killed By
Death" and "Over The Top." Hearing the band playing "Bomber" felt
fantastic as on the two occassions I had seen them before, they
left it out from the set. And for the encore? What else would you
expect than the song that defines heavy metal and hard rock and
roll in general, "Ace Of Spades," followed by the title track of
their second album, "Overkill." Motorhead proved once again why
they are one of the true legends of rock with a performance that
didn't falter once, great crowd interaction and timeless songs. All
in all, it was a great night, though the crowd really were a
disappointment. Alot of people in Swindon complain that they don't
have a proper music venue to draw bigger acts but if they are as
still as many in the crowd were for Motorhead, building a venue
would just be a waste of money and time. That aside, if you live in
the U.K. and you like your concerts to be f'ing loud (the "f" is
not for fairly!) and alot of fun, then you simply have to catch
this tour!
From UK Metal
