OFF: Motorhead - Basel (Kaserne, Reithalle) 08.11.02

[Henderson Keith]

Motörhead - Basel, Switzerland (Kaserne, Reithalle) 08.11.02

So, I'd already seen Lemmy and Co. in Columbus, OH several months prior on
what I guess is quite a worldwide tour they're on, but hey...when they come
within 30 miles of you to play on a Friday night, it's hard to pass up.
Even though I've seen them over a dozen times since my first memorable
Motörhead experience at the Troc in Philadelphia c. 1986.  Phil Campbell was
a fresh face then, but now (as Lemmy pointed out during the final
introduction) he's the longest-standing member of the band (save Lemmy
himself of course!) with a full 18 years service.  Anyway, I'd only learned
of this show several days earlier, not realizing that they might come to
play in Basel someplace *other* than the nearby Z-7 club that all the heavy
metal acts (including Anthrax, their touring mates earlier on) seem to
visit.  So then as I soon learned, the big rock hall in the old Kaserne
("Army Barracks") was just opened a couple months back, and actually
Motörhead became the first metal band to grace its spacious stage.  A
veritable bottle of champagne (strike that....Jack Daniels) broken across
its bow as it sets sail down the River Rhein just to the south.  (OK, so you
think everything *north* of the Rhine must be 'Germany' right?  Well, you
see, there's this little tiny chunk of Switzerland cut out there on the
north side, Kleinbasel they call it actually.)  Never mind that the place is
obviously in the old cavalry stables (my German is still terribly poor, but
Reithalle must certainly have something to do with horse-riding).  The wood
rafters still looked original, but otherwise it was stripped down to just a
large rectangular shell (standing room only) with a bar built into the back
and a 'soundmixing island' more centrally located.

Luckily, I had gotten a ticket from TicketCorner (essentially identical to
TicketMaster, though the extra charges are part of the listed price, so
you're not easily aware of how much they're ripping you off) two days
earlier, because I arrived at the entrance (after being completely confused
by a huge street fair with ferris wheels and various other rides, game
stalls and booths clogging all the neighboring streets, but then lucking out
by seeing a couple dressed all in black walking around from door to door
obviously looking for the same place...so I just followed them as they
enquired in the local language to various security folks as to where the
actual entrance was) to discover a large banner that read SOLD OUT
(Ausverkauft would have worked too, but they made it extra easy on me).

OK, that sentence makes a pretty good paragraph all on its own...let's start
a new one then.

Happily, I fought my way through the throng of people to discover I needed
to first turn in my ticket for a wristband that would gain me entry.  Oh
well, at least I got in!  I found the merchandising stand straight away, but
was disappointed that they were not offering Lemmy's just-published
autobiography as I understand its distribution is not exactly
worldwide...this would have been the perfect opportunity.  But in the end I
did buy a t-shirt, based more on the 'We Are Motörhead' artwork (with the
Ace of Spades on the flipside) than the new 'Hammered' album, just 'cause I
liked it and I only had one other band t-shirt here with me in Switzerland.
Much of the audience of perhaps 1,200 had come already similarly decorated
in Motörhead gear, with just a smattering of other bands represented
(surprisingly, one person with a Magma t-shirt was in attendance).

Going in, my biggest concern was when they'd start because I knew full well
(based on previous experience) that the last train outta this town and back
toward home in Baden was 23:48.  I'd already sussed out that despite what it
said on the ticket, there was to be no opening band, but even then a 10:30
start would mean that I would either miss the last half-hour of the show
(the train station was over 1 km away) or else spend the night walking the
streets of Basel until 4:42 AM (the random overnight train to pass through).
So then when I saw my best friend ("the-roadie-with-the-flashlight") signal
to the back to cut the lights at 10:02, my nervous anxieties faded instantly
away and I then turned my attention to just where I was....which was
straight on from the PA stack on stage left quite close to the front.
Oops...maybe I don't want to be here, if I know what's good for me.  So I
managed to squeeze through the traffic to get myself settled more
comfortably nearer the center (still on Lemmy's side...microphone
orientation being such a giveaway) and behind the potentially moshified
zone.  If indeed the Musikaserne folks were new to putting on a heavy metal
concert (which I now seriously doubt), they learn amazingly quick!  The
sound was to my ears perhaps the clearest ever for a Motörhead show from
start to finish, despite the obligatory maximum volume approach (no
compromise there!) - the vocal mics particularly well handled such that
every word was audible, spoken or sung.  And hardly an echo to be heard,
except in one's own ears (and that's still going strong 48 hours hence,
thank you very much).

So, finally, the show...well, ok, even before the music started, Lemmy
appeared up-front and center and while mounting his weapon of choice (his
signature wood-carved Rickenbacker), quickly found himself wiping his face
and wagging a finger (accompanied by a stern look) at someone in the front
who had decided his beer was too warm and that he should just fling it at
the stage.  But that was quickly shaken off and in no time the introductory
"We Are Motörhead (born to kick your ass)" was off and running.  Then,
without so much as a breath taken in between, they'd also blistered through
"No Class" and "Shoot You in the Back" in a matter of five minutes or so.
The trio continued in this fashion, mixing in old standards with a few newer
tunes, keeping the show both fresh-sounding and yet largely familiar to
those audience members who might not follow the band quite so rabidly.
They offered two songs from 'Hammered,' both good fast-and-raw numbers, but
I was kinda hoping for "No Remorse" which IMHO is the strongest cut on the
album ("The Game" is pretty cool too, esp. for a 'bonus' track - hardly an
afterthought!).  "Brave New World" worked well, with Phil's guitar work with
a wah pedal something I liked hearing for a change (and thanks to the
soundman, you *could* hear it).  Their renditions of "God Save the Queen"
and "Ramones" (the latter having an introduction that was actually longer
than the song itself, having *two* Ramones to eulogize now as opposed to
just one) should have reminded anyone in the audience too young to remember
that the early Lemmy/Wallis version of Motörhead was as much a *part* of the
punkrock era as the metallized counteroffer of years hence.  And that
reminds *me*...I'd love to hear "On Parole" someday.

Anyway, lots of my favorites (good set choices throughout!) came by one
after another, including "Metropolis" (with the obligatory "This one is
called Metropolis!" introduction by Lemmy just as on the classic 'No Sleep
'till Hammersmith' album) and "Dr. Rock" from the superb 'Orgasmatron' disc.
They surprised me with "Over the Top" which I think was only ever a B-side
track, but I know it from some compilation CD I have somewhere back in Ohio
I'm sure.  "Damage Case" was another surprise, a tune I hardly remember from
'Overkill' since I never got that CD and haven't heard the LP in ages (I
think I may have sold it even).  Drummer Mikkey Dee got a chance to spend a
good five minutes banging around on his gear following "Sacrifice."
Translation:  Voice break for Lemmy, or perhaps another drink or two.  After
"Killed by Death," Phil got a minute or two of his own doing some
semi-interesting screaming on his guitar.  Strangely, Lemmy didn't do much
of anything 'on his own' - not even his classic "Stay Clean" break was to be
heard this night.  But no matter, it was just a great straightforward
kick-ass Motörhead gig as they said it would be from the start.  The
audience was fairly well behaved for the most part, though the guy
next-to-me did his best "Statue of Liberty" impersonation with his right arm
in front of my face for much of the gig.  I dunno, with his cell phone (Who
invented this horrid device anyway?  I'd like to shoot the bastard.) open
throughout much of the show, he was either trying to make everyone on his
speed dial jealous that *they* weren't at the gig too, or else he was taping
the entire show at home on his answering machine.  The strangest audience
sight, though, was the ~12-year old kid on the shoulders of an
otherwise-responsible-looking-adult and waving his arms wildly from time to
time.  I guess child abuse laws here are a little more lax.  :)

OK, to conclude...the version of "Orgasmatron" this night made it (for me
personally) a truly stellar gig (though it being the one moment where much
of the audience kinda chilled out a little).  As I'd seen them before, the
bulk of the stage was alit in solid emerald green, though this time the
'Hammered' artwork backdrop was illuminated with bright purple and the eyes
in the mask aglow in blood red.  Really nice effect - no smoke was
necessarily added since the entire place had been full of smoke since before
the show even started!  (Not much ventilation here.)  But anyway, this song
has always really special for me, both musically (where it comes across
almost 'krautrockish' to my ears) and lyrically (one of the few times I even
really care much about the lyrics).  And this version was great - Lemmy
changing it up a little by throwing a few of the lines in each verse up an
octave, and Phil adding some wonderful devilish guitar licks near the end
synth-etically "trigger-echoed" (?) in a way like what Tony Iommi did for
the "E5150" piece on the 'Mob Rules' album (and you can hear some of this
too on the aforementioned "No Remorse" track).

So, eventually they reached the end and Lemmy announced it would be the
final tune (yeah, right!) and when he began a familiar-sounding rapid-fire
riff on his own, me and 99% of the others expected "Ace of Spades" to
ensue...but then it turned out to be "Iron Fist" which was warmly welcomed
just the same.  The encore began with an air-raid siren, a clear giveaway
for "Bomber" (I longed to see the actual Bomber rig again this night, which
you only can do now via the DVD of the 25 Anniversary show in Brixton - look
for me in the balcony!), and then the expected duo of "Ace of Spades" and
"Overkill" followed in turn.  Checking my watch finally, I worked my way
back to the exit as the last reprisal of the latter tune was winding down,
ducking out while only missing out on Lemmy's 'machine gun tribute' to the
faithful audience and perhaps a few minutes of amplifier feedback as they
would exit the stage....that routine is standard.  So then, after the 90
minute show, I still had enough time to race out through the nearly-empty
"fairgrounds" back to the station to catch my train...whew!  The amazing
thing was that even at this hurried pace, my keen eye managed to catch out
on the periphery an innocent-looking poster that had been stapled to a
nearby pole with merely the letters "M" "A" and "N" across the thing in
strange hand-writing.  I knew I couldn't afford the interruption, but my
curiosity got the better of me and so I stopped abruptly and returned to
said pole and discovered upon closer look something scribbled in the corner
with '1968' and 'Wales" in it, and said to myself figuratively "Holy Shit,
it *is* for the Man band!"  Luckily, it also said 10.11.02 (hmmm...which way
do the numbers work again?) and *not* something already past, which I was
able to quickly suss out as being Sunday, the day after tomorrow.  OK, so
another trip to Basel this weekend...forget all the work I was going to get
done now!  And the gig is somewhere else in the Kaserne structure I have
since learned, a smaller establishment called the "Parterre," so I know it's
on the ground floor (I mean, "Erdgeschoss") at least.  And I know again how
long I can stay without missing the train...here's keeping my fingers
crossed that I won't face that situation again.  (It says 20:00 start (w/
opener) so that sounds pretty positive for an early night!)

Setlist:
We Are Motörhead
No Class
Shoot You in the Back
Civil War
God Save the Queen
Brave New World
Metropolis
Dr. Rock
Ramones
Shut Your Mouth
Over the Top
Damage Case
Sacrifice/Dee Solo
Orgasmatron
Going to Brazil
Killed by Death/Campbell Solo
Iron Fist
---------
Bomber
Ace of Spades
Overkill

Grakkl (FAA)