"DOS MOMENTOS...."
The
HYDROMATICS
Senor No
Cool Panic
@Salajam, Bergara, Basque Country, Spain
October 6, 2001
This night, I can tell you, I’ve been waiting for it since April, after
seeing Scott Morgan on tour with Deniz Tek. But to see Scott back with the
Hydromatics, playing with other bands like Senor No, the best Spanish rock
band ever known, and the young rockers Cool Panic (new and on the Safety Pin
label), this was a real dream come true.
After having a chat with Senor No about new Australian records, the Radios
reformation rumors, and the new Senor No LP (to be released in December),
we had a coffee and got back inside the big Salajam venue. This is a strange
place where everything seems to have stopped 20 years ago...
Cool Panic opened this night, playing an entire set with tracks for their
new record out on Safety Pin “Made of Stone”, including a real good
one: “I can only give you..”.
When Senor No came on stage, people, coming from everywhere, rushing to the
stage, lauding the band with words I couldn’t really understand, but,
it’s evident that they are like rockstars in their country.
They played a set divided in four parts of four songs in which every opening
track was a new one. The new songs are high tempo songs, much like they've
played since they formed in’93. They played hard, and very tight, the
sound was maybe a little too loud, but who complains??
We heard a few singles like “No Me Hables”, “Mira mi Dedo”
(with the pointed finger), “Perra”. They are real good musicains
and move like crazy people on stage. Burnout!
And then came the moment when the Hydromatics stepped up to play. Scott, Tony,
Theo and Andrew took the mountain where Salajam is built, in an all-out assault!
Pow!
I had seen the Club Lek’s gig, first show of the tour, streamed live
on the VPRO site, but nothing compared to the real thing. Real wild Rock and
Roll played at full tilt. We’re gonna bleed. I really loved the first
LP the band released on White Jazz, but I really think that the new one will
be evern better.
Scott,
who looked like a shy man on stage with Deniz, is turning into a red devil,
ready to burn our souls with kick-ass singing. They opened with a newie, “Ready
to Ball”, then played “Love to Learn” (which I'sd never heard
live before.) The Sonic’s Rendezvous Band’s spirit is alive, here,
in front of us, with songs like: “Dangerous”, “Getting there...”
and “Sweet Nothing”. And the way they played the songs was just
i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-e . Tony Slug, a big man, really rocks on stage, playing
up and down the neck of his guitar, together with Scott. Playing just as hard
is the fabulous new drummer named Andrew, and bassplayer Theo, from the Nitwitz.
The night took on another dimension with the final number on the setlist,
a track from the new LP called “Powerglide”. What more can happen
tonight? Scott puts his guitar down, puts his sunglasses on to become sexy
Scott, taking the microphone out of the stand, and singa “Powerglide”,
rockin’ the place like no-one else can.
The set is so intense that we really understood it when the guys, after 14
songs, wouldn’t play more. Except for one song in the encore : “Cit
Cit Cit... City Slang”. It hits me like a punch in the face, and one
ear in the bass speakers I end the evening, just like on the Tek/Morgan/Somic
Assassin tour. This is Fuckin’ Detroit Rock!!!!
- Laurent Van Bouvelen
