The Scene: The scene at the Fillmore was interesting. The show was a co-headlining bill of Wolfmother and Placebo. The result was basically an early show (Placebo) and a late show (Wolfmother) as the crowd turned over substantially in between the two bands.
As I was walking in right after Placebo left the stage there was a large contingent of goth kids flooding out of the venue saying things like “don’t bother, the best band has already played.” While I respect most people’s opinions, it was a bit sad that these kids couldn’t open their minds and check out some new music since they had already paid for their ticket.
As a result of the mass exodus it was not an obscenely crowded show and there plenty of room to get around for the rest of the evening.
Wolfmother: DAMN! These boys were born at the wrong time. They would have been force to reckon with along side the giants of the 70’s heavy metal scene. Taking cues from Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, Wolfmother rocked the hell out of the Fillmore on Wednesday night.
From the epic solo in “White Unicorn” that Andrew Stockdale nailed on a two wand guitar to their Grammy winning and crowd pleasing “Woman” the band was hitting their stride all night. As their set developed and they became more comfortable on stage Stockdale bounced around the stage and frequently stepped up to an second mic set up on the edge of Myles Heskett’s drum riser.
The bands third member, Chris Ross, played double duty as he held down the low end on the Bass and also banged on a keyboard that he wielded like a weapon at times. In true rockstar fashion the keyboard was strapped to a stand that allowed Ross to tip it nearly to the floor or tilt it up on one leg as he played.
To the delight of nearly everyone in the building Wolfmother saved one of the best for last and raged through a thrilling version of Joker and the Thief before heading off into the night.
Right up until the end the band kept the audience fully enthralled and won over many new fans (me among them). Kudos to the sound man who kept the sound impeccably clear for such a raucous performance. Stockdale’s vocals came through clearly in the mix and though I had my earplugs in my pocket they stayed there for most of the night.
Energy: A
Sound: A-
Musicianship: B+
Stage Presence: A
Set/Light Show: B-
Overall: A-
+ There are no comments
Add yours