Mos Generator, In Concert: Travelers in Time
In 2012, Mos Generator guitarist/vocalist Tony Reed engineered the Saint Vitus reunion album, Lillie: F-65. The two bands had also done shows in Mos Generator‘s native Pacific Northwest together, and when it was time for Vitus to head to Europe in support of the album, Reed, bassist Scooter Haslip and drummer Shawn Johnson went along for the full month’s run as the supporting act, and it’s from that tour that the new In Concert live album — the first release on Lay Bare Recordings — comes. Issued 180 gram vinyl-only in an edition of 300 with some black and some in a pink and white swirl, In Concert was recorded at Rockfabrik in Nürnberg, Germany, on March 25, 2013, by Dirk de Zibel for Eraser Pictures, and with a mix and master job from Reed himself, it makes a rousing answer to Mos Generator‘s 2012 comeback long-player, Nomads (review here), which emerged via Ripple Music and was among the year’s best heavy rock releases. Highlights from Nomads including the ultra-hook one-two of “Cosmic Ark” and “Lonely One Kenobi” show up on In Concert, as well as the closer “This is the Gift of Nature,” which fits well at the end of side B of the vinyl as well. The fluid mix between the new material and opener “Lumbo Rock,” as well as “Silver Olympus,” “On the Eve” and “Godhand Iommi” — all of which come culled from a variety of the band’s releases in their first run, whether it’s their self-titled debut in the case of the former or 2006’s Late Great Planet Earth for “Silver Olympus” or any number of self-released demos, session singles, etc., that the band did before going on hiatus in 2009 as Reed embarked on ’70s revivalist rockers Stone Axe and several other projects, including HeavyPink, whose 7″ was released on The Maple Forum — only underscores how little of a step Mos Generator missed upon their return.
The Rockfabrik show was the third date before the end of the tour, so it was the perfect night to capture the band at their best. Sure, the end was in sight, but at that point, you wouldn’t run into any end-of-tour antics, they wouldn’t be thinking yet about getting home and back to real life in a way that might distract from the set, and in terms of their performance, they’d be a machine. So it is on In Concert. For having sand every night for 20 days, Reed‘s voice sounds fresh and crisp as “Lumbo Rock” moves into “Cosmic Ark,” and even by the end of the set, he’s still able to reach for the notes in “This is the Gift of Nature” without straining. The recording itself is crisp and full — one does not come out of the vinyl wondering where Haslip‘s bass was — and though it’s a professional delivery of a well-honed set, Mos Generator still seem to be enjoying themselves, whether it’s Reed asking for a drink on stage and letting the crowd know they’re, “running out of fun” or asking Rockfabrik to turn the house lights on at the end of the set to get a picture of the crowd (the latter seems to have been a nightly routine, if the band’s Facebook posts are any kind of tell). A relatively darker start to side B with the apocalyptically-themed “On the Eve” is complemented with a subsequent turn to the ultra-Sabbathian blues jam “Godhand Iommi” — Haslip and Johnson are duly righteous for both — which takes parts of “Wicked World” and gleefully dashes off with them in a swirl of rhythmic tightness, and though when they’re finished with “This is the Gift of Nature,” the LP feels short, it was an opening set after all, and there’s not much left to ask that’s not delivered.
It doesn’t seem unfair to call the second half of In Concert more exploratory than the first. The trio of mega-catchy tracks that unfolds with “Lumbo Rock,” “Cosmic Ark” and “Lonely One Kenobi” — the latter of which is my pick for the high point of the release; they just nail it — is undeniable, and though “This is the Gift of Nature” has a chorus that stands up, the midpoint slowdown and extended length gives a grander feel, and certainly “On the Eve” and “Godhand Iommi” add to the dynamic of mood as well, Reed offering no shortage of blistering solos throughout. All the better then to present the show on LP, since one would expect side B to be where Mos Generator made similar moves on a studio release, and where I’d gladly argue they did on Nomads. The record ends with Reed taking the aforementioned photo and saying, “Thanks very much, Saint Vitus up next,” and while I can’t help but wish that was the case, it’s satisfying enough to flip the record back over and start again with the “the thrill is gone away” hook of “Lumbo Rock.” As Mos Generator continue their reinvigorated tenure, having signed to Listenable Records for the release of a new studio album, In Concert nonetheless finds them at a pivotal moment, because they’re playing “at the top of their game” and because one can easily hear in this performance that Mos Generator have made a conscious decision to press forward as a band, that they want to be where they are and that they’re willing and able to showcase that in their music. I make no bones about being a fan or having worked with Reed in the past on the HeavyPink release, but classic songwriting, rip-right-through energy and the kind of chemistry that can only arise when a band are precisely that locked in both in their playing and in their mission all make In Concert an absolute must for anyone who may have or may at any point come into contact with Mos Generator, live or studio.
Mos Generator, “Silver Olympus” Live in Sweden, March 29, 2013
Mos Generator on Thee Facebooks
Tags: In Concert, Lay Bare Recordings, Mos Generator, Mos Generator In Concert, Port Orchard, Washington
