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MP came to Rockefeller Saturday with a surprisingly similar setlist to the show in Skien. The first 11 (!) songs were the same. It wasn't until "Superstooge" (my first since 2002) kicked in – wrong bass and all – that we got a change. Instead of "Hell", we also got "Upstairs/Downstairs" and "Cloudwalker (A Darker Blue)" before "Manmower", and the "Big Black Dog"/"Here Be Monsters" finale. We can only speculate why, but one possibility is that they wanted to have a well-oiled set for today's taping. Yes, the show was pro-shot, and the audience was informed by the entrance that the gig would be filmed. Footage from the camera at the first gallery + soundboard audio was streamed live to a big screen by the merch table. It looked stunning with the new backdrop. I could occasionally spot a camera-guy by the first row downstairs too.
I thought I was going to be smart and buy the limited 12" early, but it was sold out 10 minutes into the show. I queued up for 15 minutes (with the whole line rocking out to "S. T. G."),, but just missed out on one. When Bent introduced HBM, and said that it was available at the merch stand, many people shouted "NOOO! SOLD OUT!", which made Bent smile and make a comment to Kenneth.
Snah played a particularly good show imho, and seemed very energised by the new material. The set-up with the mellotrons and pedals looked and sounded very cool, but kept Bent and Snah very busy, and there were some "rough around the edges" moments. And yes, Bent messed up the beginning of "Superstooge" (which rules, btw). That didn't detract from the concert as a whole, though. It was very, very good. Bent was in fine voice, save for breaking up completely during the first line of "Whole Lotta Diana" (that definitely didn't seem intentional). I agree that "Manmower" was a bit of a low-point, with Kenneth being the main offender. His feel was just too loose and sloppy during the verses, and it sounded almost ironic. He played an otherwise excellent show, though. As for "Big Black Dog", while the song itself might not be an all-time-favourite, the lead-out riff at the very end is imho a classic MP riff (I LOVE Bent's bass-line) that could almost reach Golden Core-heights, had they settled into a beat at some point. They stayed in the hurricane, but just hearing that part played was a huge highlight for me, and it was SO much better than the record, as was the heavy version of "Spin, Spin, Spin". "S. T. G." Is a great choice for second track. I thought "I. M. S." worked well too, and "Lacuna/Sunrise" was open and beautiful. Bent's bass-lines on the new tracks are brilliant, and have to be experienced live.
"Feedtime" was great (very stoked that they've kept playing it), and I filmed that one and the entire 25-minute "Here Be Monsters". I for one loved to see Snah and Bent build those layers of sound, although there were some hiccups – which again leads me to think that Bob LeBad might not see this entire gig fit for release. We'll see about that, but I enjoyed it a lot. Would I have traded "Upstairs/Downstairs", "Cloudwalker" (which was excellent) AND "Manmower" for "Psychonaut" alone? Of course, but as it happened the concert really fit my mood that day, and it was a great experience overall.
Go see this tour, it can only get better!
Thanks so much for the info, Rolf and Tomcat. There's one video up so far ("Sunchild"):
Thanks to the taper! I'm repeating my request to those going tonight ("Feedtime" and "Gutwrench" pretty please?).
Psychonauts: This is just a personal request, but I'm sure others would be interested too.
To those present at these shows – unless you'll be engaging actively in the actual concert – be it losing yourself completely in the music with eyes closed, moshing down the front or screaming your lungs out to "Mr. Who" (hehe), please get your cameras out and film the rare tracks, such as "Feedtime", "Gutwrench", "Sunchild", "Babylon", "Mr. Who", "Sheer Profoundity" and the title track. Mainstream media (if present) tend to focus on the "classics", such as "Waiting For The One" and "Nothing To Say", and we certainly can't count on MP themselves to document (although a three night run would be the PERFECT opportunity for an epic Roadworks release).
The fact that we don't have a complete film from Øya 2010 (or at least the final hour) is an absolute tragedy, and the same can to a certain extent be said about Slottsfjell, but at least now we have the chance again.
I'm not in any way urging people to step out of the concert experience to stand back and passively film, or distract others with cameras, but for those who're not too physically or spiritually preoccupied, it would make a brilliant contribution to the community to document these incredibly rare tracks live. "Gutwrench", "Feedtime", the title track, "Mr. Who" and "Sheer Profoundity" would be on top of my wishlist, ymmv. Good quality audio recordings would also be much appreciated.
Have a great time, everybody. I'm there in spirit.
Quote:otherdemon: For some reason they played Junior before Babylon/Mr. Who. Bent said "for dramaturgic reasons we're gonna play side 4 now" and then they went straight into Junior. Not sure why they swapped the order, but whatever.Thanks, you're absolutely right! I've updated the setlist.
Quote:Netsrak: Did you spot any professional cameras, btw?Unfortunately, no. There were no cameras onstage, and save for a journalist who was down in the pit with a camera and a microphone during "Waiting For The One" (focusing mainly on the crowd), I couldn't see any cameras elsewhere either. I planned to shoot/record the whole thing, but security was really tight, and while the guards were cool with photos, they didn't seem to like filming. Maybe someone did some more extensive taping further back, but from down the front, it's unlikely we'll see more than brief clips.
I shot some footage following the first couple of psychonauts up the stairs, right from when the gates were opened, as well as a brief clip of "Sheer Profoundity" and the amazing "Step Inside Again"-section of "Demon Box", interspersed with some pictures and footage from later that night at Slottsfjell. It's only 5 minutes or so, but if you want to see it, it's here:
Setlist:
Waiting For The One
Nothing To Say
Feedtime
Gutwrench
Sunchild
Mountain
Tuesday Morning
All Is Loneliness
Junior
Babylon
Mr Who
Plan #1
Sheer Profoundity
The One Who Went Away
—
Come On In
Demon Box > Step Inside Again > Demon Box
Note: Bent only barely left the stage to pick up an acoustic for "Come On In", so maybe it's stretching it to call it an encore, but the rest of the band did say "Takk for oss" and waved goodbye before leaving the stage.
So here I am back at home. Too numb to type, really. Words can not express how beautiful and surrealistic it was to get the whole album that kicked off my Motorpsychodelic journey played out in front of me like this. And I have to say that in my humble opinion the music if possible occupies even more of its own space now than it did back in 1993. There really isn't anything quite like it around. Not in the Motorpsycho catalogue, nor anywhere else. It is such an incredible record – dark and lysergic, and it really came to life tonight.
… And it almost didn't happen. Six concerts were cancelled at Slottsfjell today, and several were moved because of the strong wind. It wasn't until exactly 21:47 that the stairs opened, and we knew it would happen after all. Snah looked a bit worried when I saw him 20 minutes earlier, and the first thing Bent told us was that if the wind went past 15 m/s during the show, the festival would pull the plug on them, "so breathe against the wind". Luckily the wind was on our side, and we got the whole record. The band played for roughly 1 hour and 40 minutes.
The line-up was Geb, Kenneth, Bent, Snah and Deathprod. I believe they played the album in the order of side 1, 2, 4 (referenced as side "D" by Bent) and 3 (with "Step Inside Again" being played as part of "Demon Box", '93 style) (edit: as otherdemon pointed out, Junior was played before "Babylon" and "Mr Who"). Seeing Geb (with his four-piece drum kit) back on stage was such a joy. Not only did he still have it, but he seemed to have a very good report with Kenneth. They both played all the "drum songs" with two drum-kits, occasionally alternating roles, such as on "All Is Loneliness", where Geb played toms, and Kenneth cymbals (if I'm not mistaken). Bent and Snah stayed on acoustic for that one. It was pretty close to the album version, but was one of the very few underwhelming moments during the gig imho. It just felt a bit out of focus, and much less epic than the longer electric versions we've been spoiled with. Bent struggled a bit with his bass pedals throughout, or should I say that the sound engineer did, because whenever he stepped on them, it was a hit or miss as to how they would sit in the mix. They worked wonders when they did, though (such as on "Feedtime" and "Mountain"), and by "Plan #1" the mix was finally great down the front. It was bliss.
But yeah, some obvious technical difficulties aside, it's just impossible for me to write an "objective" or "intellectual" report of this gig. It was such a primal experience. And although the sound was probably better further back, I decided to stay up front (held the barrier) to mingle with the hardcore Psychonauts (of which there was plenty – one came all the way from California just to catch this gig), and avoid most of the stupendously drunk and chatty crowd, which was surprisingly respectful when Bent asked for quiet during "Come On In", and surprisingly energetic during "The One Who Went Away", where there was some serious moshing going on (Bent also jokingly urged the crowd to pogo and mosh like it was the 90's). Deathprod was smiling and nodding his head, clearly approving of the moshing, as was Snah, who had that wide awake but tripping "YES!"-look he gets sometimes.
Most of us in the the front row were headbanging and screaming our lungs out during "Feedtime", "Gutwrench" and "Sheer Profoundity" (tonight is was the harder – the more ecstatic), and although we couldn't hear all that much of the vocals where I stood, Bent's voice held up surprisingly well through all of the screaming, because he sounded fine during "Come On In". It did take its toll, though. His eyes looked nearly psychotic after a few of the tracks, and he took frequent swigs from a small bottle in his pocket. Still, a superb performance. Snah did a good amount of primal screaming himself, and generally seemed to be very energised and moved by the music. For "Demon Box", Bent sang most of the verses alone, and Snah came in and screamed the "I need you like I need gangrene"-part, which worked better than at Henie Onstad, where they both sang the verses.
I may be wrong, but I believe Bent sang some previously unheard words instead of laughing during "Tuesday Morning" (which was another track where they seemed to struggle a bit). Also of note, for "Mr Who" (which was really sweet and goofy), Kenneth played a small toy kit while Geb played acoustic guitar and sang back-up. Bent did all the electric songs with his Rickenbacker, and Snah played the violin for "Waiting For The One", but did not pull it out again for any psychedelic jamming like he did in '93.
And speaking of jamming – although they played for an hour and forty, there wasn't really a whole lot of time to stretch out, so many of the jammy tracks, such as "Nothing To Say" and "Mountain" were quite conservative, and I often wished they'd gone on for another couple of minutes. The big one was obviously saved for last, and I've never heard a more beautiful noise-out than the one they did for "Step Inside Again" into the last part of "Demon Box". It was fucking brutal. Deathprod gave his all here, at one point kneeling and feeding against the monitors while Bent was up against his amps, and Snah was noising away with a screwdriver on his guitar. I wish it would have gone on forever. A guy next to me told me he had trouble breathing because of the massive bass. I was certain the PA was gonna blow, but somehow it made it. It was a triumph. Bent thanked the crowd with glassy eyes afterwards, and the ovation went on for at least 5 minutes (maybe more) until the crew started packing up.
It must have been torturous for the band to spend a whole day in uncertainty, not knowing whether the gig was gonna happen or not, and even while they played there was always the chance of it being cut short. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but the added stress and tension seemed to bring an extra nerve to the performance. They played and sang like their lives depended on it. What can I say? You all should've been there.
Worrying news from Tønsberg. Two stages, including Kastellscenen (where MP is playing at 22:15) have had to be temporarily closed off because of strong wind. The festival is working on solutions, but it will cause a delay, and the wind is not expected to become better until tomorrow.
Update: A third stage (Campingvogna) is now closed too, and several concerts have been moved. No word yet about Motorpsycho. Further updates continually posted to Slottfjell's Facebook.
Update 2: Four concerts are now cancelled (Orango, Little Simz, Comet Kid and 1349).
Update 3: MP will apparently go forward 22:15!
Update 4: More drama. Horrible news. Weather worse. A new decision will be taken at 21:30. Fingers crossed…!!!
First show was the Unicorn (approx. 80 mins). No encore. Standing ovation. Lights were incredible. Sound was so-so (second row), but the performance was flawless. "Into the Gyre" (beautiful strings) and "La Lethe" + the ending of "Into the Mystic" (Snah in God-mode) were clear highlights for me. Also: I have never heard Bent sing better. He was fantastic. It was an Opera worthy indeed. Loads of cameras filming the set. More later (sending from the phone).
I have to say that this was a much better all round experience than I expected. I've never been to a gig at Sentrum with even remotely good sound, and while the sound was never great where I stood (middle of the ground floor, about five rows in), it did improve from the complete mush it was from "Out Of The Woods" through to "Doldrums" into something physically involving, and thus enjoyable. That being said – the sound of Bent and Snah's amps was absolutely fantastic, but the drums were more or less drowned out to the point of being a sloppy mess (which they actually weren't, as Kenneth seemed to be playing with loads of focus and passion). Maybe the sound was a whole lot better further back/higher up in the room?
The band were in very good form, under beautiful lights, clearly enjoying themselves, and playing with a lot of heart. A big plus was the vocal performance from Bent and Snah, which was excellent imho. The vocals were loud and clear where I stood, and I haven't heard them sing this well in years. Bent was also going for a few screams throughout, and nailed some really high notes during "La Lethe", which was the CLEAR highlight of the set! It was absolutely MASSIVE, and the biggest rush I've felt from any new song live since "The Alchemyst". It really was "The Wheel"-heavy, and was the jaw dropping moment where they really brought out the magic for me tonight.
The level of musicianship was obviously insane. Snah was definitely in God-mode, and while he did struggle with a few technical issues, his tone and feel was exceptional throughout. Bent did an amazing job at keeping everything together, while still being on top of all the impovs. Is there a finer bass player in the universe? I don't think so.
"Mutiny" was great (as expected), with some very tight and energetic jamming towards the end, and as otherdemon pointed out, "Into The Gyre" (which is also my favourite track on the record) was very, very good. Another highlight was Ståle's psychedelic synth-work during "Into The Mystic", where he almost sounded like Deathprod at times. If this was because of a keyboard failure (which I didn't catch), it was really for the better! He continued to impress me during "Gullible's Travails", which was about 50 times better than the Rockefeller-gig on the Heavy Metal Fruit tour. "III) Circle" was absolutely gorgeous, Floyd-ish psychedelia.
In some ways I agree with the posters from Trondheim who pointed out that "Gullible's" might not be what you really want to hear after 90 minutes of the Unicorn, but this version was so well played, that it felt more right than wrong. Very inspired. "Burn" was hysterical, but played with less irony than some might have hoped for. They absolutely nailed it, and it was a great display of how brilliantly shameless Motorpsycho can be when it comes to going "all out rock", and also a friendly reminder of how exciting that can be in itself when it's done at the lysergic energy level of a band like Motorpsycho. And although '74 Purple IS very hairy territory, it seemed fitting yesterday with Snah up there on stage looking like Ritchie Blackmore's cooler, younger brother, having just finished a progressive rock opera. There were people in the audience from various younger bands that would never in a million years admit to having liked a Deep Purple track (even in their childhood), fiercely banging their heads to "Burn". Snah didn't go for Hughes' high notes, but Bent did, and I was smiling all the way through the song.
The audience was generally very responsive and positive, but talkative, which was a bit disappointing, but not unexpected. A few people also seemed to walk out, and a guy right behind me was pointing out loudly just how dreadful it was, while his friend was trying to convince him (just as loudly) that it wasn't that dreadful. Still, it seemed to me that the band won over most of the sceptics, and Sentrum was shaking from all the people clapping and stomping their feet after the Unicorn/encores. The reception was in general much better than the lame Rockefeller audience on the last tour.
While the album itself doesn't make my personal top 10 out of MP's albums, it is way better than Heavy Metal Fruit imho, and also made for a much better live experience. I have to agree with Evol that the Unicorn was a hundred times better live – which much of their work is anyway, but this one to a larger extent than I was hoping for, and thus I am also hoping for a stripped down Roadwork. There were no cameras at Sentrum, as far as I could tell.
I love the fact that after 23 years, Motorpsycho is still an irresistible, colourful challenge that keeps expanding minds and inducing unprecedented sonic bliss. Looking forward to the Opera!
