Concert review of the Rockefeller-gig / 1999-10-16 taken from the
Norwegian e-zine
(NETT)PULS, 1999.
English translation done by Stig Aasheim.
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MOTORPSYCHO:
"Something very new is about to happen...?" Foto: Knut Haugen |
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Motorpsycho
Rockefeller, 16. oktober
A matine with Motorpsycho so the younger fans can experience them live ain't a bad idea. And even if the psychos limped badly more than once during the start of the show, they elegantly found their way later. From being a weaker Motorpsycho than ever, they lifted to some of the most overwhelming.
There is no doubt that Motorpsycho have made references to the seventies earlier, but during the instrumental openingnumber it wasn't the heavier rock from this period that shined through. It was rather the jazz of that time, and small pieces of acid. One can understand that the band must have been experiencing a lot of that influence lately, the way they managed to convince with this kind of music. They haven't got the Midas touch on everything, although that's the impression you often get.
The "older" hit "Starmelt/Lovelight" was presented rather slack and uncommitted, totally without push or enthusiasm. They appeared to be a faded Motorpsycho, without the ability of creating any participation. Without blaming him for the weaker songs of the show, the keyboardplayer wasn't always as integrated in the songs as he should have been. At times the piano wasn't anything but redundant twangle without a fitting place in the soundpicture. When it worked though, as on the all over great loungeversion of "All Is Loneliness", everything was just fine.
“Plan #1” (overwhelming, I shed a tear), "Kill Some Day", "Feel", "Walking On The Water", and "Vortex Surfer, off course, were the absolute climaxes. Along with the new songs (too few of them), stretching from instrumentals to jazzinspired symphopop, these made the concert worth seeing.
On the other hand, Motorpsycho live is always worth seeing, even though they again showed themselves weaker than what has become the standard. It is obvious that the new album will show another side of Motorpsycho than we are used to. My god, we are excited! It is due to be released next year. I'm looking forward to the year 2000.
Ruben Gran
