mustasch_2012_04

» Mustasch 2012 04 13

Reviewed by Tobbe
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City: Stockholm, Sweden
Venue: Annexet
Date: 13 April 2012
Set length: 85 minutes

Mustasch

Swedish band Mustasch makes a stop in Stockholm, on this snowy Friday evening, for a performance to promote their new album, Sounds Like Hell, Looks Like Heaven, released in early February. This time without any support acts or special guests or whatever you want to call them. I can't say that I'm disappointed about that decision. After the departure of drummer Danne McKenzie late last year, they have brought in well renowned Jejo Perkovic to pound the skins on this tour.

I don't read any other live reviews of the bands before I go to a show, just to not get influenced by others, conscious or not. One thing was for sure though; I knew they were going to play their new album in its entirety and somehow they almost get away with it. Mostly due to the fact that it has less than forty minutes of playing time. The first twenty-five to thirty minutes of the show is pretty lame and it's not until Your Father Must Be Proud Of You is played that the gig turns into something different and exciting.

Suddenly the crowd awoke from their dormancy and the last hour was an hour of hits. As a Mustasch fan since their first EP, I must say that their choice of setlist could have been more interesting, but as I've said before, the gigs are played for those people who shows up now and then, and in order to make them return, the hits must be played. Mr. Jones is there as well, as I see some people dancing with each other. Hey, come on, this is a hard rock show, don't embarrass us. This band gets a lot of radio time in their native Sweden, so you know what I'm talking about.

What about the drummer? I think he puts Mustasch into a new dimension with his blasting beats and he is no stranger to double bass drums and fills, but in all honesty, in some songs the drums felt kind of weak with a somehow plastic and empty sound. The band was fair to him, as he even got a couple of minutes to perform a solo. The people were cheering, for what I don't know, as solos must be the most boring thing ever.

One totally annoying thing was a girl who ran across the stage for the first half of the set with her camera and was highly disturbing. Later she decided to take her pictures from the edges and from the back, which made me put focus on the band instead. Whose idea was it to have her there running around? I definitely prefer stage divers and crowd surfers before her, so now you know how bad it was.

On this bigger stage, lead singer Ralf Gyllenhammar didn't steal all the attention tonight, as he usually do. Even if the guys don't run around all the time, I think they had full control and performed well. I just wish they had played more older stuff to satisfy their long time fans as well, as some newer songs have a pop feeling and once they started this thing as a stoner band.

Performance: 6 chalices of 10
Stage sound: 7chalices of 10
Best: I Hunt Alone
Worst: Photographer on stage

Setlist:

Intro
Speed Metal
The Challenger
Never Too Late
Cold Heart Mother Son
Morning Star
Dead Again
Your Father Must Be Proud Of You
Destroyed By Destruction
I Don't Hate You
Northern Link (recorded)
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Deep In The Woods
Down In Black
Tritonus (Prelude)
Heresy Blasphemy
Mine
Bring Me Everyone
Black City
Drum Solo
Black City (continued)
I Hunt Alone
Double Nature
Outro