TROUBLE - SAHG - GORILLA MONSOON

Seems like TROUBLE start to enjoy touring Europe ;) Being on hold for many years they got reanimated and came by in summer 2007. Hardly one year later the guys are back in town, just switched the venue (for the better). Many people came because other ones were supposed to be there and so this evening turned out to be kind of a family meeting ;) Too bad that I first had to drive and second to be back home early coz of me London/Stockholm trip right after. Otherwise it would have become a funny party I guess ;) Saturday night fever, night fever… heh ;)

:: pics ::

However, this was surely the night for Trouble, but likewise many guys and girls came to see cult Doom/Sludge/Stoner rockers :: GORILLA MONSOON :: So I did anyway ;) I love them since I saw them live as support for Metal Church in 2006. Haven’t heard a band for a long time that sounds sooooo filthy and rock’n’roll, blending Kyuss, Down and... um... Sabbath and Cathedral? It’s just great I tell ya ;) Added by a bleached skull on Jack Sabbath’s micro (vox, git – what a name *g*) the cats delivered perfect stageacting, you know, deep hanging guitars, even deeper tuned, and a nonchalant fuck-you-attitude. I just missed the bottles of Whiskey… (ok, they got beer ;)). The music was heavy rocking, doomy and slowly creeping like lava, yet much energetic and spreading tons of good vibes. Crowd was much thrilled right from the beginning, a few already knocked out and other ones missing this 30 minutes of pure rock’n’roll. Your fault! :P Never miss a GORILLA MONSOON show! ;)
Oh, let me mention that the guys are working on a new record; finally. The debut Damage King (out in 2006) almost returns to dust ;)
Setlist: Declaration Of Damnation, Death Revolution, Born To Lose, 50$ Whore

Perfect kick off and an easy task for :: SAHG :: to keep up the high level of energy and good mood. They just couldn’t top it. Where Gorilla Monsoon was filthy and more metal-like rockin’ SAHG did it more traditional, more Sabbath-like and with clean vocals. By the way Mr. King didn’t take part in this tour, for him and the drums SAHG had additional members on board. With two records up their sleeve they played four songs from the brand new record simply titled II and four ones from the first one entitled I. Well-balanced I’d say ;) Nice show, but not that cool as the opener ;)
Setlist: Ascent To Decadence, Echoes Ring Forever, Rivers Running Dry, The Executioner Undead, Star-Crossed, Soul Exile, Pyromancer, Godless Faith

Chicago’s finest psychedelic doomster :: TROUBLE :: took a longer break to mount the tension. When singer Eric Wagner finally entered the stage he lived up to the genre’s most usual description of being a stoned scene ;) Chain-smoking and beer-gulping Eric though delivered a great show performance, joking and flirting with little girls (with one he got off afterwards), while he was walking on a different air. Eric rules, doesn’t he? Heh ;) Anyway, the band extremely enjoyed playing, especially string-duo Bruce Franklin & Rick Wartell. Eric was tousling his hair, looked cool and shook hands, and sometimes he needed an orientation guide ;) Setlist didn’t differ that much from the last year’s one: a handful new songs from Simple Mind Condition, and a retrospective through the entire history. Amazing show again! Fans couldn’t get enough and screamed the band back for encore, which was willingly granted. At the end TROUBLE played almost for two hours. Coolness!
Ah yeah, this show turned out much better that the one last year. Better atmosphere, closer fans… Love it.
Setlist: R.I.P., The Sleeper, Come Touch The Sky, Plastic Green Head, The Eye, Simple Mind Condition, Mindbender, Wickedness Of Man, Run To The Light, Troublemaker, Goin’ Home (Goin’ To Hell), Mr. White, Seven, At The End Of My Daze, Psychotic Reaction // The Tempter, Bastards Will Pay, All Is Forgiven

What can I say more? It was a great evening! Three bands that stylistically complemented each other in a perfect way, seeing all bands in best mood to entertain. That’s these kind of shows worth every fucking Cent!