Mondo Generator Entertainment Art The Metro Chicago, Ill. September 19, 2007

Fans of Queens of the Stone Age are probably familiar with the work of bassist Nick Oliveri. Known for his crazy, and sometimes violent, antics, as well as for his brash singing style and his occasional penchant to play naked, Oliveri had us expecting god only knows what. Yours truly, in addition to music editor Barry Brecheisen, had a meeting with Oliveri and his band (look out for the upcoming City Vision!) in the dressing rooms at Metro shortly before the show. We expected anger, or maybe disinterest, but what we got was a kind, respectful welcome and drinks made especially for us by Oliveri himself. And if that wasn’t enough, we were treated to some hangout time with the band post-interview that let us know that these guys, behind their metal façade, are actually really cool human beings.

After inviting us into their room, Oliveri introduced his “new” band. While the concept of Mondo Generator has actually been around since the late 90s, this lineup of the band is fairly new. The drummer in particular is the freshest of the quartet. Giampaolo Farnedi of Italy has just begun his stint with the band and his nerves were readily apparent in his body language, but his apprehension of the impending show didn’t stop him from happily exclaiming “Fuck yeah!” when asked if he was thrilled to be playing with Oliveri. A longtime fan of QOTSA himself, Farnedi is overjoyed at being able to play some old OOTSA songs with Oliveri, along with quite a few new Mondo Generator Tunes.

Chicago was the very first stop on the tour that Mondo Generator is currently doing with Turbonegro. They took the stage at just after 7 pm and played the hell out of it. It was difficult to watch them on stage and realize that they were the same guys that had just been discussing the beauty of Italy with us only moments before. Oliveri, bare-chested but still wearing pants, screamed and yelled into the mic while expertly playing his bass without a misstep. Farnedi, also naked from the waist up, sat level with the rest of the band, his long dreads flying about as he rhythmically punished the drums with a severe beating.

Opening with “Basket Case” off the Dead Planet CD, the band launched into “Lie Detector,” and “I Never Sleep,” also from the same album. But never fear, they covered “13th Floor,” and “Shawnette,” off the Cocaine Rodeo album from Queens of the Stone Age as well.

One might think Oliveri has bad feelings about QOTSA, being that he was asked to leave the band after co-founder Josh Homme asked him to depart after differences that ensued based on Oliveri’s violent onstage and off-stage behavior. However, the fact that Oliveri was not only willing to talk about QOTSA during our interview, but also had no problem playing his former band’s songs, shows that Oliveri is taking it all in stride.

Mondo Generator has plenty of talent in it and doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. Despite the talent, the quartet, which also includes Ian Flannon and Simon “Spud” Beggs, both on guitar, isn’t exactly rolling in dough just yet, (they explained that they had to leave the recent Ozzfest tour due to a lack of gas money). Yet, these guys are obviously playing for a love of the music and the experience, and that, generally, is the best and only reason to play.

Comments

Written by Guest on 2007-09-26 10:33:06 Great review!

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