Rock and Roll Treason

Last night's show left me with a few mixed feelings. I loved The Head Cat. Seeing Lemmy, Motorheadless or not, was one for the history books. While the band was not particularly tight, the combo of Lemmy's bass and the upright bass had the floor vibrating. Slim Jim Phantom was playing the standard whittled down rockabilly drum kit. But it was Lemmy I couldn't take my eyes off of. His unusual style of playing chords on his bass lends this dense layer in the lower mid-range of the music. It was fascinating to watch and listen to how it transformed a song when he jumped in. Considering the band also had an upright bass player, the sound was definitely bottom heavy.

Then there's Lemmy's unmistakable voice. Gravelly, with vocal chords that I guarantee are full of nodules, give a roadhouse feel to every song he sings. And they did some classics last night. Spanning more than rockabilly, some of my favorites of the evening were "Not Fade Away" by Buddy Holly, "Bad Boy" by Larry Williams, and "Crossroads" by Cream (a natural choice for a bass player like Lemmy, especially given his style of playing). To my astonishment this morning, when I did some fact checking, I discovered that Lemmy is 61 years old. I don't know why, but I thought he was about ten years younger. He looks great, well, for being Lemmy, he looks great. He is one of the characters in rock that is larger than life and certainly a legend to many.



Up next was surf rock legend, self-proclaimed "King of the Surf Guitar", Dick Dale. I don't know what I expected. I absolutely loved the first four or five tunes. They sounded like every bad biker bar I've ever been in. I appreciated that these songs that were inspired by sunshine and waves really actually take on a whole new meaning in a dark smoke-filled club. Dick Dale is clearly a virtuoso. Then it happened, about half an hour into his set, I got bored. Sometimes virtuosity turns into noodling and egos stroked too often turn a performer into an inflated showboater. That was the feeling I started to get. I appreciated that Dick was out there doing what he loved, but felt like he loved himself a little too much. While Lemmy was more down to earth in his banter, Dick was downright chatty at times, but pretty egocentric. That kind of stuff wears on me really quick. Add to that the fact that it was starting to feel like a bad frat party because most of the crowd was overserved by then, and you got my reaction. I left early. I almost never do this. I consider it to be similar to getting up and walking out of a movie before it's over. I'd had it. The set went on too long and I was bored to tears. I know some of you will think this treason of the highest order, but I couldn't help it. For me, virtuoso or not, Dick Dale couldn't hold my interest. I'm glad I saw him and I certainly respect his originality and skills, but it was not my favorite show. Now The Head Cat...I'd go back to see them again and I hope next time they'll be the headliners.