as we were having our pre-show beers, my friend ray s. and myself discussed our hopes for the show. i had seen them do a rather disappointing show in bergen the weekend before, and was beginning to think of a motorpsycho show as a visit to a long forgotten friend - it seemed like a good idea, but as soon as it really happened, you began wondering why you had bothered coming. the last couple of times i'd seen them, they had been only slightly above average, in bergen they were uninspired, the sound was shitty, and it didn't really take off until nothing to say, which was the final encore. so our expectations weren't too high.
having death prod as a support act didn't really make things better. it was one of those moment s when time froze, they seemed to be playing for hours, but according to our watches it lasted only thirty minutes (and believe me, we checked our watches constantly).
as death prod ended their part, motorpsycho entered the stage, and both bands (death prod consisted of four members, o.h. moe was probably the one with the saw) started on the last half of s.t.g. it didn't take me long to realize that this would be something else than the show i had witnessed a week earlier - as they eased their way into the real beginning of the song i was starting to get a really good feeling; _that_ guitar theme is from another planet. as they started their second song, kill someday, ray s. screamed "what an opening" in my left ear, and that song never sounded better! in bergen they didn't play anything from timothy's monster at all (don't believe the report in the student paper). the night's first song from angels/daemons, like always, came next, and ended a formidable opening section of the show.
after heartattack mac, with a not too convinving snah on vocals, bent introduced the next song as "an awardwinning one ... no, hang on", and they threw themselves into nerve tattoo, a song i cannot remember to have heard live before.
in bergen, the best song of the night was un chien d'espace, and tonight's version was also of a very high standard. deathprod returned for this song, even if that didnt improve the quality too much. still, i feel that this song has even more potential, and it could easily turn into one of the highlights of motorpsycho shows for years to come. another of those powerful pop songs off angels/daemons followed (pills etc), before they again played this cover they've been doing for a while (lyrics concerning young/old men. very 60-ish, almost bluesy. almost). seeing and hearing them do covers has always been fun, and even if this version was faultless, they could vary the covers a bit. starlove meltlight and a very metal version of hogwash followed - this is an old friend it is always great to meet! ray s., who by now had had more beers than normal, asked "is this a motorhead song?" they ended their set with two of the strongest off their latest album (i've bought the 3 ep-set, is that to be called daemon box?), you lied and a very impressive spiral, where gebhardt really took off towards the end. they left the stage, and we were both awestruck. the only thing we missed was something from demon box. "they'll play nothing to say", i said. "i hope so", ray s. replied, "but i hope they'll do the last one too". they did indeed reopen with "the last one" - the one that got away. it was good to hear that you should never give up hope of hearing old favourites again. a slightly different version, of course, but nevertheless very refreshing, and as they, after a almost non-existing break, began playing nothing to say, complete with sing-alongs and a long instrumental part including parts of mountain, we couldn't ask for anything more. but we did get more - they played a song they also did in bergen - is it by the who? surprisingly, they returned again, and did an incredible version of the immense glory that is the golden core. the cocteau twins on fuzz guitars. there is a time and place for everything, and this was definitely the place. this is the song most likely to make my eyes water - beautiful doesn't even begin to describe it.
it was a truly amazing night. "we're not worthy", exclaimed ray . i've seen them about a dozen times, but never as good as this, and from the comments i heard on my way out it seemed that others agreed with me. they have never been this good live. never. we're not worthy indeed.
chas. o marx