Beat a Go Go

At the end of the song comes Philip Campbell's incredible guitar solo - so simple and moving, impressive - as everybody in the car agrees ...it is "one string" guitar genius rock 'n' roll solo....fading away without real ending, but more and more beautiful.....All that Lemmy said in lyric is in this solo - the way how the tones follow on guitar....you can see the whole beauty without losing anything.

Yes, two cars of swearing, crazy Motorhead fans - are "one more fucking time" on a way to Motorhead's rock 'n' roll party, on a sleepy Sunday's late afternoon at the beginning of summer...

A gang of motorbikers from Austria pass by swiftly... Summer is a perfect, holy time for bikers.

They remind me of the first time I saw Lemmy with his historically wildest rock 'n' roll band. It happened on 7th Bikers Weekend which was running at a small airport, Moskranci, in Slovenia at the end of June 1999 - Well, already seven years ago... It was hundred percent whole life rock experience in its pure meaning.  One detail describes perfectly the atmosphere and it stuck in my head from that concert.  I was there with two of my very loved companions at concerts - two guys - they both had very long hair tied in a mop.  So they pulled off the elastic from their mops and with their flying hair literally jumped in the crowd under the stage, at the moment when Lemmy was starting stretching his neck to the microphone and loud Motorhead machine started growling and thundering into the wild bikers ball...

I adore bikers meetings - there is no doubt.  You can find a bunch of very different people there from all segments of society. Most of them are extremely cool guys - and of course, ladies... I found out that most of the guys are real gentlemen.  I always enjoy admiring the unbelievable redesigned and rebuilt bikes, with wonderful twisted fantasy-driven airbrushes on tanks, which often just perfectly suits the chrome parts and the owners tattoos... the skills of driving and finally most of all - the philosophy behind their bikes. The philosophy behind them is as attractive as their motorbikes are.  Everybody has his own bike and his own story, and his own point of view on life, each a little bit different.

In the evening they are tired, with dusty butts and dresses, after the long trip on the road. Even the longest stories from the road are rinsed with enormous amounts of beer, shared with new friends... Maybe I will find one bike for myself one day.  It is just my taste of travel - all alone on the way to see what happens.

Being back in the present...It means still on the highway to Zagreb, where we are "warming up" ourselves for the concert with »God save The Queen«, »Slow Dance«...  We are singing along a bit and admiring a large old Mercedes-Benz which we pass by - it really reminds me of a truckle double bed, hehehe!  In this mood we decide to call our friends in the other car.  The idea is maybe to stop at a gas station and have a drink together before the concert.  But queer things are happening all the time.  We find out that they have not yet left Ljubljana, because at the first gas station they stopped at, they found out that their concert tickets had disappeared from the car in a mysterious way... After reconstruction of what happened they came to the conclusion that the tickets probably flew out through the open windows when they started and pulled out of the garage at home.  They turned back and after searching with a flashlight in all the dark, stinky corners of their home garage,
they successfully found the tickets...miracle!
I am wondering, why so many times, when you really wish something or try to do something well, strange things are happening and unusual obstacles are in the way.

Whatever, they end up coming to Zagreb nearly two hours after us.

The concert is in an industrial part of Zagreb - a open air place called Stara Klavaonica.  The translation is The Old Slaughterhouse. Old industrial objects can be perfect for all sorts of arts.  The stage is between two old buildings which look entirely abandoned.  In the shape that they were left...I don't know, but somehow it comes to my mind, this will be really like »Dancing On Your Grave«.

The crowd is mostly male population as usual at this kind of concert.  A lot of them are wearing Motorhead or Iron Maiden t-shirts with different logos, beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other hand. I am the only one wearing In Flames t-shirt, but yes, also with beer and a cigarette... hehe!

From somewhere come our friends - promoters of the concert. One of them is also a guitar player in the Slovenian metal band Prospect.  We didn't know before, that we miss their concert already - really bad, because they are a great band.  After a few words, one of them said to me, "Oh my God, we have to find four groupies for backstage!" with such an expression on his face - that we all fall in a roar of laughter at the horror...

Croatia's Osmi putnik, melodical metalrock-hardrock band from Split takes the stage and after short break here are Hard Time - also a hard rock band from Croatia.

We are drinking another beer.  It is almost night. Deep dark blue sky is spilling under the sound system.  On the stage are taking place the last preparations for Motorhead.  Few minutes pass and at once I hear »Doctor Rock« ...I am not sure when they came on the stage, but here they are and I am swept to the second row under the stage....Lemmy is growling in the microphone in his unique way and the other two, Phillip Campbell on guitar and blond-haired Mikkey Dee on drums are following the bass player....so, the situation is perfect for the rock party....and here we are already in »Stay Clean«. Mr. Lemmy is still the same as last time I saw him. Dressed in black unbuttoned shirt, so we are able to admire his overgrown hairy chest with a big cross on it - hmmm.....His hair is still long and his voice is still husky, his energetic performance has the same speed - conducting from hell .... He looks like he has not slowed down with time - even if he was sixty last December.  Somehow his character as a musician has gotten more refined lines with years... He is like good wine.

They drop us to Ace Of Spades album »Love Me Like A Reptile« and with wild energetic crazy riffs and strong rhythm to »Killers«....I hear heavy rolling tempo of »Metropolis« - my favorite piece, maybe because I really love heavy music in general.  Then we are thrown to »Over The Top« to »No Class« and »I Got Mine«.  

Motorhead on stage

The power of the concert energy is raising with each piece, the crowd is dancing and screaming the songs along with the band....Lemmy is more reciting than singing the lyric of »In The Name Of Tragedy« and here we are in »Dancing On Your Grave«, subversive song with a touch of sadness behind it....
Songs are following each other without a real break. Lemmy announces some of them, or invites girls to backstage after the concert, the atmosphere is rising obviously with each moment.  There come some great guitar solos in »Just 'cos You've Got the Power/Don't Mean You Got The Right/«.  Lemmy announces the song with "It depends on the personal point of view". He really knows what he is talking about......Then follows »R.A.M.O.N.E.S.« where the audience completely "drop out" in crazy party...  »Sacrifice« brings incredible drum solo of Mikkey Dee with blistering use of double bass pedals and hitting the drums with such a power and preciseness that I feel tingling at my back.... Lemmy and Phillip leave the stage during his solo and come back with cigarettes and beer to finish »Sacrifice«...The next songs are: »Going To Brazil«, »Killed By Death« and »Iron Fist« for the end.

They leave the stage.  The audience is screaming like in hell....it is like the end of the world. Lemmy and his bandmates come back with obligatory cigarettes and beer .... and Mikkey Dee surprisingly with acoustic guitar...Mikkey and Phillip are playing guitars and Lemmy takes harmonica in »Whorehouse Blues« - it is a rare occasion to see the moment like this ...I would call it Motorhead's unplugged - blues ... But in next moment we find ourselves in something completely different in maybe the most wished wildness of »Ace Of Spades«, where the crowd gets totally wild, finishing with »Over Kill«.

So, they leave and leave us totally insane...but satisfied.  For me nothing can be compared with great live music performance anyway...the feeling is not exchangeable with anything else.

We are again in the car on the way back to Ljubljana.  The full moon is lighting the hills and I hear the echo of Lemmy's voice in my head, what he said at the end of the concert:

"We are Motorhead and we are playing rock 'n' roll - don't forget us!"

the report is dedicated to: Ana, Alenka, Taj, Jani
my loved companions on Motorhead concerts - thanks, with love

Ana and Taj

Links:

Motorhead - Official Website

Master of Metal

Life is a Road...

Article by faic at terapija.net, with more photos