POISON SCOOTER

Wolfmother Live

A special guest reviewer, my dear old Dad.

Normally when I go to a concert, today, I feel a little out of place due to my age. Tonight I felt like if I closed my eyes I was a twentysomething again, at the Electric Factory or the Spectrum, listening to Led Zep,The Who or Black Sabbath.

Appearing at the Norva in Norfolk, VA was Wolfmother with fellow countrymen The Mess Hall warming up the crowd. Normally I yawn through the opening act. Not this time. Mess Hall is a 2 piece band, like the White Stripes, that produces musical depth equivalent to bands of a larger scale. Every song they played was faster than the previous with the drummer attempting ,it seemed, to break his set by pounding holes in it. Their sheer energy was uplifting and set the stage nicely for what was to follow.



From the moment Andrew Stockdale walked out sporting his DR J afro, opening with Dimensions holding and playing his guitar like Jimi Hendrix, he had the crowd in the palm of his hand. He jumps in the air like Pete Townsend while the bass/keyboard player plays his antiquated keyboard at a 45 degree angle. They do hard driving songs (Woman /Pyramid/Love Train) that remind me of Queens of the Stone Age then go to trance like songs (Tales from the Forest of Gnomes) that remind me of Pink Floyd .

I feel lucky to have seen these guys in a small venue for small money because judging by the sellout crowd, sale of shirts and audience participation they will be playing larger places next time around. If they come near you, see them! If you can't, go to their web site where you can listen to every song they do for free. It sounds almost as good as the live show.

- Joe "the worst" Richard

posted by Scooter @ 2:38 PM