Not only are The Spades obligatory, but they grow more irritating with each passing minute. This is mainly due to their frontman. Seldom have I seen such an egotistical, poor white trailerpark-trash kind of a singer. Apart from having a bad voice, this Dutch pompous ass also thinks it`s "tres rock `n` roll" to do his "introductions" in English. Well, one could hardly call it introductions. "Who`s the man? Who`s the man? Who`s the man?" is about the only thing that comes dribbling out of his mouth. "It`s rock `n` roll, man! We`re the motherfuckin` Spades, man!" Talk about pretentious, talk about arrogance. The Spades best change their name into The Waste(d). And forgodsake, can somebody put that `sorry excuse of a man` out of his misery? Preferably with a large caliber gun.

Hellacopters
The Hellacopters are a welcome relieve. It`s still a fact that rock `n` roll animal Dregen is and always will be sorely missed. It was such a spectacle to see him play. Dregen had this enormous charisma. He lived and breathed rock `n` roll. But keeping in mind that, after the departure of Dregen, the days of `hotter than hell` rock forever belong to the past, tonight The Hellacopters are as good as it gets. Dregen`s replacement, skinny hippie Robert Dahlqvist, handles his guitar with a bluesy kind of soul. It really fits in well with the less frantic, more laidback seventies rock direction (a modern day mix of Kiss, MC5, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Grand Funk Railroad) that The Hellacopters have taken on their last two albums Grande Rock and High Visibility.

Throughout the show the sound is clear, leaving room for every instrument to shine. And shine The Hellacopters do. Nicke leads his troops, looking and sounding fresh, lean, mean and ready for action. Underneath the double layer of guitars the well oiled rhythm machine consisting of bass player Kenny Hakansson and drummer Robert Eriksson provides a solid, groovy foundation. And to give things all the more an authentic feel, Bobby Lee Fett keeps swinging away on his piano and organ. But the contenders for the leading role are Nicke and Robert. Together the fight out one `battle of the guitars` after another, resulting in a giant jam during Where The Action Is. Robert finally wins by technical knockout.

But the overall victory goes to the Hellacopters as a whole. 90 minutes of high profile rock `n` roll is living proof that they can still back up their loudmouth slogan: You Are Nothin`, I`m For Real. Playlist: Sometimes Disappointment Blues Hey! Baby Borderline Toys & Flavors Born Broke Random Riot Devil Stole No Song I Wanna Touch Paul Stanley You Are Nothin` Where The Action Is Psyched Hopeless Kid Soulseller

(Review: Maarten Verbaarschot
Pics: Yvonne Boonaerts)