6 things to know about the Motorhead, Megadeth concert at The Pearl
Six things I learned at the Motorhead/Megadeth show at The Pearl at the Palms on Thursday:
— The ravages of time can not sideline a man who has ravaged himself more than time ever could. After decades of hard living, Motorhead frontman Lemmy Killmister still sounds like he always has, which is to say, his awesomely inimitable rasp is still suggestive of a mufflerless cement truck.
— Phil Campbell remains one of the most underrated guitarists in hard rock/heavy metal. Campbell is the glue that holds Motorhead together, his bluesy bombast every bit as distinctive as Lemmy’s whiskey-beaten vocal chords.
— The coolest dad in the world has officially been discovered. During Motorhead’s set, a kid who looked to be all of 7 years old rocked out hard on his pops’ shoulders, clad in a sleeveless denim jean jacket no less. Now that’s how you raise a child.
— Even metal gods are fallible. Motorhead’s set was great — the only complaint I had was that it was too brief — nevertheless, Lemmy totally botched the opening of “Ace of Spades” and never really got in the groove of the song even though he was playing it for roughly the 1,476th time. Ah well, a seismic “Overkill,” which followed, more than made up for the gaffe.
— Megadeth may not have released a must-have album since “Blossom” was still on prime-time, but man, do thrash throwbacks like “Wake Up Dead” and “Tornado of Souls” still sound as vital as ever. Thankfully, they compensated for the mind-numbing inanity of “She-Wolf.”
— Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine just can’t help himself. A fierce critic of the Obama administration, Mustaine had to get at least one jab in near the end of the show. “If I was president of the United States, Russia would not be messing with Ukraine tonight,” Mustaine said — right after playing “Peace Sells,” ironically enough.
Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476. Follow on Twitter @JasonBracelin.
