Having just appeared fresh from a combination of the Carling Weekend and the Curiosa Tour, Melissa Auf der Maur and her bandmates seemed to be still feeling the buzz when they took to the stage in the Rescue Rooms last Monday night.
The 5 piece Canadian/Californian group generated huge crowd responses from the sold out show, managing to easily captivate an audience containing not only insecure adolescent girls, but also adults of all ages, both male and female!
Melissa is, needless to say, an entertainer of the best kind, laid back but also friendly and enthusiastic in all the right ways. Her 16 strong set was consistently rhythmically powerful, combining original intertwining drum and bass patterns with catchy keyboard and guitar riffs. The vocals, too, were very distinctive and varied, featuring melodic harmonies and occasional chanting speech, not dissimilar to those of Brody Dalle from The Distillers.
The set included sought-after tracks such as `Beast of Honour', `Anything You Want' and her latest single `Followed The Waves'. Contrary to popular belief, Melissa appeared to have no regrets about her experiences with Hole, and infact managed to include into the set a story about her 1st ever show with Courtney Love in Reading 1994! She didn't seem overwhelmed by the huge praise she got after every song, which was unsurprising in itself, because she deserved every speck of it.
Essentially it was rock `n' roll as it should be. Powerful, charismatic and genuine, definitely an experience to be remembered and recommended.
Auf Der Mar, Rescue Rooms, Tuesday August 31, 2004
www.aufdermaur.com
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