author: Guy
BLACK NASA (US) and THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX (US) in Sojo's
CONCERT REVIEW
As suggested above, The Atomic Bitchwax is an entirely different matter. That band isn’t
about catchy choruses, concise structures and slickness, but about high-energy musicianship,
insanely incendiary solos, heavy pumping bass and other assorted madness. Of course it helps
that all three musicians got several opportunities to show off their considerable skills. Keith
Ackerman is a powerhouse drummer (half man, half tendon) in the purest sense of the term,
despite his fragile build capable of tearing the place apart with gigantic grooves and
lightning-fast fills that constantly blew my mind. Kosnik himself lays down a greasy and elastic
foundation that’s as much stoner as funk, while new guitar player Finn Ryan, though easily the
most introvert of the three, came up with some playing that would give the average guitarist a
half year-trauma, alternating concrete riffs with heavy fuzz, occasionally jazzy accents and –
above all – deliriously howling solos squeezed out of a Gibson-turned-into-Scud. Even
though it took ‘em a few minutes to get into that ‘now we’re ready to blow your minds’-
groove (though the Pink Floyd references in the opening instrumental were swell), they delivered
a manic performance that nearly made me forget to write down some useful observations. The Atomic
Bitchwax are a classic power trio combining the versatility of Cream with Mountain’s crushing power
and the manic energy of the best hard rock out there. If you’re looking for clearly defined songs
with rigid structures, you better check out different bands (Black Nasa, for instance), since this
seeing this band is more something of a physical experience, it’s about noise and wails and
rumbling toms and throwing your fists into the air. Even though they’re arguably a hard rock band,
the cool thing about ‘em is you could as easily file ‘em under other categories, as they share
a psychedelic edge with the best stoner out there and are capable of laying down an acid blues
groove that’ll have you wonder what year it is. 1970? But don’t get me wrong: they’re not
just a gimmicky retro-exercise, the band’s got personality to spare. The new songs the band
played (“Dark Chi” and “Going Gritto,” if I heard it correctly) basically sounded like a
continuation of their already classic sound, while Ryan’s vocals sounded pretty convincing.
It’s impossible to describe the total experience sufficiently, but the set was full of highlights:
“Gettin’ Old” from the debut album (announced by Kosnik as “a song about my life”) was a fantastic
slab of thumping boogie with an insane drum solo, “Cast Aside Your Masks” once again proved that
Ackerman’s the true heir to Keith Moon’s legacy while Ryan laid down a scorching groove, and
“Dishin’ Out a Heavy Dose of Tough Love” from their second release suggested the arrival of
another “Age of the Guitar Hero,” as Ryan reconciled the styles of Hendrix and Angus Young.
Then came the fantastic “Shit Kicker,” which must be one of their very best songs, an
adrenalin-fueled, rousing rocker that was the greatest testament to the love of making music
imaginable. And then … it was over. The audience, consisting of many people who’d witnessed the
band’s previous gig at the Sojo – a never-ending decibel-marathon 10 months ago – had just
reached it’s enthusiastic climax and yelled for more and boy, did they get something:
unexpectedly, the band launched into a mind-blowingly intense version of the Melvins’
“Honey Bucket” (by the way, GET Houdini, the album from which it’s taken) and then finished
the set with another red hot instrumental that made the audience long for more, which
unfortunately wasn’t coming, as the band had played all the songs they’d rehearsed with their
new guitarist. Ackerman appeared back onstage to apologize on behalf of the band, something
the mob luckily understood. But hey, despite the short set (about 60 minutes, I guess), the
walls and ceiling were dripping with sweat and if a large part of the audience immediately
runs off to the merchandise corner, you know the band delivered the goods. It wasn’t hard to
pick out Ryan as the newest member, but he did an admirably good job – it’s not that he
replaced your average Billy-Bob, right? – and I’m pretty convinced that, given some time, this
unit will even reach even more superlative heights. If they decide to come around again next
time, I’m sure they’ll not only blow the roof off, but will also break down the walls and
turn the venue into a ruin. So fucko, don’t you ever tell me again that rock ‘n’ roll isn’t
being made anymore, because the evidence to the contrary happened right under your nose.
Two days ago Creed broke up and yesterday The Atomic Bitchwax proved they’re one of the
greatest “secrets” of hard rock. If it continues like this, it’s gonna be a GREAT week!
Check out
www.guypetersreviews.com
The program looked promising, with two of Sopranoland’s best bands intending to rip it up.
These power trios not only have in common that they’re from New Jersey, but also that they’re both
led by bass player/vocalist Chris Kosnik. Even though The Atomic Bitchwax is known to many people
as “the side band of Ed Mundell from Monster Magnet,” there’s so much more to them. They
were not only founded before Mundell was hired by that band to replace John McBain in
the wake of Spine of God, but the fact that their debut album was only released in 1999
obscures that they were playing a hard-rocking blend of stoner elements, acid rock and prehistoric
riffs à la AC/DC, Mountain and Grand Funk before that suddenly became fashionable again.
Even though they never escaped underground status (and unless they calm down and incorporate some
hip samples they never will, either), it’s fair to say that both their albums (but their debut in
particular) belong in the pantheon of modern hard rock greats, oozing out an insane dose of
intensity and offering superb musicianship that serves as a tribute to three decades of hard rock
history. However, after several years Mundell was no longer able to reconcile his Monster
Magnet-schedule with that of Bitchwax, so the fierce tandem of Chris Kosnik/Keith Ackerman
unexpectedly came up with a replacement in the guise of Finn Ryan (ex-Core), a guy with about
the most unenviable task imaginable (if you thought Ed Mundell could play on the basis of the
Monster Magnet albums, you should check out the Bitchwax releases, on which he really lets
loose, like the true descendant of Leslie West, Tommy Bolin and Hendrix rolled into one person).
Anyway, before the show by the jam-oriented trio, Kosnik first delivered the goods with his other
band Black Nasa. Even though their set was ultra-short (clocking in after 8 songs/30
minutes), it confirmed that their approach is nearly the opposite of Bitchwax’s. Instead of
monumental riffs and sizzling guitar solos, this band offers a much tighter, catchier and slicker
kind of rock. Opening song “Diamond Girl” is the kind of song that’s vintage Black Nasa:
even though it’s propelled by a kind of throbbing boogie-rhythm, Guitarist Duane Hutter’s slide
guitar, the catchy chorus and the spacey-sounding bass turn it into an entirely different matter,
a kind of updated version of accessible ‘70’s rock. Despite the fact that Hutter’s shrill slide
leads sometimes made the overall sound lack the punch that would’ve turned it into an even more
impressive sonic experience, most of the songs from their debut album sounded a bit more muscular
than their studio counterparts: the delay-effects during “Ribeyed Love” (introduced as ‘our
country song’) lent the song a weird atmosphere, “Monkey Knife Fight” is the kind of track that
belongs on your Summer Car Mix Tape and “Holy Crap,” the debut’s opener, finished the show
in great style. The four new songs confirmed the current direction’s even more straightforward and
accessible: “Kamikaze” was still stuck inside my head a few hours after the show, even though it
was the first time I heard it, while the calm intro and Hutter’s take on Southern rock in “Light”
were particularly successful.