Motörhead
August 22, 2015
Shrine Auditorium- Los Angeles, CA
British heavy metal legends Motörhead and Saxon joined forces for a North American tour. Motörhead was not only out to support their 22nd album Bad Magic that comes out on August 28, but more importantly they were celebrating their 40th anniversary on this tour. Saxon is out to support their 21st studio album Battering Ram that comes out on October 16, 2015. A packed Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California was ready for two of heavy metal’s biggest bands and the bands themselves were ready to make everything louder than everything else!
The lights turned off and the crowd went wild as the leaders of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Saxon, came on stage to an already packed venue. Frontman Biff Byford asks, “How are you doin’, Los Angeles!?” then announced they were starting the show with a new song titled Battering Ram from the new album. A song like this proves that Saxon sill has quality music left in them as the song has classic heavy metal elements to which the crowd responded positively to it. Saxon followed the opening track with This Town Rocks, Sacrifice, and Power and the Glory. One of the best songs of the night was when they played their hit, Heavy Metal Thunder. Just the name alone lets you know you’re in for a very heavy metal song. When Saxon started this song, the crowd cheered and head-banged throughout the whole song. For the next song, Saxon played one of their best songs and their first radio hit, Wheels of Steel which also happens to be the 30th anniversary of this song. During the middle of the song, Byford stopped to record the crowd on his phone to record the crowd to upload to their Facebook page. Byford then asked the crowd, “Are you still fucking with me!?” the crowd yelled as loud as possible as Saxon finished the song. Byford announced that their next song is a thrash metal song and that song was 20,000 Ft. Being that it was a thrash metal song, twin mosh pits broke out 
right next to each other in the crowd. Byford finished the song with a powerful scream as he yelled out 20,000 Ft for the final time. Nearing the end of the show, Byford told the crowd they should know this one as founding Saxon member and original guitarist Paul Quinn started the familiar guitar riff to Princess of the Night. Mosh pits broke out again as fans were showing that they were truly enjoying Saxon in all their heavy metal glory. For the final song of the night, Saxon chose Denim and Leather which describes the attire that metalheads in the 1980’s would wear and is still commonly seen. This song was extra special because Saxon was joined on stage by Motörhead guitarist Phil Campbell. Saxon finished their show, bowed together in front of the fans and left the stage. The crowd wasn’t ready to go home which is a good thing because the night was just getting started.
When people talk about the most legendary rock and metal bands, one of the most commonly talked about bands is the mighty Motörhead. Despite having cancelled shows in Europe in 2014 due to the iconic and Living Sex Legend Lemmy Kilmister’s health issues, Motörhead was ready to start their 40th anniversary tour. Before Motörhead came on stage, the venue was already feeling hot from the inside and sweaty people could be seen wiping sweat from their bodies. The lights went out once again and the crowd roared with excitement as they awaited the arrival of one of the best bands in heavy metal history. Kilmister went to his spot on stage and said to the crowd, “Good evening, Los Angeles!” followed by his signature quote of “We are Motörhead and we play rock and roll!” The crowd screamed with excitement as Motörhead started their set with their hit, Damage Case. The crowd became wild as fans pushed against each other to try and get closer to the stage and fans up front could be seen with facial expressions of pain and being overwhelmed. With guitarist Phil Campbell being the only non-stationary member in the band, he was the only one running around on stage entertaining fans by swinging his guitar around and striking classic guitar poses while playing. Motörhead followed next with their setlist with Stay Clean, We Are Motörhead, Metropolis, and Over the Top. After Over the Top, Kilmister and drummer Mikkey Dee took a quick break while Campbell was bathed in green lights as he gave a short guitar solo to the audience.
Kilmister and Dee came back out to play The Chase Is Better Than the Catch. Next, the band played Rock It from their 1983 Another Perfect Day album. Fans were throwing their fists in the air and head-banging to this song. Kilmister announced their new album Bad Magic which is set to release on August 28 and then continued the show by playing Lost Woman Blues. Motörhead next played Doctor Rock from their 1986 Orgasmatron album. During the middle of this song, Kilmister and Campbell left the stage to allow longtime drummer Mikkey Dee to shine by letting him pound away on his drums for a drum solo. The crowd cheered and watched in awe as Mikkey Dee delivered an amazing drum solo for a few minutes. Dee finished the drum solo by hitting his snare drum as hard as he could which caused his drumstick to continuously flip in the air and once it came back down, Dee caught it with perfection and pointed it at the crowd as they cheered him on while the rest of the band came back out to finish Rock doctor.
Before playing Going to Brazil, Kilmister asked the audience if there were any Brazilians in the crowd and pointed out about 6 of them then they started the song. Before playing the next song, Kilmister announced that this will be the final song of the night…BUT…if the crowd made lots of noise then they would come back out and play some more. What did they choose for their next song? It was none other than their most famous song and one of the greatest songs in metal, Ace of Spades. This song was clearly the highlight of the show as the biggest mosh pit of the night broke out. Fans sang along to the lyrics, “You know I’m born to lose and gambling’s for fools but that’s the way I like it, baby I don’t wanna live forever! And don’t forget the joker!” Motorhead finished the song and left the stage. The crowd took Kilmister’s words to heart as they continued to cheer and make noise. After a few minutes, Motörhead came back out to a still loud crowd and surprise with them. Kilmister brought out his son Paul Inder to jam with them on the final song of the night. Before so, Kilmister introduced the band. Starting with guitarist Phil Campbell whom has played with Motörhead for 31 years followed by who Kilmister considers the best drummer in the world, Mikkey Dee! Campbell took the mic and introduced Lemmy Kilmister to the crowd and he received a standing ovation as one of the Gods of metal should. Motorhead chose Overkill as the final song of the night as Mikkey Dee played the intro drums to the song which built up the energy the song needed while Campbell played the beginning guitar parts followed by Kilmister’s electric bass. The crowd used this opportunity to really let loose any leftover energy they had. Another big mosh pit started, girls were up on guy’s shoulders rocking out, and cups of beer and water were thrown into the air. When the song finally ended, Mikkey Dee kept drumming and was hitting his snare drum with drumsticks as they flew up and behind him as he chucked them one after another into the air. Once the show came to an end, Kilmister and Campbell threw guitar picks to the crowd while Dee threw drumsticks into the crowd and the band left the stage. Fans looked super happy, drunk, and covered in sweat. Motörhead and Saxon were louder than everything else on this night.
Review by: Misael Ruiz
Motorhead
Saxton
