“We are Motorhead; we play rock n’ roll!”
Motérhead, the Reverend Horton Heat and Nashville Pussy
leave the Vogue Theatre in shambles October 1, 2009.

By Kristina “Still can’t hear a
damn thing” Mameli

arely does a concert in Vancouver

turn into such an indescribably

surreal experience. Braving a
devastating illness, that’s more than likely
the swine flu, I ventured out into the light
rain with my fellow metal paraphernalia-
clad masses to the Vogue. We were all
about to experience one of the most
absurdly amazing line-ups to ever hit our
no-fun city. To think, mere months earlier
I had travelled all the way to Germany
to see them play, and here they were on
my turf, about to destroy a historic venue
with support from the deep south’s finest.
Granted, I had seen all of the bands in
question before— but this was different.
This was an intimate show in a maximum
1,200 capacity theatre, and the line-up
was unbelievable.

Nashville Pussy shreaded through
a short and anything but sweet set, truly
kicking ass and taking names, raising the
bar for the acts to follow. Vancouver’s
very own Ruyter Suys launched herself
around the stage, making her Gibson
SG whine just as it was intended,
complimented by her husband/fellow
guitarist/ frontman Blaine Cartwright,
bassist Karen Cuda and drummer Jeremy
Thompson, as her mother watched
proudly from the front row. The once
Grammy nominated quartet was really
tight and ripped through classics such as
“High As Hell” and “Go Motherfucker
Go” as well as catchy new tracks like
“T’m So High” featuring Toronto’s Danko
Jones from their latest From Hell To
Texas. The sex-infused, whiskey-powered
Pussy were anything but a warm-up act,
ending their set with Suys breaking all of
her guitar strings in a powerful display
of feminine ferocity and ear-splitting
feedback.
Dallas’ Reverend Horton Heat

brought the Southern charm and their

own brand of “country-fed punkabilly”

to a surprisingly accepting crowd.
Worshipping at the church of psychobilly,
the Reverend, bassist Jimbo Wallace

and drummer Paul Simmons, proved

why the trio has been able to boast such
longevity, playing instantly recognizable
favourites like “Psychobilly Freakout”
and the “Jimbo Song,” while offering

up newer tracks from their recently
released Laughin’ and Cryin’. The rousing
set motivated the expectant crowd to

start dancing, many chairs ending up
sacrificed as a result. The hip-swinging,
hot rod-driving, and strikingly classy set
provided a perfect contrast between the
loudest band on earth and the charismatic
openers.

When Motorhead finally hit the
stage, the roar of the crowd was equally,
if not more, deafening than the band.
Almost 34 years down the line, the
legendary trio showed why their music
has been able to transcend generations,
and why so many proudly sport their
snaggletooth logo. Frontman Lemmy
Kilmister growled compliments at the
assortment of concertgoers, who gladly
ate it up. Recently returned drummer
Mikkey Dee and guitarist Phil Campbell
stirred the crowd into a frenzy, sparking
several brawls and necessitating the
removal of many spirited fighters. The
trio blasted through classic after classic
with practised ease, songs like “Killed
By Death” and “Aces of Spades” loyally
screamed along to. With Kilmister
on harmonica, the band treated the
thankful crowd to an acoustic encore
of “Whorehouse Blues” after almost 90
minutes of a relentless aural assault.

After a quick but life-altering meet
and greet, and a drink with the openers, I
went home content. Who knew the cure
for the common cold was metal?

Look for an exclusive interview with
Nashville Pussy’s Ruyter Suys and Blaine
Cartwright in our next edition.

Motorhead

 

 

 

 

 

    

Jay Schreiber
& arts editor

Friday Oct 9

Gypsy punk rockers Gogol Bordello hit Granville Street at the Vogue
Theatre for the first of two sold out shows on Friday and Saturday. With
fast and furious music of the strange, Gogol is always an entertaining
show to see

Saturday Oct 10

Roger Daltry? Who’s that? Front man for legendary rock group The
Who plays the Commodore Ballroom as a stop on his solo tour across
North America. The first time The Who came to this continent was well
over 40 years ago, and still, deafening people is Roger Daltry’s specialty.

Sunday Oct 11

Actress-turned-singer Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers) brings

her swag and style to the Commodore on Sunday, with the Ettes and
American Bang. After splitting apart from “the Licks,” Juliette has been
on a constant tour and, as she puts it, “wouldn’t live any other way.”

Tie ea)