Another midweek success at Antxiki, the upper room (not just for being the one on top) and smaller at Kafe Antzokia, where this Wednesday 120 rock souls came to taste the Americans Mojothunder on the second date of their two-week Spanish tour ( 12 bowling in 13 days, from Tuesday that began in Vitoria to Sunday April 2 that will end in Barcelona), embedded in his five-week European tour or eurotour.
Mojothunder exceeded the expectations of everyone, from the predisposed to the subscriber, who was not convinced by their debut album, ‘Hymns from the Electric Church’, and who supposed they would be European, Swedish or something like this (by habit, by the promoter, by not investigating before going to a concert…). But no, Mojothunder are from Kentucky, they are four white and bearded southerners (singer and leader Sean Sullivan with his cap and long hair is nailed to Santiago Segura in the movie ‘The Day of the Beast’), and in his gig about 18 songs in 95 minutes (without an encore: the only time the leader spoke was at 86 minutes, to thank our presence and encourage us to get closer to merchandising) we live a central part with less roll, more commercial and with a transversal intention, aspiring to the stadium and which reminded many of Kings Of Lion. But better that than always repeating the lessons of the Lynyrd Skynyrd, as if they were Swedes with long hair, right?
And it is that these young men with pints from Kentucky know what is happening right now in rock. They call their style ‘alternative southern’, and it is what they played during the equator, naturally displaying technical capacity (what mastery was solo guitarist Bryson Willoughby, how well harmonized everyone was, from the bassist to the aforementioned soloist…), feeling (how much soul in the way of singing of the leader Sullivan) and respect for the tradition of great southern rock, of the Electric Church, of the small honky tonk of concerts (which captured the start and the epilogue of his hit).
Sean Sullivan, similar to Santiago Segura
Well established on stage, Mojothunder (Thundermojo or Magical Thunder) got the attention and even the involvement of the respectable majority of men (although quite a few females made their way into the front rows) from the beginning of their gig, loaded with tons of rock indebted to Led Zeppelin (‘A new dawn’, with its Indian vocal passages, one of its resources), from Bad Company for the way they sing (‘Rising sun’, a boogie hybrid between Govt Mule and ZZ Top with another recurring resource: the two Gibson guitars doubled à la Thin Lizzy –in this case the leader’s Les Paul and an SG alternated by the lead singer, who also wielded another Les Paul), by Aerosmith (‘Untitled #69’, with doubled guitars now via Lynyrd Skynyrd) , of the groove of Sly & The Family Stone (in a kind of short and powerful coda), of the southern cadence of the Allman Brothers (the guitar intro and the development of ‘Soul’, with a very Mike Farris voice), and with more boogie to Led Zep (‘Babylon’) and another ha m in boogie mode via Molly Hatchet.
Around eighth, they got rid of the roll, brightened up ambitious and oblivious to the stylistic prejudices of those who advocate immobility, and looked at the stadium, echoing those Kings Of Lion and some motley My Morning Jacket (‘Coming back to you’), although they also handled the essences of the Allmans (in ‘Fine (ever since the day you left)’) and the Lynyrds, until they took off again along the more traditionalist and electric path, but without seeming countrymen, singing like Bad Company, adopting an aura of celebration without losing sight of the dream horizon of the great stadium, swelling like Black Crowes (‘Ghost’) and hardening like Blackberry Stone (‘Black bird’), before its acecesque farewell with ‘Jack’s axe’ and its heavy boogie coda, for heavy (“more than AC/DC it sounded like Supagroup to me, do you remember?”, yes, and jeez, they only have three thousand-odd followers on Facebook…).
An authentic and more than satisfying gig that guarantees an overwhelming and moving tour. Today, Thursday, those from Kentucky stop in Santander (Sala Niágara), on Friday in Avilés, and will continue through La Coruña and Orense. On Monday they are free or rather they will be traveling, on Tuesday they stop in Jerez, and continue through Estepona, Madrid, Zaragoza, Gandía and on Sunday, April 2, they end up in Barcelona. And then France, Germany and Belgium.