Motorhead/The Reverend Horton Heat/Nashville Pussy - 9:30 Club - September 8 2009

Nashville Pussy - Ok, so this guy in line is giving me a hard time (with humor--see below) and he gives me a tip that I should stand on the right side of the stage up front for this band. So I do so as the crowd is slow to build to its ultimate near sell-out size. Was his reasoning:
(a) The lead guitar sound will come through clearer?
(b) The lead guitarist has the best rock moves?
(C) Both a+b
(d) The blonde female lead guitarist has large barely covered breasts.
(e) He will be on the left and he doesn't want to see me nearby.
My answer is (b), but since he was a beer drinkin', foot stompin' guy in a Sturgis t-shirt, I'll let you guess which is his answer. Anyway, the band crunched through some good southern fried sleazy blistering hard rock and was quite good. The lead guitarist was the spirit of the band (a four-piece, 2 guys, 2 women). The male vocalist/rhythm guitarist didn't really stand out to give me much more than an entertaining set, so I don't sense anything really big here (as opposed to Valiant Thorr who I saw with Motorhead last year and I really thought did this a whole lot better). But they did rev up the crowd and were a strong effective band to start the show.

The Reverend Horton Heat - The Reverend plays guitar and sings in front of a drummer and a stand-up bass player and has been doing this for quite a while now. I wasn't sure if it was a good fit at a Motorhead show, although I do notice an older more varied crowd than for the Opeth and Mastodon shows at this club. And now that I think about it, I wasn't even frisked tonight, so the 9:30 trusts us Motorhead-heads more than the modern metal followers. The Rev does a great psychobilly through a Texas juke joint style. In case you weren't sure, he revs it up best in a song called "Psychobilly Freakout". The band was hot, the crowd was into it and all was well and everyone was happy. So quit yer worryin', son.

Motorhead - The trio came out with classics like Iron Fist and Stay Clean before mixing in old and new. No matter the song, the strength of the band's sound always came through loud and clear. It's fascinating to see one guitar and bass create the thick sonic soup that this duo has been doing for a quarter of a century now. Lemmy is actually closing in on 40 years soon and still sounds like he gargles with battery acid (as my friend said in 1982). A really great hard rock band that belongs at the pantheon for me along with Black Sabbath and Metallica in the history of metal/hard rock. Motorhead isn't exactly metal, has attitudes of punk even, but is a can't miss band if you want it loud and heavy. The drumming didn't seem quite as strong this time and it was explained that this was the first show for Matt Sorum (G'n'R/Velvet Revolver) who was filling in for Mikki Dee who was off in Malaysia shooting a reality show for Swedish tv. Huh? He did fine, but the breaks weren't quite as smooth as I saw last time. Barely worth a mention.

Quote of the Night: "Are you sure you are in the right line with that book on finance?" from the Sturgis biker guy behind me giving me crap about the ever present book I carry with me everywhere. No problem, bud, I was following Motorhead when Larry Wallis of the Pink Fairies was their guitarist and they were releasing singles on Stiff Records along side label mates, the Damned and Elvis Costello.

Bonus Quote: As I walked home, some nice young ladies in a car at the light at the corner of my condo, were wishing me well and the passenger asked if I knew where K Street was. "You're on it" was the obvious reply as she tried not to look too sheepish. That's the second time I've given this type of answer in the last few months.