Last year Classic Rock magazine ran an ad for an upcoming Motorhead DVD called Live In Old New York filmed at a show I was at in February 2011. The show was great but given the fact that I was there with about a dozen of my best friends and had just as many beers I was looking for something to refresh my memory. Turns out they had a change in plans and released this show from Santiago, Chile later in the tour instead. Probably a good idea since Motorhead is huge in South America and those fuckers are crazier than a NY audience these days.
Motorhead's been on a roll the past few years. Their albums The World Is Yours and Motorizer have been big improvements over some of the others that have come out this century. They don't change the set list that much, so swapping in a few new songs from these two albums is a nice change of pace. "Iron Fist" is back in the opening spot of their concerts followed by the trusty "Stay Clean." If you're in doubt that Motorhead still packs a mighty crash bang wallop in concert, all you need to see is these 2 songs to know that's not true. Newer songs like "Get Back In Line," "The Thousand Names of God" and "Rock Out" sit along nicely with the old classics "Metropolis," "Over The Top" (always a highlight), "Killed By Death" and, of course, "Ace Of Spades." Slower songs like "The Chase Is Better Than the Catch" and the "Stranglehold" inspired "Just Cos You Got the Power" give everyone a chance to bang their heads a little slower and save some energy for the inevitable "Overkill." I've never been a fan of the song "Going To Brazil" but it's towards the set and a welcome chance to hit the can and get a fresh beer, whether it's at the concert or at home.
Filmed by Sam Dunn's Banger Films (Iron Maiden Flight 666, Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage) in black and white, it looks kinda cool at first but after awhile I was wishing it was in color. There are 3 bonus songs from the NY show in color as well as 6 from Manchester that look great. I was pleased that they included "Killed By Death" from the NY show because the crowd went apeshit when Doro Pesch came out to sing it with Lemmy and featured Todd Youth on guitar. I was lucky enough to catch a Motorhead show in New Jersey when Todd was filling in for Phil Campbell when his mother passed away. Todd did a great job and it was nice to see him back onstage with the band and clearly having a great time. Michael Monroe makes a cameo on the Manchester version of "Born To Raise Hell. Man, that guy is skinny but he really knows how to twirl a mic stand. The bonus interviews catch them in various states of inebriation and contain a few witty quips but nothing you don't know already. The audio discs that come with the DVD are a nice bonus but chances are they won't get played too much. Lemmy, Phil and Mikkey sound great but it's hard to top No Sleep Til Hammersmith for the ultimate Motorhead live album. Motomaniacs probably already have this but if you're skeptical that they can still give you a neck ache and hangover like they did 30 years ago, get this muther pro to.
--Woody
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