After a bit of a break from gig going during the first half of 2014, the result of a combination of an absence of attractive gigs in the area and of a number of somewhat pressing commitments, everything fell into place in June with five concerts in three weeks. There could have been even more, the mighty Slayer stopping off in Geneva and Pixies playing the Caribana festival as well, but lines do have to be drawn somewhere. Sadly.
Open air rock
First up was the headlining appearance of QOTSA at the Caribana festival on the shores of Lake Geneva. Not the same stretch of coastline as the burning Montreux immortalised by Deep Purple, but the same kind of idea. The venue was well-organised but very full, and finding a good vantage point wasn’t that easy.
After a slight delay caused by technical problems, QOTSA finally took the stage at about 11.45 and their power and professionalism shone through. In spite of my hesitations about festivals in general – as with arena gigs, I hate the crush and the queues for facilities and the lack of intimacy – I enjoyed their enthusiasm and precision and energy.
I do wish things like this would start earlier, though. Yeah, rock’s a late night kind of thing. But having to wait until nearly midnight for the headliners to begin when there’s work the next day… I really can’t cope with that on anything but a very occasional basis.
Hard rock close up
The next week saw me head up the motorway to Fribourg to see Mastodon in the kind of environment I like best… a tiny underground club where, even if you need to wear boots with thick soles to avoid sticking to the floor, you’re close to the action and can really see what’s going on. As is a common theme with my gig-going, the weather was abysmal, and after taking 90 minutes to get from Geneva to past Lausanne I then had to drive very cautiously up the A12 as a ferocious storm battered the area. Visibility was low and road markings were almost invisible.
I’d never been to this particular club before but as a result of having been to Fribourg on numerous occasions for work I knew exactly where it was and I also knew where I could park easily. This is always a positive as driving around a strange town in the rain looking for somewhere to leave the car within walking distance of the venue is something I’ve done far too often over the years.
The timing of this gig was a little imperfect because the band’s new album was due out a couple of weeks later and so we knew there’d be new stuff with which we weren’t familiar. What we got was an interesting mix: only two new songs and a couple of solid slabs from the “Leviathan” and “Blood Mountain” albums. As always the key word was precision as the band rolled out riff after riff with a clarity that was almost at odds with the intensity and volume of the performance. Once again Brann gave the impression of having at least three extra arms as he played complex beats with speed and dexterity and obvious ease. In typical Mastodon style there was no talking between songs apart from the occasional “merci beaucoup”, but at the end Brann came forwards to thank us for coming and promise a longer tour this autumn. Given the quality of the new “Once More ‘Round The Sun” album, this will be a tour worth following.
I’m (Still) The Man
So onto Geneva and a venue that was new to me, L’Usine. Anthrax were in town and although they’re not pushing too many boundaries with new material, excellent though their most recent Worship Music album was, they remain one of the most reliable live bands out there. The setlist did not differ too much from the last time I saw them, two years ago, but they shunt things around and deliver every song with energy and enthusiasm and no little humour. I was pleased to note, right at the beginning when the rest of the band were already riffing it up at the start of “Among The Living”, that Joey was peering around the backstage curtain with a grin wider than a limousine, soaking up the atmosphere from the crowd before bounding on stage and showing that his voice is still very much up to it.
So all the classics, drawing hard on the aforementioned “Among The Living” album and with nods to most of their back catalogue, in front of a boisterous and very bouncy crowd. Scott announced a new album for the autumn and informed us that it was going to be “fucking metal”… I think that was always going to be a safe bet.
One Nation Under God
Then back to Les Docks in Lausanne and the visit of Bad Religion. I’ve been a fan of this band since my final year as an undergraduate, having been introduced to them by my next-door neighbour in halls who listened to their “Suffer” and “No Control” albums first thing every morning, but I’d never got to see them before.
They’re not the most striking band when they wander on stage, obviously not sharing in the metal dress codes that so many of my favourite bands do, but once they kicked off it was a stunning performance, thirty-one sharp, jagged, pointed songs delivered at breakneck speed. Greg took the time for some good natured chat with the crowd after groups of songs, but it was all about the speed and the movement and the ferocity.
It was an excellent performance, delivered to a wild and mobile audience most of whom were of my generation and who really appreciated the rolling out of some of the very old stuff, including a string from the previously mentioned “Suffer” album and a triumphant “Fuck Armageddon” from their EP days. It was cheering, too, to see things conclude with a rousing thrash through “American Jesus”, with the whole audience singing “One nation under god”. The international and ironic language of punk.
The Heaviest Matter of the Universe
And so back to Les Docks three nights later for the Inferno festival, two nights of the heaviest stuff that could be grouped together. My major motivation for going was to see Gojira, whom I’d missed on their previous pass through Lausanne eighteen months before, much to my dismay, but I made sure I got there early enough to see the band on before them. This was Savannah’s Kylesa, a band I’d never heard but who intrigued me because of their description as sludge metal with two drummers. They put on an entertaining set, somewhere between QOTSA and Hawkwind, I’d suppose, but massively more heavy than either.
Gojira knew they were on safe ground with a largely Francophone audience and treated us to a masterclass of string-tapping, hammering-on, string-bending and rock star poses, rolling out their brand of technical and measured metal with clarity combined with utter brutality. I have never seen Les Docks bouncing so much, the frantic moshing even reaching as far as as where I usually stand and crowd-surfing being the order of the night. The highlight for me was a ferocious rendition of “Oroborous”, but the whole setlist was perfectly judged and apart from a few regrets that time constraints meant that a few favourites were missing (I’d have loved to hear “Gift of Guilt”), their performance was enthusiastic and flawless.
I did rather feel for the band due on after them, Cult of Luna, who were left to follow an exhausting and ear-splitting performance. It’s not something I was able to stay to enjoy, though, increasing age and reliance on public transport to get back to my car meaning that I had to join the many others heading for the exits for some cool night air after the fury.
QOTSA setlist:
You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar, but I Feel Like a Millionaire
No One Knows
My God Is the Sun
Monsters in the Parasol
Smooth Sailing
…Like Clockwork
The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret
If I Had a Tail
Little Sister
I Sat by the Ocean
Burn the Witch
Make It Wit Chu
Sick, Sick, Sick
Go With the Flow
A Song for the Dead
Mastodon setlist:
Hearts Alive
Divinations
Capillarian Crest
Black Tongue
Bladecatcher
Crystal Skull
Naked Burn
Megalodon
Oblivion
Blasteroid
Chimes at Midnight
High Road
Bedazzled Fingernails
Aqua Dementia
The Sparrow
Anthrax setlist:
(To be confirmed)
Bad Religion setlist:
Fuck You
Dharma and the Bomb
New America
Stranger Than Fiction
Recipe for Hate
No Control
True North
I Want to Conquer the World
21st Century (Digital Boy)
Supersonic
Prove It
Can’t Stop It
Overture
Sinister Rouge
Dearly Beloved
Skyscraper
Come Join Us
Atomic Garden
Struck a Nerve
Sorrow
1000 More Fools
How Much Is Enough?
Best for You
Do What You Want
You
Fuck Armageddon… This Is Hell
Punk Rock Song
Encore:
Generator
Infected
Dept. of False Hope
American Jesus
Gojira setlist:
(To be confirmed)
(Setlists courtesy of setlist.fm)