|
Warlocks a hard act to follow |
|
|
|
Written by AUGUST FORTE, photos by JAMIE STANEK
|
|
Tuesday, 14 March 2006 |
Originally scheduled for the Congress Theater and moved at the last minute to Metro to accommodate a sell-out crowd (the majority of which bought tickets for the headliners, resurrected gothic rockers The Sisters of Mercy), The Warlocks’ inspired opening set on March 14 proved to be a hard act to follow.
| | |
The Warlocks
|
 Entertainment
Art
The Metro
Chicago, Ill.
March 14, 2006
Setlist
1. “Isolation”
2. “We Need Starpower”
3. “Thursday’s Radiation”
4. “Warhorses”
5. “Come Save Us”
6. “Zombie Like Lovers”
7. “Cosmic Letdown”
|
| | |
The band, formed in 1998 by vocalist/guitarist Bobby Hecksher, specializes in heavy, effects-laden neo-psych in the tradition of Hawkwind, Love and Rockets and Ride. They were also singled out as a leading light amongst a number of bands associated with The Brian Jonestown Massacre in Ondi Timoner’s award-winning documentary Dig!
Like the BJM, The Warlocks hail from the West coast, mine a good four decades worth of dark psychedelic rock and seem to offer a revolving door policy when it comes to band members. Where the two groups differ most dramatically is best experienced in a small club; the Massacre is infamous for falling apart onstage while The Warlocks soar.
The Metro set was an especially transcendent event.
Wrapped in ribbons of smoke, drenched in feedback and illuminated by blood red floodlights and pulsing strobes, Hecksher and company put on a rich, atmospheric show. Sludge guitars, serpentine bass lines and the raw intensity of having two drummers meant that songs like “We Need Starpower,” “Come Save Us” and “Thursday’s Radiation” sounded just as full as they do on the recent ‘Surgery’ LP. Other highlights included a tip of the hat to the Velvet Underground in the form of “Isolation,” the swirling “Warhorses” and the cacophonous “Cosmic Letdown.”
The Warlocks were so good, in fact, that a lengthier set might have completely made up for the ridiculous headlining attempt by The Sisters of Mercy, the once mighty death rock outfit reduced to what one longtime fan in attendance described as “goth karaoke.” Even The Brian Jonestown Massacre at its ramshackle worst would have been an improvement. Powered by AkoComment 2.0! |
