VOIVOD + NASHVILLE PUSSY @ The Relentless Garage
London - 11th August 2010
The Relentless Garage opens his doors to a big enough crowd
for this Wednesday’s event, a bit of an odd one really. Yankee rock’n’roll
sleazers Nashville Pussy share the stage tonight with a bunch of old Canadians
we haven’t see live for quite a while: experimental metal legend Voivod. All I
can say is, if you don’t like it rough get back on the Tube now and go home.
‘Speed Machine’ and ‘Piece Of Ass’ are the energetic opening
choices for Nashville Pussy, then again I don’t think there’s anything at all
in their repertoire that lacks vigour. Blaine stands happy and sweaty between guitarist
Ruyter with her banging blonde locks and hot bassist Karen, interacting with
the public and not missing one occasion to scream ‘Hell Yeah!’ followed by
chants of approval.
‘Come on’ has the whole Garage dancing, ‘Late Great USA’ and
‘Struttin’ Cock’ bring out the hidden redneck in all of us… Oh yes, you too: we
all have one somewhere, we all dream of rockin’ in a free world, and tonight we’ve
got it; so shake it baby, ‘cause Nashville Pussy ain’t over yet! ‘I’m so high’
and ‘Bitch’ are my personal highlights, but from beginning to end these guys made
me wanna buy a trailer and move to Shiny Pants (‘King Of The Hill’ anyone??).
Awesome. I start scanning the crowd as you do, soon
realizing that, as it happens in these gigs, the lights reveal a Stephen King ‘Sometimes
They Come Back’ scenario… There are
things in here tonight I really didn’t need to see, so I’ll be nice and spare
you the details. Let’s fast forward straight to one of the most underrated
metal bands: Voivod. Maybe is that Canadian syndrome that also stroke Anvil,
only in this case it’s real injustice rather than just a sad movie.
 Half of those at the Garage tonight don’t know much about
Voivod, apart from maybe spotifying them before coming here. The other half has been waiting far too long
and starts calling out the band, visibly excited. Voivod are a band most people
either love or hate, but for the expectant fans they really got a treat
tonight.
With Blacky back in the fold on bass and Dan Mongrain coping
with the virtually impossible task of replacing Piggy, Voivod take hold of the
night and deliver a quality set of old and new. They have been away for a long
time and seem intent on making sure their fans get what they came for.
A splattering of new tracks from the latest album “Infini”
are moulded together with some genre defining classics to great effect. Snakes
voice sounds as good as ever and with Away taking up his usual seat behind the
drums, songs like ‘The Unknown Knows’, ‘Ripping Headaches’ and the anthem ‘Tribal
Convictions’ have rarely sounded better.
There’s a touching moment remembering Piggy, with the crowd
loudly chanting his name and the band dedicating Pink Floyd’s cover ‘Astronomy
Domine’ to the much missed guitarist, and Nashville Pussy’s Ruyter joining
Voivod on stage, excited like a 14 years old, for an explosive finale.
Weird like after Festivals and big kick ass shows, a
comparatively small show at the good old Garage can still be so memorable… Back on the truck now sug!
Review by The Wicked Witch and John Morgan
Check out our photo page for more awesome shots from the show!
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