Photos and writing courtesy of AskAsheville Music Correspondent Robert Forte.
One for The Road: Motörhead – Fillmore – Charlotte, NC – September 23, 2015
Motörhead is the band that would break out of a state prison to play at an outlaw biker rally, only to blast through the wrought iron gates of the same penitentiary to lock themselves back up.
Their music is the living breathing soundtrack to the zombie apocalypse and the throngs of black t-shirt wearing, chain wallet carrying, tattoo scar barring disciples that lined up early outside the Fillmore in Charlotte only furthered proved that demise of their savior Lemmy has been greatly exaggerated.
Motörhead masterfully ripped through a brisk but hard charging 13 song set that included classics such as Bomber, Ace of Spades, Doctor Rock and Overkill. The band however curiously chose to refrain from playing any cuts off of their recently released 22nd studio recorded effort Bad Magic.
Instead the show leaned more heavily on tracks from classic era Motörhead releases with just a single song being played from the last decade of music they’ve put out, “Lost Woman Blues” off of the modern Motörhead classic, 2013’s Aftershock.
What often gets overlooked when it comes to the band is the expert level of musicianship that exists within the confines of the three headed musical beast known as Motörhead.
Lemmy himself is probably one of the most unsung all-time great rock n’ roll bassists however his talent puts him right up there with the likes of often more recognized bass legends such as John Paul Jones, Les Claypool and Jaco Pastorius.
Mikkey Dee’s, previously of King Diamond fame, speed and power behind the drum kit has influenced generations of metal drummers.
And the not to be overlooked Phil “Wizzo” Campbell would be asked to play lead guitar in dozens of hard rock and metal outfits literally the second he chose to make himself available for hire outside of Motörhead.
Blasting what felt like 50-caliber shells of bombast out of the largest stack of Marshall cabinets that I think may have ever been assembled on any stage in North Carolina, Motörhead ultimately delivered a show that most twenty-something acts would consider themselves lucky to emulate let alone actually pull off.
Lemmy was once quoted as saying he wanted to make music “so loud that if we moved in next door to you, your lawn would die.” I didn’t inspect the grounds outside of the Fillmore when I exited through the venue’s metal doors upon show’s end but I’m 100 percent certain more than a few blades of grass met their demise on the evening.
They are Motörhead and they play rock ‘n’ roll. Truer words have never been spoken.
Setlist:
Bomber
Stay Clean
Metropolis
Over the Top
The Chase is Better Than the Catch
Rock It
Lost Woman Blues
Doctor Rock
Ace of Spades
Jus Cos’ You Got the Power
No Class
Overkill
