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Saturday night, live @ someplace
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Un Chien d’Espace (K9+++ version feat Hogwash)
Bartok of the Universe —>
On the Toad Again
Heartattack Mac
Feel (acoustic)
Mad Sun (acoustic, feat Geb)
Wishing Well acoustic, feat Geb)
Nature’s Way (acoustic)
Manmower
Kill Some Day (Song for a Bro tease)
In Our Tree
The Magic and the Wonder
Hey Jane —>
The Alchemyst
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The House at Pooneil Corners
Mantrick Muffin Stomp
Demon Box (feat Deathprod and feat Step Inside)
Grindstone
The Golden Core
Saturday night. Somewhat overwhelmed by last night’s mind-blowing set, which featured pretty much every aspect you love about Motorpsycho, it’s hard to know what to expect. You got some unexpected nuggets (Home of the Brave, Radiance Freq), but above all, it was the pacing of the set, without absolutely no weak spots, and a band in peak form, that made it an out-of-this-world experience. A little hung-over, and both mentally and physically drained by last night, expectations are actually not too high. You already got what you came for, and then some. But knowing what Motorpsycho can do, and especially on two consecutive nights in the same town, you can’t help but hoping somewhere way, way back in your head, that they somehow, magically, will top it all tonight.
You get the feeling that everyone was here last night, and everyone else is equally exhausted, because it’s unusally subdued and quiet in the house for a Saturday night. This fits the band perfectly, as you get a sense that the band is feeling quite dark as they enter the stage and you hear a synth-like drone. Snah plays the little motif that signals the opening of that all-time epic to end all epics. The K9 suite. Only this time, it turns out to be K10, K1.000.000, K9 to the power of 100. Snah has brought out the Fender Rhodes and the Space Echo for a return to the 1998 arrangement, but again, words cannot quite describe what is going on here. It starts out sneakingly, perfect for the slightly weary audience, warming them up slowly. As the chuggah-chuggah of the «The rounder we go» section builds, suddenly you notice a shift in the bass rhythm, and lo and behold, out of nowhere Hogwash appears! Spacewash! Dogwash! After about 35 mins total, the dog lands back on ground, and you just know that when you expect nothing, Motorpsycho delivers everything.
You all needed that warming up to get loose, and you are ready for some heaviness now. Another latter-day masterpice, Bartok of the Universe swings with lethal power, and segues directly into…ON THE TOAD AGAIN! The heaviness factor is ridiculous, outstoning any stoner band ever. And as if that wasn’t enough, Heartattack Mac blows your eardrums out and again the mighty Moog Taurus is employed to devastating effect. By this time everyone needs to calm down a little, so everyone is excited to see the band bringing out their acoustic guitars for the first time on this double night. Feel is an obvious starter to this acoustic mini set, and never fails to bring a smile. Bent then introduces a special guest, none other than Gebhardt(!) on banjo, and they play a beautiful version of Mad Sun and then Wishing Well, building in intensity. There are smiles and good vibes all around. Geb leaves and Snah takes over the mic for a beautiful version of Nature’s Way, the first cover so far these two nights. The subdued atmosphere continues with a note perfect version of Manmower, devoid of any pointless jamming which this gem of a song does not need.
We are about 1 hr 30 mins into the set now and we need a shift in atmosphere. It is Saturday night after all! Bent assures us that we need not worry, they are planning on playing for a looong time tonight. He starts out on bass teasing the riff from Song for a Bro, and your heart sinks somewhat in fear of an over-indulgent jam-band version, but it really is a tease, as it only serves as a build-up to launch into Kill Some Day. This is another one of those gems where they pull something extraordinary out of something seemingly somwhat mundane, via the ecstatic middle section. Next up is a forgotten little gem from BHBC, In Our Tree, and another more recent gem with Snah taking the lead vocals on The Magic and The Wonder. And then the familiar notes of Hey Jane has everyone singing along. It *is* Saturday night, after all. This section of «hits» is only a matter of preparing us though, for the onslaught that’s to come. The Alchemyst serves as a signifier. That’s what they are…alchemysts…turning the sometimes ordinary into something quite extraordinary and golden. It builds to a great climax as always, and ends the main set after about 2 hrs. But Bent assures us they will be back. You get the sense they have prepared something special.
And special it is indeed. They open with The House at Pooneil Corners. OMG!! Like Home of the Brave the night before, a track you never expected to hear again. The band playing as if possessed, you get the sense they are both having fun but also rediscovering, in real time, what they started out with – the excitement, energy, desperation and wonder. It continues with another surprise, a blinding version of Mantrick Muffin Stomp. Tucked away as a deep album track on the deep album side to end all deep album sides (side C of Trust Us), this nugget was in fact the first Motorpsycho track that knocked me out, and for that reason alone worth a place on my dream setlist.
But wait, who is that rustling around in the background? Isn’t it…it *is*!! Deathprod! Can it really be that…
Bent says «we never expected to do this ever, ever again, but in such good company, why not?»
You know what’s going to come. The Demon Box. Eyes closed, you want to experience this with every fiber of your body, so you focus only on the sounds and physical sensations from the sheer sound pressure. The middle section gets a bit of Step Inside and several other song quotes from dr Bent’s rock history archives. Perfect.
Can it get any better now? Yes, it can. It gets heavier, louder, and noisier with a devastating Grindstone, Bent screaming «you’ll shatter, you’ll shatter» and finally Deathprod manipulating the sounds and sending them around the room. You get the sense they have somewhat planned this, as they repeat the album segue from the ultimate abrasive tune, Grindstone, into the ultimate sound-of-God tune. The Golden Core. The very moment that Deathprod’s screeching sound manipulation halts, Snah rings out the first chord and summons the faithful to mass.
It is pointless to try to put into words what this song does. I will only say that if you were trying to put into music what it must feel like to see the gates of Heaven opening and the beauty of God revealing itself, it would sound like the climax of The Golden Core.
After the song’s end, everyone is calm and quiet. No cheering, but lots of quiet weeping. Everyone knows it’s over, nothing more to say. We all go home and try to fathom what just went down the past two days.
This is such a difficult challenge! Because the ultimate Motorpsycho concert is a very unpredictable affair – the most mind-blowing setlist on paper can turn out to be an uninspired and tedious affair in real life, and vice versa. The best setlist is always the one *they* want to play at any given time, give or take the X factor that you never know when is going to appear. But all that said, I can try to compile something that would be a great starting point and could potentially be the best gig ever. So it’s going to be a mishmash of tried-and-true stalwarts that just *have* to be there, some real surprises, and some songs that I would just love to hear them play live again. It’s obviously going to be 90s-heavy, but I will try to feature something from every phase.
And I decided to cheat a litte….I pretend this is a double gig, Fri and Sat night. Those are always the best, and a little easier to spread the epics and the oddballs a little…
Friday night, live @ someplace:
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Home of the Brave —>
S.T.G.
Psychotzar —>
Starhammer
Greener
Watersound
Sideway Spiral III
She Left on the Sunship—>
The Wheel—>
Ship of Fools
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Radiance Freq.
Superstooge
Plan #1
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Vortex Surfer
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Friday night. The band comes on and the air is thick with expectation. Bent simply says «good evening» quietly into the mic, then launches into the bass riff from Home of the Brave. Hair stands up on end, and the band has got you by the balls from the first note. It’s extremely heavy, loud and sweaty. People are struggling to come to grips with what just hit them…are they really playing HOME OF THE BRAVE!!?? It segues directly into STG. The band sticks with something familiar, a hard rocking classic that *never* fails to work live. The noise section in the breakdown is extremely skronky, 1998-style, but then gives way to a long, drawn out, spacey jam in a 20-minute version. It’s pretty clear already that the band is in the zone tonight. After the spaciness of the end section of STG, the band brings it back down to the ground with the Sabbath-like riff of Psychotzar, never letting go of the grip they have on their audience. The last section again gives way to some searching, jamming stuff before launching directly into Starhammer, played 2019-style, about 13 mins long. Already this set has seen a *lot* of variation in mood and loudness, but it has been rather heavy and jammy, so it’s time to bring in something familiar. Snah takes the microphone for the «evergreen» Greener, and next up Watersound has everybody swaying with their eyes closed, then pogoing along as the crescendo towards the end comes in. About 60 minutes into the set, Sideway Spiral is played as it was on the 2000-tour, with a repetitive build-up to glorious peak as it goes into the final verse, with some very effective visuals on the background screen. Everyone is extatic at this point as every song has been quite sublime, although there haven’t been any big surprises except for the opening. It’s also time to get rocking again, so the band has chosen a much-neglected number from the early Kenneth era, namely the superb She Left on the Sunship. On the record, it was marred by a slightly confusing ending, but in this setting it works perfectly as an introduction into The Wheel, which starts out probingly, but builds and builds. It’s clear that we are in the thick of the main set now, with the band in a jammy mood. It gets heavier and heavier, the Moog Taurus shaking the foundation of the building, and after about 20 minutes of riding The Wheel, and letting the last chord ring out, we hear the familiar sounds of the playbox opening of Ship of Fools. One of their latter-day masterpieces, you can sense that they really *mean* it, man, when they assure us that they won’t crew any ship of fools. Thomas builds up a drum storm to the glorious, climactic ending. And thus ends the main set after about 1 hr 55 mins.
Of course, everyone knows this isn’t all, so we patiently clap them back, routinely, for the first encore. Wait, what’s that sound….singing glass?? Hadeland’s finest?? OMG, can it really be?? Yes, it really is!! The lost masterpiece in Motorpsycho’s catalogue, unfairly neglected for 20+ years. I nearly break into tears as I hear that droning DGDGAD tuning and Bent croaking «Hey Creator mind, we want in, we want in». It is just as glorious as expected. It is followed directly by the ultimate traktor-bass riff of Superstooge. It is another track that *never* fails to deliver live, and the audience knows and feels it. The symbiosis between band and audience is at an all-time high now, which the band feeds on and prods them into completely unchartered territory in the jam section. I can’t find the words to describe it other than this; it is Motorpsycho-music, and the finest there is. It’s clear that the band planned this encore, because the moment the final note of Superstooge is hit, we hear the classis «the lyrics….you know something? God loves you. And he has a plan for your life». Ah, the mighty Plan #1. Perhaps the very first, undisputable Motorpsycho classic. The first track where they kind of sort of knew they had something special going on. This night it’s obvious it means something special to everyone attending, as the band members desperately play their hearts out. The crowd roars its approval as the song ends, and the wave of applause forces the band back on stage. I am guessing we will hear one of two tracks, and I am correct. Vortex Surfer is probably the only right choice tonight, the only track that could perfectly cap this spectacular set. 2 hrs 45 mins of light and shade, concise and jammy, beautiful and abrasive, loud and quiet. The band has been in a somewhat psychedelic and jammy mood, but never lost sight of the nerve and songcraft at heart of their creations. What else could one want? We will see tomorrow…
Now that’s what I’m talking about! Shame about the sound on the Frankfurt 98 show, but you can easily get an impression of the energy and excellence on display. IMHO, Motorpsycho reached two absolute peaks during the 90s. The first was in late ‘93 and early ‘94, with the ultra-heavy stuff slowly giving way to something a little more ethereal and light. This is nicely displayed on the Vera ‘93 set on the Demon Box deluxe set, and This Is Motorpsycho. Deathprod in full bloom, classics appearing daily in the form of The Golden Core, The Wheel etc.
The second peak was the spring ‘98 tour. They were soooo fucking good at that point, even the singing was occasionally great…
BTW, isn’t that So What show from December 96, and not 97 as it says?
Many thanks for yet another nugget! Sad to hear that the vaults are almost empty. I am hoping that before the barrell is thoroughly sraped there will be some material from 1994 and 1998, my two favourite years. And let’s not forget 1996, when the indie Motorpsycho of 1995 gave way to something both a little harder rocking and spacier.
Devotional, got any more reviews coming up? I really enjoyed them.
Oh, and Snah had the most gorgeous guitar sound on that tour. Love the reverb he threw in every now and then. Unlike a lot of reverb use onstage, it doesn't muddy things up yet it turns the sound into something resembling a cranky, grinding mellotron playing in a church. Very shoe-gazy, but much heavier and throatier than your typical shoe-gazy guitar sound. I've never heard anyone else sounding quite like that.
Fun to see Bent so animated, jumping around and clapping!
This is stunning stuff, although it's frustrating that so many performances are cut short. IMHO, Motorpsycho were so good on that tour it's really quite intimidating. Completely in the zone, and insane energy Levels. Compare with 1992 – they had the energy then, but not quite the skill. By 1998 they had the energy, inspiration, skill and experience to completely own the stage and the entire room by their very presence.
The interview bit is also kind of weird. They come across as aloof in an almost arrogant and intimidating way. Snah not saying a word, Bent hiding behind his sunglasses and with his broken tooth, and Geb trying to be amicable but coming across just slightly stoned (or is it just me?). As close as they ever came to being rock superstars.
Double album with both long and short songs sounds absolutely perfect. I like my Motorpsycho long and varied.
Hey,I'm still here 22 years later.
I didn't really imply a "downhill from there" curve with my comment either. It's just that for sheer divine inspiration, I think that's about when they hit their absolute peak. But they've remained impressively great since then, no real decline in quality and still hitting some phenomenal peaks.Same thing with albums, 1993-98 is still the peak AFAIC but there's so much good stuff even after that, so not much to complain about. And I think The Tower ranks way, way up there (where did something like Ship of Fools come from…only Motorpsycho can come up with something like that).
Motorpsycho in 1998 is at their very peak, IMHO. So this video is, again, pure gold. Especially the stretch from Feel through Wishing Well is transcendant.
Hope we get to see some "proper" 1998 shows soon.
I find those early shows so fascinating just because they are pretty ho-hum at times…yet there is *something* tangible there, a glimpse of future greatness, and of course the odd flash of pure brilliance, like Demon Box. Knowing what would come in just a very short time after this show, makes it an extremely interesting discovery.
I love your write-ups on these shows, Devotional!
I’ve only had time to skim through the latest one, but your review seems spot on. I don’t have a whole lot of shows from 1995, but it’s probably my least favourite of the «golden years» of 1993-99. As you say, the heaviness was tuned down substantially through 1994, but had not yet been replaced with the space-psych of 1996-97. Instead we get some indie rock middle ground with occasionally a lot of Sonic Youth influence. I absolutely love Sonic Youth and I’ve always loved that indie and noise rock element in Motorpsycho (in fact, I think they are at their very best when that element is present), but this concert seems to represent a point of transition where things hadn’t fully developed yet. I also think they kind of fell into place as a power trio after Morten Fagervik was dropped (TBH, I’ve only ever really liked Deathprod and occasionally Reine Fiske as associated members). Anyway, the 1995 gigs I’ve heard just sound a little flat, without the crazy energy of 1993-94 or the space-psych-prog-kraut improv nirvanas of 1996-8.
But yeah, The Golden Core is above criticism, always. Just a remarkable piece of music.
Finally got my copy! I doubtlessly don't need to say this, but this release is an absolute gem of a Motorpsycho artifact. I hadn't thought of this as a 30th anniversary release, but it makes a lot of sense as a celebration of everything that is Motorpsycho. This is humor and weirdness and side-splittingly hilarious nerdy intelligence, all rolled up in a package that, visually, stands with the absolute best they've done. Still haven't got to the music and the two unreleased tracks…
