Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Entertainment Art The Vic Chicago, Ill. May 24, 2007

The show started at a little after 8 p.m. Thursday night to a mostly crowded room. The lights dimmed and a red and blue glow emanated from the stage. Fog began to rise and a large black flag marked with a giant skull and crossbones descended from above. The crowd went nuts. The band meant business.

At this point the reader should know that before Thursday night I really knew nothing of the band. I had heard their name a couple of times on the local radio stations but never really got familiar. With that in mind, when I got the chance to see them perform at the Vic I was almost literally like seeing them through fresh eyes. I can say this, just when I thought I had the band figured out the musicians would throw in a new element and take the music to an entirely new level.

Bringing in a piano, harmonica and even a cello bow into the mix gave the sound a multi layered effect which allowed the audience to appreciate the music even more. Musically BRMC has an ear for how to manipulate sound to their advantage and project it in a much high quality to the listener. For instance, the speaker system on the stage itself is actually plugged into a series of microphones which take the normal sound and turn it into a booming force that vibrates onto every listener well into the balconies.

Contrary to the normal dynamic of most rock bands, BRMC switches around the roles a bit and allows their bass player, Robert Levon Been, instead to take center stage throughout most of the show. The guitar player Peter Hayes stays in the background tearing it up and thrashing the guitar in such a way that you can tell that he must have idolized Jimi Hendrix growing up. Guitars seem to be an essential part of BRMC’s power, this became obvious when a mysterious fourth member joined the band (which he did occasionally throughout the night) and the audience was greeted with the sound of an acoustic, electrical and bass guitar all playing together. The effect was amazing.

I have to admit that the best surprise of the night came when the normally quiet Hayes took the stage for a couple of solo country songs. The result was a cool down time for the band and the audience as Hayes played some amazingly heart felt ballads that Johnny Cash would be proud of. By the third song acoustical song the rest of the band slowly joined Hayes on stage and continued to rock out.

If anything I noticed that BRMC might have outgrown the space of the The Vic. Their sound begs for a much larger, louder stadium like setting where the acoustics can be more widely appreciated and felt by the audience. The Vic is a wonderful theater to see live bands, I’ve gone there dozens of times and enjoyed it every time, but musically I think BRMC’s sound might be too big for such a small place.

Other than that one small detail the band put on a first class, highly skilled performance. Pieces of the show felt a little too timed out and I wish that the band had given itself more room to experiment and improvise. With the ability to take what would otherwise have been a normal heavy metal rock show and turn it into a unique music experience the band is destined for great things. I look forward to seeing them again next time they come to Chicago.

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