Motorhead at SXSW
Motorhead. Fucking Motorhead. The hard rock* Brits with the gravelly-voiced bassist Lemmy Kilmister for a frontman took to Stubb's Thursday afternoon and annihilated every song with the same vigor they surely had in the late '70s. Lemmy even joked, "Sorry, that one's from 1976." It was enlightening to see the sea of people clad in Deicide, Children of Bodom and Melvins shirts at the show. After catching a few metal and hardcore bands last night, it felt like no metal fans were at SXSW. Turns out, they were just holding out for metal* royalty.
Unlike some of the group's contemporaries (ahem-Ozzy Osbourne-ahem), Motorhead is just as amazing live as I imagine it was when Ace of Spades came out. The band charged through favorites like "Killer," "Metropolis" and "Ace of Spades," and kept the crowd active despite the very warm sun beating down. (I'm not the only one who thought the show would have been insane at night. It was muttered a lot)
Lemmy is still as charismatic (wonder if he'd agree) as ever, and a straightforward guy. Even his opening to the crowd came off simple, but engaging: "We are Motorhead, and we play rock and rolllllllll!"
Guitarist Phil Campbell caught my attention repeatedly has he meandered around the stage thrusting his guitar at the ideal moment. Plus, about halfway through the set he busted out a gorgeous guitar with a sunburst fade. I don't get all guitar dork too often, but it was sexy and sounded divine....but then again, I might be a huge Motorhead fan. Did you pick up on that? -- Chelsea Ide
* Note: Lemmy has often said he doesn't like Motorhead being classified metal. "I come from way before Metal. I’m playing Rock n’ Roll and I think Rock n’ Roll should be sacred," he told Classic Rock Revisited.
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