Wednesday 16 June 2010

Them Crooked Vultures Offer Night Of Sweaty Sexy Rock


Yes, I have been a big fan of Them Crooked Vultures from day one. I was one of the lucky people to see them perform for the first time in Europe last year and their encore on Lowlands. Now they were back on their nest for a second appearance in Amsterdam after their glorious debut in August.

Them Crooked Vultures at Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam June 10 2009 (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
And I loved those both performances to bits. Their album might just be my musical wet dream and I really don't get why so many critics dislike it and are always negative about Josh Homme and Dave Grohl. Of course I'm prejudiced as a fan but even from an objective standpoint it still is a good album. Maybe it's just jealousy because these guys have achieved what most musicians can only dream of: being in succesful bands and having a hobby band on the side that happens to be of extraordinary quality. And have lots of fun doing it at the same time. That must be hard to swallow for most sour critics.

So I just had to be there again in the Heineken Music Hall that was sold out and therefore loaded. But only after the support act 'As I Watch You From Afar' put down a nice show to warm us up. Their instrumental progrock tunes were a great way to get in the mood.



But then loud cheers welcomed the stars of the night to the stage. They immediately went full force (thank God for ear plugs) and put down their killer grooves. Compared to last year they were anticipating more to each other and the vultures machine was well oiled and running smoothly. Grohl is just incredible to watch on drums playing so strong and convincing with inventive grooves and fills. Josh Homme looked very relaxed, playing his signature licks, chatting and cracking jokes once and a while. Even his crooning during 'Interlude with Ludes' looked less clumsy than last year. John Paul Jones is an amazing multi-instrumentalist playing bass, keyboards and violin. It must be great playing with a steady relaxed musician like him. And Alain Johannes was showing that he's just as important to the band as the rest with great solo's and riffs filling up the songs and giving them more body.

With only one album out they don't have a lot of songs yet but of course that's no problem. They just extended some of them by turning them into long jams showing off their skills. They included two more songs 'Highway One' and 'You Can't Possibly Begin To Imagine' that aren't on the album. Appearently that last one is a new song and may end up on their second record later this year.



After two hours of high quality rock music they ran out of songs and it was time to say goodbye. No more tunes left for an encore but who needs one of those scheduled endings of a show anyway? So what's wrong with Josh Homme and Dave Grohl besides them having fun? And calling Grohl overrated (yes, I've read critics stating that) is absolute nonsense. He must be one of the best and most inventive rock drummers at the moment. So maybe it's not sensitive indie folk music that all those critics seems to love these days but I would trade in any of those so called creative bands with their fussing for another two hours of steaming dirty rock by Them Crooked Vultures.

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