I did not know anything about support act Pendej0, other than that their lyrics were in Spanish, but became instantly intrigued by the trombone and trumpet that were on stage amongst the guitars. The band arrived on stage to some Spanish folk music but then immediately launched into a full blown stoner rock party. The venue started to fill up quickly as they combined trumpet, trombone, great guitar riffs and a great party atmosphere. I don’t speak Spanish but thanks to enthusiastic hand gestures from the vocalist I was able to get the picture and I don’t think that it would have been covered in my GCSE Spanish class anyway!
I am a massive Monster Magnet fan. I saw clips of the video for “Negasonic Teenage Warhead” on The Chart Show when I was 14 and was hooked. This was to be my seventh time seeing them live but the first time to see them in my home town of Belfast. For many of the fans there it was the first time to see the band live and the excitement was clear on social media in the weeks leading up to this gig.
Opening with “Dopes to Infinity” saw the crowd instantly go mad, rightly so as Monster Magnet were everything you could have wanted, loud, heavy and engaging. This classic song was followed up by the first three tracks of the new album Mindfucker, “Rocket Freak”, “Soul” and “Mindfucker”. By this stage the entire venue was in full blown party mood.
Dave Wyndorf and the entire band were flawless through the set, Wyndorf in particular looked confident and strong, his appearance defying his age.
I was delighted to hear two more tracks off Dopes to Infinity, “Look to your Orb for the Warning” and of course “Negasonic Teenage Warhead” which saw the Limelight drenched in beer as the crowd threw pints in the air and started to dance.
But of course there was one song everyone wanted to hear, the iconic “Space Lord” which had everyone screaming “Motherfucker” into the air with unadulterated enthusiasm. The encore was made up of newer tracks “Ejection” and “End of Time” before finally finishing off a fantastic night with the amazing “Powertrip”.
The consensus of the fans in Belfast who had waited so long to see Monster Magnet was that it was well worth that wait for such an amazing night.
Photos by Exposing Shadows Photography
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Pendej0: facebook
