The Motorcycle Club of Black Rebels

Posted on: 25 April 2010

Wow! Do these guys put on a show! On Friday night I went to see Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at the HMV forum in London. I wouldn't say I was a huge fan of this band prior to the event, but nevertheless I was looking forward to seeing some decent live music. Blown away would be an understatement! However good a band sounds recorded, they're really not worth their name in salt if they don't perform well live. Let me tell you, if you haven't heard or seen this band live, they were undisputedly born to play live.

The graphic above should sum up the small bit of bad news I have to accompany this post. I was hoping to bring my camera along and get some decent shots of the band. Unfortunately, the D40 is considered too "professional" a camera, and therefore wasn't allowed to bring it into the arena. Bit of a disappointment for me, but by the end of their opener, War Machine, I was over it. I managed to get right to the barrier, prime photo position of course. And this was reiterated to me for the duration of the first three songs with around a dozen manic photographers snapping away at the band - talk about rubbing it in. I did have fun identifying each individual camera and lens though. What? I'm a bit of a geek.

So the night was very much about the music, rather than the visuals. But suffice to say, the music did not disappoint. I've been enjoying their recorded songs for a few years now, but seeing them live really brings it home just how good their music is. I really love the simplicity of each song. Many modern bands opt for the safe drums, bass, rhythm guitar, lead guitar setup. But BRMC do the job with just 3 guys, alternating between bass and guitar and the dual-guitar approach. It just works. Black Rebel have such a huge sound that there's no need for a 4th band member. Throw a harmonica into the mix and you've got musical bliss. Something I didn't know before the gig was that the two frontmen interchange between vocals. It's a really refreshing setup and a pleasure to experience.

As rock and roll as it might appear, my only qualm with the performance was the brutal destroying of a bass guitar towards the end of the show. I can't help but cringe every time I see it happen. Why waste a decent instrument? Tsk, these rock star types.

I only have a handful of their songs across their six albums, but this i expect to change very soon. The difficult decision will come from which album to purchase first.

I should give a small mention to the support act Dark Horses. It was unfortunate that they were supporting such a wall-of-sound style band like BRMC. The venue also didn't play host to their style particularly well, a smaller more intimate venue would have suited them much better. With that said, I enjoyed their music and I think I'll be buying their album to hear more. They just lacked any real impact and stage presence that Black Rebel oozed in abundance from their first song. I've certainly heard worse support acts though.