The first band up in the Kleine Zaal was Motorjesus. What other music to make than rock ‘n roll with such a name. Although there were some small hints of metal and the more classical rock here and there, the basis was very obvious. Grooving rock that got all the Turbojugend people enthusiastic. I didn’t turn warm or cold because of them. The musical style they play isn’t that original in average to begin with, but it wasn’t that tight and the lyrics were just plain awful. To give some examples, there were songs about gasoline, the legion of rock, the howl of the wolf and the last song was called ‘Return Of The Demons’. It doesn’t get anymore cliché than that I think.

 

After this we had to leave for the Batcave to see Borehole. I had never heard of this band before, just like the previous band, but this time I was pleasantly surprised. I was treated to some heavy ass grooving stoner rock, barely touching the edge of doom metal. Very strong, heavy, grooving riffs. There was a female on drums, something I have some bad experience with, but this one was pretty good actually. She kept it nice and tight, interesting enough and she bashed away one of her cymbals during the show. The performance was very bombastic and entertaining until the end. The only thing I didn’t like too much was the vocalist, he seemed a bit insecure and unable to let it all come out. All in all this is a very nice addition to the Dutch stoner rock/doom scene which I hope to see more often in the future.

 

Then it was time for Made Out Of Babies, the reason I came to this show. I had heard someone who’s opinion I can usually trust blindly talk about this band so much that I checked it out on the internet. I also remembered because I think they have an awesome name of course. The tracks I listened to appealed to me, so tonight I got to meet the band’s music in a live setting. Even before one note was played I knew I was in for something special. This band has a female on vocals, something that has never really managed to please me until recently. But this girl is now officially my favourite female vocalist ever. She runs around in extreme panic, headbangs and looks like she really doesn’t know what to do with herself. She can sing in an awesome way, constantly changing her voice, but the best thing is her ability to radiate extreme paranoia through her voice. You have to hear and see it to believe it. Also she manages to throw out screams that instantly raise the hair in the back of my neck. Simply amazing what this woman does. The band gives a very strong impression, with a guitarist, a bassist/backing vocalist and a drummer that simply bash away on their instruments at one time, while being fragile and delicate at another. I can only describe their music as artcore, and yes you can think Tool with a term like that. Only their songs haven’t been thought about for five years of course. I can write like a whole page about this show, but the truth is you just have to check them out yourself. I know I am getting all of their stuff asap!

 

After such an intense and elevating performance I felt like I needed to take a little break. I saw like thirty seconds of what the Batcave had to offer, Majestic 12, but one rock ‘n roll band a day is more than enough for me. When you see two, you really realize that they all play the same stuff, sing about the same things, wear the same clothes, and the only thing I really have in common with them is that I drink the same beer. And I also like to party, but with better music please.

 

The headliner for tonight was the mighty Belgian El Guapo Stuntteam. I’ve seen the guys some times before, but I didn’t have any lively memories of that. That would be different after this night. Their three guitar (almost like Iron Maiden!) rock ‘n roll attack at first didn’t grab my attention, but as the show progressed I got more and more into it until at the end of the show I really liked it. Their catchy mix of rock, blues, metal and punk somehow takes a hold of you, very gradually. Add a very humoristic interaction with the crowd by guitarist/vocalist Cedric and you have yourself a very entertaining show to watch. I cannot wait to review their new album Accusation Blues and hear how they deliver this rock ‘n roll machine on record. Even though I thought that there would be nothing really interesting after Made Out Of Babies, I was proven horribly wrong by this Belgian rock formation. They showed me that not everything is the same within rock ‘n roll, and I hope they will do this again to me in the not too distant future.