Mandag 22.november 2021
Eagles Of Death Metal kicked off their 24th Anniversary Tour in front of a sold out crowd at Chalk in Brighton, England. Norway Rock Magazine was there to check it out, before the tour arrives in Oslo on 1 April at Sentrum Scene. Jesse Hughes kept asking the crowd «Can you dig it?» – yes, we dug it.
First up were Bones UK, a Grammy nominated rock band from Camden Town, London (who you may know from their work with Jeff Beck on his 2016 “Loud Hailer” album). Lead vocalist / rhythm guitarist Rosie Bones oozed charisma and attitude as soon as the band set foot on stage. The obvious chemistry between Bones and lead guitarist Carmen Vandenberg was a joy to witness. Vandenberg is an impressive guitarist, and really shone during the track “Girls Can’t Play Guitar” from their 2019 album “Bones UK”. Other highlights included “Pretty Waste” and a cover of David Bowie’s “I’m Afraid of Americans”. If you are coming to the Oslo show, make sure you turn up early enough to see Bones UK! 5/6
The crowd were already excited before American rockers Eagles Of Death Metal appeared, so when a cloaked Jesse Hughes appeared and greeted them with raised arms and blew them a kiss, they erupted. They had waited a long time to see the band perform live in Europe again. The show began with “Whorehoppin’ (Shit, Goddamn)” from their 2014 debut album “Peace, Love, Death Metal”. Other highlights included “I Want You So Hard (Boy’s Bad News)” and crowd pleaser “I Love You All the Time” from 2015’s “Zipper Down”. The band performed with varying degrees of intensity and Jesse Hughes danced around, made contact with people in the crowd, and manically shook his head. Hughes adopts an almost Preacher like personality on stage, frequently making statements like “I NEEDED this people, I NEEDED rock’n’roll’ then shouting “Can you dig it? AMEN!”
The band were made up of Jorma Vik (drums), Joshua Jove (guitar) and Jennie Vee (bass). Their positivity was infectious. At one point, before an electric performance of «Cherry Cola» from their 2005 album «Death by Sexy», Jesse told the crowd that it was the 16th birthday of a guy called Liam in the front row. He declared “That’s one fine specimen of rock’n’roll right there – the future of rock’n’roll!” and proceeded to get the crowd to join him in singing Happy Birthday to Liam. Towards the end of the gig, bassist Jennie Vee momentarily took centre stage and delivered an impromptu version of Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades”. Bones UK guitarist Carmen Vandenberg came out to dance in the photopit and interacted with Jesse also, at one point playing the strings on his guitar while he knelt on the edge of the stage. The encore, a rousing performance of “Speaking in Tongues” (also from their debut album) came too soon, as the crowd could have kept rocking all night. 4.5/6
Tekst og foto: Anne-Marie Forker