Alarmpress.com says: "Turbonegro rocks Hartford"
The return of the Apocalypse Dudes... the Denim Demons... of course, I'm talking about the one and only Turbonegro. Hartford, CT was that the closest their tour with Queens of the Stone Age was coming to the home-base, so it was into the reliable 'ol Toyota for a roadtrip to the Webster Theater in what has to be one of the most BORING cities in America, but that's a topic for discussion at another time. Let's talk about the rock.
They came out to the opening strains of "The Age Of Pamparius" and proceeded to lay down the classic rock 'n roll gauntlet for about three quarters of an hour. You've got to give vocalist Hank Von Helvete for having the bravery to bare his good-sized torso but the man has the presence to pull it off. Highlights? "Don't Say Motherfucker, Motherfucker," preceded by Hank's comments about how much loves dolphins; "Get It On," a letter-perfect merger of Alice Cooper's "Eighteen" and the Ramones' "I Just Wanna Have Something To Do"; the call 'n response from the audience for "I Got Erection." Tongue very well in cheek and well over the heads of a good chunk of the mainstream rock audience---apparently, some of the 'dudes' in this crowd didn't appreciate the mock homoeroticism all that much. Or appreciate the pure majesty of volume and hooks that define Turbonegro. That's their fucking problem, not mine. Only disappointments? No "Good Head" and no encore but this was still well worth the trip. As for the Queens, they were pretty good, although I'm not quite sure I'm in sync with the level of audience devotion they received. A definite "haze" to their sound, almost dreamlike in texture, but punctuated by some hammering fuzzed-out riffs---they do create a good ebb and flow. The Sabbath and Zeppelin nods are in there, but it's a more cerebral approach, for want of a better term. Mark Lanegan (ex-Screaming Trees) sang with them for about half a dozen songs and his subdued vocals meshed well, even with his staute-like (non)-presence.
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