WE, Daytona Motel, and Inspiteofme - The ROCK, København 10/27/05
From Aural Innovations #32 (November 2005)
This was going to be a great rock night. The Norwegian band, WE, were coming back to support the re-release of their Smugglers CD in Denmark. I had met the singer Thomas the week before when he came to town to do an interview for the Danish P3 and a few newspapers (Berlinske) as well. We were not sure how many people would show up but there were a lot of people on the guest list so at least some of those should show up and they did. It was packed! Inspiteofme started the show at 9:15 and played for about 30 minutes. They were a three piece of two guitars and a drummer who managed a sequencer that was programmed with bass lines and additional percussion and sounds. They were ok but they were not really that interesting. They were a bit poppy but hard rocking at times as well. Next up was Daytona Motel, a very promising Copenhagen band. The band is a three piece with fretless bass (sings the lead vocals), guitar and drums. Usually, the band dresses up but there was no time today and not place for their stage props as well (tires and lighted logo). The band opened up with some new songs I had not heard and they just sounded like they needed a bit more work or imagination in the tracks. They were not as catchy as the bands other songs and a bit boring. The band really hit a groove by the fourth song and people were getting into it and rocking. The band knows how to create a cool groove. Malthe plays some cool riffs but not a enough solos. The crowd really got into their 45 minute set and especially the stretched out, "Hell Yeah" track.
Setlist: Dr. Wise, Rich Man, Dark Side of the Circle, Untitled, Super Human, Chicago Blues Man, Crazy Kill Driver, Hell Burn, Hell Yeah
The club closed the black curtain around the stage and people rushed around to get ready for WE. It took 30 minutes or so but then the place was packed and the band opened with "Lucid" and into "Lightyears Ahead". People knew from the start that this was going to rock and it was damn loud as well. Hanging out in the bar at the ROCK is a bad idea as the sound is always muddy because you get all your sound from the bass speakers under the stage and very little from the hanging speakers where most of the guitar and vocals and keyboards come out. The band focused almost entirely on the new CD Smugglers playing every song except two. People were really headbanging to "Sulpur Roast Stomp" and Thomas had the crowd in the palm of his hand with witty banter between songs and great stage presence. The two long songs, "Smugglers" and "On the Verge to Go", were quite cool to hear right in a row. Don plays the 12 string electric on these and it sounds really great. You can hear Tariq playing quite nice keyboards as well. Usually, he is completely inaudible, but not tonight (thanks Stig). "Catch Electrique" really had the crowd jumping and this was the big hit in Norway and they play it a bit on P3. "Cherry Red", a cover of the old Groundhogs tune, was a lot of fun with great interaction between the band and the audience with introductions and short jams by the musicians. "Cosmic Biker R&R" ended the set after only 65 minutes. The band came out and played their classic "Wooferwheels" space rock song into the heavy "Livin' the Lore". The band really needs to broaden the number of old songs that they play in the set and make it a bit fresher. This is the third time they have played Copenhagen in the last year and it is always the same but with the showcasing of some different new songs. The band played a really cool new track that melts the WE sound with a catchy foot stomping Status Quo like boogie. Fun stuff. "Carefree" always ends the shows…….should be "1971"! Anyway, a fucking great night for the band and the crowd, with a lot of new fans gained on this night. Don't miss WE when they come back to Copenhagen in April next year.
Set List: lucid>lightyears ahead> crawling out of the wreckage, sulphur roast stump, wroom, smugglers, on the verge to go, catch electrique, cherry red>Jam band introductions, cosmic biker r'n'r Encores: Wooferwheels>Livin' the Lore, sky, carefree
Reviewed by Scott Heller