Motorhead + Saxon + Danko Jones @ Wolverhampton Civic Hall – 3rd November 2008
As soon as doors open, the Civic is taken over by an army of leather jacket clad men, the sea of Motorhead t-shirts making it clear what’s in store for Wolverhampton tonight. Danko Jones are up first, the Canadians getting the night off to a great start; their hard rock sound fitting right in with the rest of the line up. Unfortunately, a huge queue in the Little Civic next door for tickets and guestlist wristbands results in a large chunk of the crowd being absent for these guys.
Next up are Saxon, who receive a heroes welcome from the crowd, the packed room a sea of fists raised for the heavy metal veterans. Although possibly a little cheesy, the band are entertaining to watch, singer and only remaining founding member, Biff Byford‘s vocals sounding effortlessly powerful over the screaming guitars. New song ‘Live To Rock’ goes down well with the crowd, possibly tapping into their outlook on life, while the well known, ‘Let Me Feel Your Power’ gets everyone rocking out. Set closer ‘747’ is clearly a favourite, getting a huge reaction as the crowd roar every word back at them. It looks like Saxon are still going strong, and that their fans will be with them to the end.
Motorhead are well known for their philosophy of ‘Everything louder than everything else’, and tonight they really mean it. It starts off loud, but after the amps are turned up a few times throughout the set, the entire venue is shaking from the bass. Any dispute over whether or not Lemmy’s voice is still up for live shows is a little redundant, as the sheer volume makes it very difficult to judge. It turns out that classically trained pop rock band Elliot Minor are playing at the very same time in the Wulfun, and it’s easy to imagine that the considerably younger fans next door are probably getting a taste of what rock and roll is really about through the walls as the volume creeps up and up.
The band showcase some of their newer material, throwing in ‘Rock Out’ from recent release ‘Motorizer’ fairly early in the set. The new stuff gets a good reaction, but it’s the older and better known songs that really get the crowd going, the entire balcony rocking out to ‘Over The Top.’ A version of the well known Thin Lizzy cover ‘Rosalie’ is an unexpected addition to the set, while an arguably over indulgent yet awe inspiring drum solo from drummer Mikkey Dee has the crowd transfixed.
A huge call for an encore brings the band back out with ‘Whorehouse Blues’, the acoustic twang offering a very different sound to the rest of the show. ‘Ace Of Spades’ provides a high point in the set, everyone giving it their all as Lemmy growls out the famous chorus. The volume is possibly a bit too loud, as the sound nears the point of distortion, although that’s pretty much the point of tonight. If every member of the crowd don’t leave the venue temporarily deaf, they didn’t try hard enough as far as Motorhead are concerned. Ending the night with ‘Overkill’, Motorhead have proven themselves still louder than everyone else, and still going strong after all these years.
Review – Helen Catchpowle
Photos – Kate Snape (Motorhead) and Lee Allen (Saxon)