Last night at Turner Hall Ballroom, as blistering guitar solos, passionate and at times almost growling vocals and echoing explosions of drumsticks floated amplified into the multitude of ears that came to listen, it was loud and clear that the ferocity of the power trio is alive and well.
London's fast-rising Band of Skulls and California veteran act Black Rebel Motorcycle Club made sure to throw in enough intensity so much that it was almost beautifully defining. So much so that midway in the BRMC set the amplifiers in the speaker couldn't take it, leaving the band to pull out the acoustic guitar for a song or two.
Concert goers who entered the venue before the show were greeted with a hazy atmosphere created by a fog machine on stage and cascading streams of blue and green lights on stage. It was fitting as going into the show I knew there'd be some black leather-back roads -mysterious vibe to many of the songs (which is to be expect for two bands with rough and tough names.
While Black Rebel Motorcycle Club has revved its engines in clubs and venues around the globe since 1998, Band of Skulls are fairly new to the game as they started two years ago. The band's popularity has exploded however quickly over the past year, with the release of their debut album "Baby Darling Doll Face Honey" and getting a wealth of coverage including a recent Daytrotter session. As they charged into their set, it became evident that the band could hold their own and took command with a powerfully charismatic and hard rocking performance.
The band's set featured a run through many of the songs from the aforementioned album, including the catchy and dance-inducing groovy jungle beat of "I Know What I Am." The band's furious but slightly polished guitar riffs /solos and drum beats amongst the changing strobe lights brought up many cheers from the decent sized crowd that had showed up early. Their song "Fires" perfectly captured the mood of the night as they sung "We are fires in the night."
One of the things I really like about Band of Skulls is the interchange of vocal duties of Russell Marsden (who also plays guitar) and Emma Richardson (bass guitar) and how well their playing fits with Matthew Hayward's catchy beats on drums (Hayward seemed to be the most charismatic of the three as he let loose on the drums). Their vocals definitely conjured up thoughts of classic acts from the ‘70s and ‘80s. At one point Marsden and Richardson came together at the center of the stage and the sounds from their guitar and bass wrapped around each other, echoing and complimenting each other as they built up to a crescendo.
If you would say Band of Skulls started the night on fire, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club certainly spread that fire into an uncontrollable fire storm. Exploding onto the stage with blistering guitars, pounding guitar beats and trance inducing light show, the band revved up its engines and rolled through their set with an undeniably amplified and mind-melting furiosity not willing for compromise. The band featured a number of songs from the recent album, "Beat the Devil's Tattoo," as well as a selection of songs from their diverse catalog including at least one from their first album.
The ground-rattling guitar riffs from singers/guitarists Peter Hayes and Robert Been and the driving stomp of new drummer Leah Shapiro (mixed in with the band adding a lot of distortion) clearly got the crowd pumped up, leading many of the crowd members to raise their fist, dance or just nod their heads wildly to the music. The light show was as powerful as the band's almost defining sound as the band strolled through songs like "Mama Taught Me Better" and "Spread Your Love," with passionate and sometimes brooding lyrics telling tales of the wild and dangerous side of life and struggles.
The band, who have frequently showed their interest in blues-rock/roots rock over their history, made sure to include a handful of those songs which helped the pace of the show.
While not as intense, those songs were just as powerful, sometimes featuring harmonica and driving beats that got the crowd jumping around and enjoying themselves.
Midway through the set as the band was preparing to roar into another stroll into intensity they ran into a issue with the amplifier on the speakers not sounding right. Shapiro began to slam her drumsticks with madding force as Been and Hayes tried to start into the song only to decide they weren't getting the right sound. While the problem was being looked at, the band dove into a mini-acoustic set, featuring Hayes singing the powerful and emotional "The Toll" and Been offering up another acoustic number from the band's history.
While not everyone in the crowd may have liked it, I thought it was a real treat as it was a chance for both singers to show off their vocal ability. The band featured a song during the set also that featured piano, guitar and drums which showed even more diversity of the band.
For those who were looking to get back into the band's intense hard rock grasp, they didn't have to wait long as the band fired into hard hitting songs soon after.
The band fired out the lyrics of "Whatever Happened to My Rock ‘n Roll" but it was clear that rock and roll was just fine that night. The band fired off "Spread Your Love" before stepping off the stage but as the motorcycles revving up one last time distortion intermingled with loud cheers from the crowd showed that it wasn't quite over yet. The band put their foot forcefully on the pedal as they charged into several songs including an epic version of "Shadow's Keeper" that featured the band fanning the fire of exploding guitars and drums that shook Turner Hall.
Been and Hayes ended the night with a guitar driven song that one could see as the band riding off into the sunset.
The power trio won the day.
