Location: Ljubljana
Show date: 11/21/2008
Attendance: 500
Ticket price: 35 €
November 22nd – the day another set of rock legends rolled through Slovenia. This time it was stoner outfit Monster Magnet, who counted as one of the biggest names in rock in the nineties and climbed to the top of the charts with hits like Space Lord, Dopes to Infinity, Powertrip, Twin Earth, The Right Stuff, Zodiac Lung, Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Heads Explode. Their heyday is behind them, but Monster Magnet refuse to throw in the towel, and last year they dropped a great album, 4-Way Diablo. You could call this the 4-Way Diablo European tour. Besides Monster Magnet, two younger bands are on the bill – Pilgrim Fathers and Nebula.
To kick things off, the excellent English band Pilgrim Fathers warmed us up. They’re a young outfit playing a mix of hard rock, post rock and space rock. The guitars are mostly loud and humming at full blast, while the unique charm comes from the mini keyboards and assorted effects, which the singer occasionally handled on a little gadget. Their set was energetic and varied, with plenty of dramatic twists in the music – some parts are pure hard rock madness, but then a section can follow that shows the legacy of space rockers like Hawkwind is still alive and kicking. There’s a lot of hypnotic post rock stuff, but it doesn’t put you to sleep – instead its energy carries you along and perks up your spirit (like a good Sunday beef broth). Their performance was really good, they’re excellent musicians, and the singer is a true frontman, with a full dose of charisma and stage presence. The only downside was that the set was too short. By the end of the night I could even claim that Pilgrim Fathers were the highlight of the evening for me, and that I’d gladly watch them as headliners. They had the bad luck of playing first, when there was practically no audience in the hall yet. They showed a great deal of originality, good showmanship and heavy riffs.
Next up were the stoner rockers Nebula. Nebula are already old friends around here, and the hall filled up nicely before their set. The Americans delivered a dynamic show, full of melodic hooks and tricky guitar melodies and solos. You can tell the guitarist borrows heavily from Jimmy Hendrix. That’s especially noticeable during the solos, and in some of the more melodic parts too. You could say their take on stoner rock is tinged with more of a bluesy flavor, precisely because of the guitar style. This set wasn’t quite as much my cup of tea as Pilgrim Fathers, but the atmosphere in the hall was noticeably better and more charged with rock energy. A good choice of support act for Monster Magnet.
But of course we were all waiting for Dave Wyndorf and his buddies. We had to wait quite a while for the show, but everyone found a way to make the time fly (I had my Nintendo with me). By the time the Americans finally strolled onto the stage a bit before ten, the crowd was already well warmed up, thanks both to the earlier sets and to the sweet beer and wine.
All eyes were mostly on Dave Wyndorf, the last original member of the band. Next to him is longtime guitarist Ed Mundell, who has likewise become an indispensable part of the group. Dave Wyndorf personally surprised me with his appearance, since over the last few years he’s clearly put on a fair number of pounds. Even pictures from a few years back showed the guy in top shape, and now suddenly such a shock. I read that Wyndorf overdosed on some medication a couple of years ago, and obviously the whole thing took a big toll on both his mind and his body. But whatever, we didn’t come to look at him, we came to enjoy (mainly) his music.
The show was fairly predictable. Monster Magnet played all their hits and all the songs with the punchiest rhythms. Of course Space Lord and Negasonic Teenage Warhead “set the place on fire” the most, and they were played pretty much like on the album, which you couldn’t say for every track. The guys proved themselves a few times with slightly reworked arrangements, showing that a live show can be more than just a presentation of a studio product. It was also expected that they wouldn’t play some of the more experimental stuff from the time when Wyndorf was into psychedelic music, but that’s exactly where Pilgrim Fathers came in handy, filling that gap. Just as we’d gotten used to Monster Magnet, they were already ready to say goodbye. How is that possible? Barely a good hour had passed. After five minutes of begging we finally managed to lure them back, and the guys stayed on stage another half hour, so they played the bare minimum of a decent amount of music – an hour and a half.
With his angry lyrics and gestures, Wyndorf showed that capitalism and politics still don’t sit right with him. The guy never pretended he didn’t enjoy living like a rock star, but he definitely gets annoyed by the hypocrisy of those who play dumb. Monster Magnet may no longer be as big a name as they once were, but Wyndorf’s messages are still relevant. The other band members are superbly tight. At times three guitars come together (when Wyndorf joins in too), the rhythm section is solid, and Wyndorf occasionally adds a few effects. His vocals are also still as good as ever.
All three sets sounded good, too. No instrument was pushed to the front, and the vocals could be heard well throughout. The only band with slight trouble was Pilgrim Fathers, where the vocals were a bit too quiet. Another bigger issue was that the sound was noticeably too loud all night, and several times I had to clutch my ears, which were ringing pretty nicely for a few days after the show.
After 4-Way Diablo, the band decided to hit the road for a European tour, even though Wyndorf said he wouldn’t be performing much anymore and would rather concentrate on songwriting. This may have been the last chance to see these legendary stoner rockers in action, and I think they served up a very solid show. Both supporting bands also deserve to share a stage with Monster Magnet. The whole evening was very well put together and played, and all we can do is hope for more get-togethers like this.
Words: Rok Podgrajšek
Photos: Mojca Perdih
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