Killed by Deaf

Motorhead

The Warehouse, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Tuesday, July 18th, 1995

It can't be said enough: Lemmy Kilmister is God. No self- respecting metalhead would dare miss an evening with the power trio known as Motorhead. Add the fact that Black Sabbath is touring with the masters of noise, and you've got yourself one helluva leather-laden bash.

As the roadies were setting up, it was easy to spot Lemmy's mic: the one jacked up about seven feet in the air, with a fan pointed right at the position soon to be filled with his ugly mug. Lemmy opened the show with a familiar message, "We are Motorhead, and we're gonna kick your fuckin' asses!" As if you couldn't guess, they began their 60 minute assault with the classic "Ace of Spades." The band littered the stage and main floor with replica playing cards as Lemmy croaked and choked his way through a vintage rendition of this timeless classic.

Not surprisingly the real treat of the night was simply being in the presence of Lemmy, who has more charisma than you might imagine despite his rough and tumble appearance. In between classic brain-bleeders such as "I'm So Bad (Baby I Don't Care)," "Stay Clean," "Nothing Up My Sleeve," and "Killed By Death," Lemmy talked it up with the capacity crowd of ex-cons and bikers. At one point, he commented that the band "kept blowing up Black Sabbath's equipment," referring to the impossible volume they were playing at. When the crowd didn't react loudly enough for his liking, Lemmy responded with "Come on, don't make me shout! It hurts my voice!" With signature authority bashing, Lemmy dedicated "Liar" to "all the politicians out there." In a sarcastic plug for the new album he declared, "Come on out and buy it. We want all your money!"

Despite the feigned attempt to sell records, Motorhead always has been and always will be about the music. Maybe that's why the band played for 20 minutes longer than scheduled, or why they jammed out the finale of Overkill four times to the delight of fist-pounding fans. Lemmy and company definitely know how to have a good time. If you can ever get the chance, go see this man, no matter what you think of heavy metal. If you don't have an amazing time, you certainly won't have the band to blame.

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