I don’t even remember for how long I have know Kyuss .. but I recall my surprise once when I realised I didn’t know how to properly pronounce their name, when I first heard the cover of Demon Cleaner done by TOOL, in which Maynard says their name. Kyuss is the first stoner metal band I knew, long before the current stoner revival, so a big legend for me.
For one reason or another, Garcia decided to do a tour with Kyuss songs. I went to see him in Ghent. The show had sold out quickly soon after being announced, so they added an afternoon show, which was cool for me as I could take the train from Brussels, be there and catch a train back. Which I did, despite the cold Belgian rain which fell on in that day.
I really liked the show, the Kyuss songs were there, the sound was good, well except for the voice which you couldn’t distinguish perfectly but ok, music was more important. The risk with this event was to get the impression you are seeing a sort of cover band. Garcia does not have a special stage presence, and he got a little bit older with a little bit of beer belly. So leaving the responsibility of doing Kyuss only to him would have been a disaster. He was backed up by Bruno Fevery (guitar), Jacques de Haard (bass) and Rob Snijders (drums) who did a great job in giving to the fans what they wanted.
If you like Kyuss, if you like stoner, if you love enjoying a live concert where music comes your way because it’s played well and from the heart and if you go to the concert with the idea “I’m gonna hear Kyuss, never thought I would ever reach this moment!”, the concert was a good one.
I’ve been to such concerts before, where the emotionality and the meaning of being there make a hell of an experience of the show. But there are moments which keep reocurring at such events as if they were part of the show structure, even though they are exterior elements to the music.
The “Commercial Break” moment, for example. Which occurs around the middle of the show, when the singer or leader of the band starts talking money. In this case, Garcia says something like: “Well, as you know now we are on tour with Kyuss songs, but we will release an album soon, please check it out. ” And something like that spoils any feeling of melancholy and idealism.
Being to a show which was/will be done again the same day makes you always wonder how the other one would be. For this concert, the energy on the stage was high, the performance was very good, but they seemed to refrain their forces knowing there would be another show in a few hours. There was no explosion, no moment of maximum intensity, although the potential was enormous.
The “I’m the fucking star here, do not ruin it!” moment. There were people who kept climbing on stage even if the bodyguards kept throwing them back. But at some point, a guy went on stage and obviously obstructed Garcia’s view. So he just firmly pushed the guy back in the crowd. Which I found mean, no need to show who the boss was.
Besides these, the ambiance was great. The setlist was cool, all the hits were there: Demon Cleaner, Gardenia, 100 degrees, Asteroid, almost all Welcome to the Sky Valley. Very welcoming audience, quite satisfied of what they were witnessing. Overall, a great concert.
Setlist:
1. Molten Universe/Stage III (Beginning) 2. Thumb 3. Hurricane 4. One Inch Man 5. Odyssey 6. Asteroid 7. Supa Scoopa And Mighty Scoop 8. Size Queen 9. Fatso Forgotso 10. Fatso Forgotso Phase II 11. El Rodeo 12. Freedom Run 13. 100° 14. Thorn (cover) 15. Gardenia 16. Demon Cleaner 17. Allen’s Wrench Encore:18. Green Machine
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUoOzQayFPQ]
ywannish, 31 May 2010
