Mikkey Dee @ Jailbreak 2024
A man's gotta (drum-) stick with what he does best
(Review + photo: Magnus Jørgensen)
It's 2 PM, and I arrive in front of the stage exactly as the incredible Mikkey Dee and friends take the stage. Motörhead covers are today's menu, and I can't fucking wait to see the outrageously skilled and hard-hitting Swede punish those drums once again.
Mikkey's statement that they're "not trying to be Motörhead" is rendered a bit comical by the fact that the bassist/singer has long, dark hair, a moustachio, and mutton chops. But we wouldn't want it any other way, would we? Gotta look the part.
It takes a couple of songs to get the train rolling.
The sound is a bit off and the band lacks energy. But the more we get,
the better the whole thing gets. While we do get a few deep cuts – "Shine" from "Another Perfect Day" ('83)
and opener "Built for Speed" from "Orgasmatron" ('86) – this is a parade of some
of Motörhead's biggest bangers. We're talking stuff like "Stay Clean", "Iron Fist", "Shoot You
In The Back", and "Love Me Like A Reptile". If you don't know these tunes, you're probably not a metalhead.
Mikkey introduces "Sacrifice" with great pride, and he should be
proud, because that drum pattern is as irresistible as it is difficult,
and you seldom hear a rock 'n' roll song that is written around the
drum patterns. Curiously, only three of today's
songs are from his 12 records with the band. It's not that those
records are worse than the 10 that preceded them (because they're not),
but this is a celebration, and a celebration requires the old hits.
And hey, you can't go a whole lot wrong with tunes like these. And while this celebration would've undoubtedly benefitted from a focused indoor setting on the better side of our collective hangover, a celebration is still what this is for those of us who own the albums featuring aforementioned tunes. And the whole thing gets a bit of extra crowd interaction going as Whitfield Crane from Ugly Kid Joe joins the band for "Born To Raise Hell".
That final trio of "Killed By Death", "Ace
Of Spades", and "Overkill" are eternal winners. Especially the latter, in all its blunt, garage-y proto-thrash glory, is a minor stroke of rock 'n' roll genius, not settling for starting any fewer than three times in total, with one of the most infectious and punishing drives in the genre's entire history.
Despite a slow start, then, Mikkey Dee and friends do exactly what they're supposed to: play the songs of the greatest rock 'n' roll band ever with the appropriate respect for the deceased band members. What a way to start the day.
Rating: 4.5 out of 6
Genre: Rock 'n' roll
Venue: Jailbreak, outdoor stage
Date: Sat., Aug. 17th, 2024
Setlist:
- Built for Speed
- Stay Clean
- Shoot You in the Back
- In the Name of Tragedy
- Born to Raise Hell
- Love Me Like a Reptile
- Sacrifice
- Iron Fist
- Shine
- Killed By Death
- Ace of Spades
- Overkill