Livereviews

DTK/MC5, Dollhouse :
September 18th, Loppen, Christania, Copenhagen

This world tour celebration of the Detroit legends has consisted of many different guest musicians, so I wasn't sure what to expect at their Copenhagen gig. I heard rumors of Evan Dando as lead vocalist which didn't sound that appealing to me. I was somewhat at ease when it turned out to be my old fave Mark Arm (Mudhoney) and The Bellrays' Lisa Kekaula, but the first dish on the menu was tasty Swedish rockers Dollhouse.

I seen'em several times deliver superb no-frills bluesey hardrock greatly inspired by, you guess it, MC5 and tonite was no different. We got several tracks off their new debut album (produced by no other than Michael Davis) which sounds extremely promising along with old songs like "Man On The Move" and Albert King's "Born Under A Bad Sign". The 4-piece seemed a bit stiff in the beginning but after a few songs vocalist/guitarist Chris was out in the audience rockin' like a motherfucker. A short but solid set from the youngsters who didn't wore their usual hippy bellbottoms or face glitter. I was in for an even greater Dollhouse surprise later in the nite though.

It's rockin' time! Wayne Kramer kicked off the main event with "Rambling Rose" and everybody in the crowd knew instantly this nite was gonna be a special one. Michael Davis sang on their early single "I Can Only Give You Everything" and did a decent job. Then tonite's rock hero, Mark Arm (looking ever so good and fit), entered the stage and took on "Sister Ann" with a ferocious energy that completely floored me, man, it's been too damn long since I've heard his awesome voice, he even did some excellent harp playing (better than Lemmy in the '100 Club' gig) along with Johnnie Walker (Soledad Brothers) also on harp. "Over And Over", also with Arm on vocals, followed and things was really starting to heat up (literally). The sensational Lisa Kekaula sported a huge afro and an even bigger soulful voice in a sublime version of "Motor City Is Burning", and excelled with a monster take on "Looking At You". Wayne then took a break to remember and pay homage to the late and sadly missed MC5 brothers, Fred "Sonic" Smith and Rob Tyner with a few wellchosen words. Lisa and Mark continued with a boneshakin' "Shakin' Street" that really kicked up a storm in the packed Loppen, and with "High School" (Johnnie Walker on vocals) people were goin' ga-ga. Well, things got even crazier when the first riffs of "Kick Out The Jams" blasted out the speakers, and Mark showed everyone how it's fuckin' done! Yep, our Seattle pal was fuckin' born to do this song, and went bonkers and crowdsurfed through out most of the classic song. Arm now had the crowd in an iron grip and didn't let go with a kickass treatment of "Call Me Animal". By now many were graspin' for air, and Mr. Kramer took us through "Miss X". The three old timers showed us all how tight they still are (Dennis Thompson was on fire!) during the complex "The Human Being Lawnmover" with Lisa singing. Mark had proved all nite that his vocal range is incredibly impressive, probably enjoying doin' more than the usual punk-ish Mudhoney stuff (nothing wrong with them, one of my all time bands!) but when he did a blacker-than-black version of Ray Charles' "I Believe", I fuckin' thought that Otis Redding had risen from beyond the grave!! Wayne worked the crowd with a jammy version "Rocket Reducer # 62", and we sang different parts. It looked pretty boring on the "Sonic Revolution" dvd to me, but to be in the audience was a blast. After a couple of more songs with Lisa and Mark on vocals, Nicke Andersson ended the set with brilliant take on "American Ruse". It was actually a blessing that the show had come to an end cuz I was by then almost fainting from the heat and the outstanding performance of the band. I had not expected this celebration of the Motor City rockers to be this sensational, no fuckin' way! The sound was great, Davis/Thompson/Kramer was smokin', the guest musicians was absolutely stunningly outstanding and everyone did an awesome job. Truly a grand nite to remember!! I sure wouldn't mind a live record of the show with this line-up, HOT motherfuckin' DAMN!!!

Well, it wasn't completely over for me since my good friend René was celebrating his 31st birthday not too far from Loppen, so me and the missus took a cab to his groovy big headbanging basement appartment. Several metal bands had already played, so we hung out, talked to old friends while drinking plenty o' cheap cold beer. Around 2 a.m. Dollhouse showed up as promised and rocked their asses off in an even greater performance than their Loppen gig, starting out with "Looking At You". Lorenzo Woodrose was also present and skillfully played guitar on a couple of songs while Chris only handled the microphone. Dollhouse were wonderfully loose with a joyful don't-give-a-fuck attitude, the birthday guests were drunk outta their skulls, the floor was a sea of beer and bodies dancing to the beat - I guess this is what they call rock'n'roll, now aint it? A perfect ending for a perfect nite, why the hell can't all saturdays be like this??

Jens

Dollhouse (Loppen)

DTK/MC5

Dollhouse (René's birthday)