AWESOME MACHINE ::

AWESOME MACHINE / MANNHAI
arena / vienna, austria
27th apr 2005

i really wanted to post some pictures with this entry, but i can't seem to get the pictures off my v220. darn it all... if i manage i'll put the pics up at a later time.

swedish stoner-powerhouse THE AWESOME MACHINE were in town and i was really looking forward to this concert in more than one way.
first of all i'd always (well, at least since i know the band) wanted to see THE AWESOME MACHINE live. and i had missed previous opportunities for a variety of reasons.
and then there's the fact that i had missed just 2 very good concerts in the days before, so i really felt the need to go and see a gig. the concerts in question (the missed onesd) were DIVISION OF LAURA LEE and THE FUZZTONES - don't be a bore and check them out when they come round your area to play.

shocking fact: there were only about 30 people at the gig! sure, i know that stoner rock isn't particularly wide spread choice in musical taste these days, but AWESOME MACHINE are pretty well known to those who prefer this kind of music... i was expecting there to be more people in the crowd.

that was unpleasant. but there was a pleasant surprise as well: MANNHAI supported THE AWESOME MACHINE. this was my first introduction to MANNHAI. i had somewhere read about them, but never heard a single note. to sum it up: finnish riff-rock with a slight but highly agreeable sense of 80ies arena rock. quite enjoyable. a couple of friends who had known the band before were also quite surprised, saying that MANNHAI didn't rock as hard on cd.

i guess i don't really have to go on much about how good THE AWESOME MACHINE were. i was kind of pissed off about the sound, though. for more than 2 thirds of the concert the guitars were barely discernable, the bass was just a huge humming drone - all riffs and melodies lost within one massive grumbly wave of distorted wash-out.

nevertheless, all in all, good show, good music, good fun.