Talking With Geb
by  Kjetil Wanach Berg 

On this friday night MP played at the student-place 'kvarteret' in bergen.
I went there myself because i'm a die hard fan, but i didn't have these   
HIGH expectations for the gig. I had heard that the two gigs infront had  
been relativly 'bad'. 

The gig:
1.'The whitch'. They started of with this german cover, a rocky thing
which got the audince in a good mood. The band seemed ok to me.      

2. 'Step inside'. I didn't expect it coming, so for me that wa a take off.
One of my favour Mp-songs, and this reworked version was great. Snah had  
some great guitar riffs goin, and geb seemed energic too.                 

3. 'Heartbreaker'. I think all of the new songs were great, although the
band seemed kinda uninspired at this time of the gig. They where kinda  
just 'playin' them.

4. 'High time'. Same as above.

5. 'Feel'. As always a cool social pornographic tune, with bent's rusty
voice. The audience sang along with great energy. [bent said afterwords:
'så dåkk lik dæm gammlan å'---so you like this old ones too]            

6. 'Psychonaut'. The most rockin tune for the night. I like to call it the
'cooper-test' for the audience. Especially these long ones, great just    
great. The band was going up now.

7. 'Superwheel'. A long version of this nice mix song. Super had the main
character this time, with the audience singing greatly along on snahs    
lyrics. Slightly different from the version from 'garage' last time, which
I think was better. Bent was 'mommling' something in the middle of        
'wheel', but i didn't recognize what it was. Snah had some great guitar   
stuff goin i remember, but didn't finish it though.

8. 'You lied'. Bent introduced the song with: 'gebhardts gonna sing'. Geb
was pointing and waving with his hands to 'pidah', but as usual bent     
sang. Geb rocked longer then ever in the middle though, the audience was 
there now.'

9. 'Black to comm--not fade away--black to comm'. A great tune which got
the band and the audience [i think] into a great mood. But sadly they   
where finished after it, and audience started shouting for MORE.        
-------------------------------------------------                       
10. 'STG'. It seemed like as if it had been a long time since they had  
palyed, but it was ok. I don't like it that they are ending the song so 
early, better in the older days.

11. 'YMB'. I like this song, but after the version they served us last
time at 'garage', i think it'll be a log time until the next time we'll
here such a great version, as at garage. But hey it was cool like always.
-------------------------------------------------
12. I remember i hoped for 'Un chien', but didn't expect it. It came and
it was great. They did the same version as at 'samfundet' i think, but  
without the 'Astral travelling' infront of 'un chien' pt.1.             

That was it. I had had another great night with motorpscyho. A concert
which defenately was a 'on the middle' gig. The band was rockin ok, and
the audience behaved stunningly well.

I had a long talk with 'Gebhardt' after the show. Who was 'sånn passe
fornøgd'---that is 'pretty satisfied'. They where upgoing he said, after
two minor shows the days infront. The 'samfundet' and 'rockefeller' gigs
they had it real going he said, but the best one they delivered at      
'hamar'. After 'hamar' they had a little down period, but know they where
growing up.
           
I also talked to a 'italien' guy, who had seen all the shows here in
norway, except for the samfundet gig. He had travelled all the way from
italy. A real die hard fan i must say.

Thanx for listening to my story...see ya,.

Helsing KW

--

Okeyleedokeyleeee, psycherinos! :-)

Here are my thoughts on last night's gig. This was only my third MP gig, 
and the second one as a fan. Last fall's gig at Garage was 
a bit disappointing, an opinion shared by most people I've 
spoken to. And even though I was prepared that I wouldn't get to hear 
too many of my favourites this time either, I was a lot more
optimistic and very eager to hear the new songs. As I came to Kvarteret 
around 22:20, the vibes were excellent. The DJ really had his/her shit  
together, and brilliant tunes were putting us in the right mood:        
Pavement (Stereo), dEUS (Suds & Soda), Sonic Youth (100%), Built to     
Spill (Center of the Universe), Sebadoh (Flame) etc. There were smiles 
all around, and my friends and I managed to secure some great spots back
in front of the soundboard, on the steps over at Snah's side. From here 
we could see all the action, being slightly elevated over the rest of   
the crowd. It was already getting pretty damp. I know they had some 30  
tickets left at Apollon on Friday morning. but I'd guess it was sold    
out. Teglverket at Kvarteret takes some 400-500 people, I think.       

The band came on around 23:00. They started off with The Witch, that
German cover tune. I think this was a *lot* of fun, especially with 
those hilarious movements they did in the choruses (backing suddenly off
and throwing the hands up in the air, as if being struck by the Witch's 
black magic... :-)). The chorus had some great singing, and all in all  
this was a great opening song. The vibes were decidedly different from  
the Garage gig, when they opened with a white-noise version of Un Chien 
d'Espace. The band seemed to be in a great mood and had a lot of fun.  
Lots of smiles onstage during the first few songs.
Next tune was the reworked version of Step Inside. I didn't know this
tune from before (shame on me for not picking up Lobotomizer and 8   
Soothing Songs before Friday...), but it was OK. Gebhardt played some
great drums on this one, basically holding down the same pattern     
throughout. 
Then it was time for two new originals, Heartbreaker and It's About High
Time. I can't really say that much about them. Like Fade to Grey, which 
I heard at Garage, I'll have to hear them a few more times. They seemed 
OK, but not sensational. Definitely lighter than stuff like Superstooge 
and The Wheel, but not exactly pop either. They were a bit too static   
and had too little melody to qualify as strictly pop. I think both had 
some slightly extended soloing by Snah, and had a sort of jamming      
quality. They probably sound different in the studio, so we'll have to 
wait until the new album to decide for sure. I wish they'd played the 
other new ones as well (Fade to Grey, Big Surprise and Glow), but this  
was what we got last night.
Feel was next, and this turned into a sing-along (I kept my mouth shut,
though... :-)) It was very warmly received by the crowd. Gebhardt played
mellotoron sounds on his midi(?) keyboard. Doesn't sound quite like an  
original mellotron, but it will suffice in a live setting.              
This was the highlight so far, along with The Witch. After this song,   
upon the crowd's ecstatic responce, Bent said "So you like the old ones,
eh?", and the crowd roared back a unison "Yeeeahhhh!!".                 
Then they headed into familiar repertoire with Superstooge and The      
Wheel. I should mention that the sound last night wasn't up to scratch a
lot of the time. The bass was *very* loud, and Snah's guitar and Rhodes 
seemed to drift in and out of the mix. Is it really that difficult?     
I don't think these tunes were that great this time. I prefer the       
Roadwork versions. Jamming can be nice sometimes, but they seem to      
takemore or less every song into an extended improvisation these days.  
These songs fit that approach, but yesterday I think the cacophony took 
over from the music-making at times, though that impresion is probably  
influenced by the occasionally poor sound. I think this medley was      
probably some 20 minutes yesterday. Snah played Rhodes during most of   
The Wheel, but all in all I don't think it got anywhere. Psychonaut     
followed this up, and for me it was the definitive low point yesterday. 
To these ears, it sounded like nothing but a noise-fest. When Bent      
started doing that thing with the slide, you couldn't really hear what  
he was doing, it was all a complete soup of sound. I didn't like this   
tune last time around, and I didn't like it this time either. It's very 
good on Trust Us, but I don't think it works live, and I wish they'd    
stop playing it.
It was a relief then, when they started You Lied. I've said that I'm
getting tired of hearing this live, which is true, but this was the best
version I've heard. Lots of energy, and a long drum solo, where Snah    
started comping with some wah-wah guitar. This segued as we all know    
into Black to Comm, which featured Not Fade Away. At Garage they played 
4 cover tunes, this time 3. That's still too many, in my opinion. Black 
to Comm is OK, but again, we all know what's gonna come, which takes    
away much of the point of the extended jamming they do. Bent put in his 
by-now familiar Back to Source lines. At the danger of sounding like a  
complete whiner, why does he do that every time? It could be fun once,  
but I frankly don't see the point of singing just a few text lines from 
another song when we all know they're not gonna play the real Back to   
Source. Back to Source is menacing, Black to Comm is not. It just comes 
off sounding comical to me on Roadwork, with that bass humping along    
underneath as Bent goes "the empire never ended...". Oh well...         
They left the stage, and Mr. Power and I both agreed that we weren't    
rally fulfilled. There had been no surprises so far, and I never thought
we'd get any. We started wondering if they'd lost it...did they really  
know what they were doing etc...and as they walked on again, I said: We 
all know what's gonna come now, don't we? They're gonna play either one 
of the new ones, or Hogwash or California Dreamin'...yeah, yeah.....big 
surprise..... Bent strapped on his SG bass, and then...lo and behold!!!!
S.T.G.!!!!!!!! I went completely nuts, and the crowd seemed *very* happy
with the choice. Finally!!! I thought they'd never play it again!! This 
was, without a doubt, the high point of the evening for me. I know that 
you old-time fans probably have heard this loads of times, but this was 
my first time. Maybe the read that post I made urging them to move back 
Un Chien and play something from Blissard? This was indeed a moment of  
bliss, when they really showed off their full talents. If there's one   
major complaint I can make about the way Motorpsycho have developed, it 
is that they somehow seem to have substituted a bit of the brilliant    
songwriting of Timothy and Blissard with improvisational and            
instrumental prowess, at least in a live setting. Don't get me wrong, I 
love the band, and I think Trust Us is their best album overall (and the
one that got me into them), but most of my favourite tunes can be found 
on those two albums. The two past concerts seem to have centered around 
longer and looser forms, with less of the sublime songwriting they're   
capable of (like the middle section of Kill Some Day or the brilliantly 
carved-out Sinful Wind-borne...). As a band, there's no doubt that      
they've grown better and better, and play tighter and tighter in spite  
of their cutting more and more loose. In S.T.G. I think it all comes    
together, and thus may be the ultimate MP tune for me so far. So, is    
there any reason to wonder why this was the climax for me yesterday? :-)
Nevermind that Bent forgot parts of the lyrics, and it somehow just fell
apart after the noise part was over. It's been a while since they've    
played it, but I hope they'll start doing it again. It was beautiful to 
see them lift up the guitars!!
Young Man Blues was the second encore. I could definitely live without a
third cover tune, and this is also the third time I hear it live. Nice  
enough, but I want to hear Motorpsycho tunes.
The band went off agan, and the crowd duly demanded more, more more....
When Bent put on his Danelectro, I though they were gonna play Vortex  
Surfer, but the tuning was more like Un Chien, which indeed it was.    
About 20 minutes long, and like the version they played at Garage last 
fall, this went right into a white-noices section after the opening. An
OK version, but nowhere near Roadwork.

All in all, a better gig than the previous one, but still they have even
more in them, I'm convinced, at least as far as variety and surprises   
are concerned. I would only demand that much from a band which I truly  
love and admire, cause I know that Motorpsycho are capable of putting on
the most amazing concert I've ever seen. They still haven't quite done  
it, but it was closer this time. Last gig was a 4 out of 6, this one    
probably a 5.

Thorleif S. Hoff

--

First MP gig
Hi

I saw my first MP show last night, and it was really good, although I was a tad
dissapointed that they didn´t play Vortex Surfer.

Here is my impression of the songs:
                     
>The Witch           
>Step Inside         
>Heartbreaker        
>It's About High Time
I liked them, but I think I need more then one listen to the new songs. They are
more poppy then the rest of the songs, but they still rock.
     
     
>Feel

Really great version, Geb played some mellotron or something on this song.
             
>Superstooge 
I liked this version better then the Roadwork version, at the end of this one
and before The Wheel they had some serious jamming going on.
          
>The Wheel
I love this song, I would say that this was the highlight along with S.T.G.
           
           
>Psychonaut
I hadn´t expected to hear this one, but not as big a surprise as S.T.G.
         
>You Lied
It works better live then on record

>Black to Comm (including Not Fade Away + Back to Source
Not fade away is definately the Boddy Holly song.

>S.T.G.
       
A surprise, One of my favourites. This one really rocks. For my this was the
highlight of the evening. When they started the intro it "send chills up and
down my spine" to quote Neil Young. 

>Young Man Blues
Really great to hear this one. Really good version. Bent also changed a line
when he sang "it´s the old and bold man whos got all the money". During the song
the also started to lift their guitar and bass in the air, and the last time    
they did that Bent lowered his bass, and stuck his tongue at Snah, they were    
clearly enyoing themselves.

>Un Chien d'Espace

A "short" version, about 20 minutes, great singing by Bent. Right at the end of
Chien part 1 Snah fucked up when he forgot to play the last notes before the   
noisy part.

Askil

--

Great gig

I 've think i 've seen them better , but a great gig indeed .
I really liked the new one the witch , with bents crazy armmovements at
the chorus.
  
Also , You lied was introduced by bent like this : " On this next song ,
Gebhardt is gonna sing " . I really hoped for å psychotic you lied , but
he didn't sing afterall ..
  
I remember alot of extra sections in many songs (from previous live             
versions ), and some of them excellent.           
  
The sound had too much bass in it , and that ruined quite a bit ..
  
But when they come back for the first encore (un chien , the rounder we
go) the sound was alot more massive . I stood there stunned for a while .

They also had the video screen behind them . For those who made duck signs
on them and other stuff. If it was funny (which it imo wasnt) , it would
only been funny the couple of first times, not the thousenth .

By the way , who has made those video backdrops (not that they are
exceptionally good or anything) ?
          
all in all  , a great gig

"Remember , it takes two persons to lie ,
One to lie ,
And one to listen " H.s

Daffy : www.lstud.ii.uib.no/~s866

--

brilliant band

What can I say? They've done it again! Such a brilliant band..
I've read in a couple of mails that MP have become to predictable in their
choice of setlist. Well, you should have been at kvarteret.

They opened with some new tracks (one cover and two new ones I think), and
then played a great version of Feel (after which bent commented "dokk lik
dem gaimlan ja!, æ synes no brann va bæst i 68 versjonen ja"). This choice
of tune came as a total surprise to me I have to say. I won't try to make
any complete setlist, but I can mention that they played great version of
tracks like Psychonaut, Young man blues, STG and Step Inside. This in
adition to the usual tracks like Black to comm, Super/Wheel and you lied.
And when they entered the stage for the third time, they did NOT play  
vortex surfer, but finnished of with the K9 suit instead. (That's right,
they didn't play vortex!).

The crowd was ecstatic, and Bent left with the words "dokk e bæst!" :)

-Rune