Whatever Happed To My Rock And Roll

Concert Review

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Shake Milwaukee

A breeze hits me and I hear nothing but the roar of motorcycle engines. I myself do not ride a motorcycle but tonight it seemed that everyone else in Milwaukee did. This is home of the Harley Davidson 105th Anniversary Festival. Harley was kind enough to set up some free street shows around the city beginning the night before the actual fest. Headlining the first of the shows is Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, a very fitting choice for a festival dedicated to motorcycles. The opener was a jam band, Tea Leaf Green, who set a good mood amongst the crowd. The people nearest to the stage were dancing up a storm, but this could also have been due to the sponsorship from Miller Lite. During the set change, members of security surprised the crowd (particularly us in the front row) by moving a barricade in place by the stage. It was more than unnecessary considering moshing was highly unlikely to take place and that the overall demographic of this crowd consisted of forty to fifty-year-olds celebrating Harley’s Anniversary. The audience exceeded the crowd before the stage as people were watching from the windows of the surrounding buildings. I noticed that there weren’t too many folks in this crowd who seemed familiar with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at all. It looked like the band had landed themselves a gang of new ears.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club took the stage around 9:00 pm and launched straight into the groove of “666 Conducer.” Right away you could tell the band was “on.” Guitarist/vocalist Peter Hayes seemed a lot more animated onstage than in previous shows. The normally energetic bassist/vocalist, Robert Levon Been, was also tearing it up. This newfound energy was rumored to be the result of the addition of drummer Leah Shapiro, of the band Dead Combo. In keeping up momentum the band quickly cranked out “Berlin” and “Weapon of Choice:” both singles from their latest album Baby 81. They played non stop for an hour and a half set, playing select songs from every album and EP that they have. They even threw out a few deep cuts such as “The Show is About to Begin” along with the always epic “American X.”

At this point in the show it became more obvious that the band was able to sway the crowd in their favor. Those who came just looking for a party began to give the band their full attention. However, the only real crowd interaction the band gave was when they thanked the audience and introduced the last number of the night saying, “We’ve got one more for you.” BRMC ended the night with “Heart & Soul,” a perfect summary of exactly what the band had unleashed into this performance.

After the show, I watched as the band packed up their gear. This was not difficult since backstage was the street. Their roadies were helping, but the band was doing a lot of the work. It really showed that being in a band is not easy. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club has had four albums out, 2 EP’s and their songs were featured in television shows such as: Generation Kill, The Sopranos, Entourage, 24, and Six Feet Under. With all that exposure, they still pack their own equipment.

BRMC have been touring for two years straight off their last album. In that time, they have played well over two hundred shows. For the last couple of months they have been opening for Stone Temple Pilots, playing half hour sets across the country. It seemed refreshing for the band to be able to open up their catalog. After the show, an older man with a grey beard dressed in leather tapped me on the shoulder and asked me, “What was the name of that band? They were awesome!” I told him and left knowing that true rock and roll still exists.