1000mods, Godsleep // Piraeus Academy 117, Athens, Greece // 19.12.2015
When Athenian crowd’s favorites, 1000MODS, return for a headlining show you know it means you have a real freaking party on your hands. And to add insult to injury, they slap GODSLEEP as a support act? Oh, happy days.
GODSLEEP is a band that I’ve learned to love from they’re awesome shows in small clubs, and mainly because they carry a few tons of craziness in their skulls and they’re not afraid to show it. Having a small worry about if they’d be able to warm up such a big venue and if they’d be up for the task to moderate their sound, again, to accommodate a space as large as Piraeus Academy 117, I was pleasantly surprised to find that from their first song, the place was already packed! Not only that, but the crowd was treating GODSLEEP like a co-headliner with a greatly positive and warm response, loud cheering and headbanging. And how could they act differently when faced with the massive wall of groove that those wackos on stage produced?
I don’t normally get shocked by sound on concerts, but when the intro riff of “I Want You” kicked in, the amplifiers puked out a sonic monster on BONGRIPPER levels. Testimony to my words were the numerous jaw droppings and classic “What the fuck?” Greek hand gestures pointing at the stage I could see all around. Granted, they did not go all the way at that level, but how much power do you need to bring up little grove/stoner diamonds like “This Is Mine” or “Call”? These babies sell themselves!
They did face some technical problems, but when the boat has a good captain (aka the frontman), there’s no reason to fear wild seas. That dude is a beast and his slightly maniac performance behind the mic fits like a glove with the ferocious fuzz the other guys produce (kudos on the massive drum sound as well). What really makes GODSLEEP a great live experience is how much they enjoy what they do on stage, with constant movement, energy and headbanging, plus the more aggressive quality their songs give out when played live. They feel their music to the core. I am glad they received the attention they deserve and I hope they gained some new fans from this concert.
On to 1000MODS now, with all those fantastic shows they’ve played after the release of “Super Van Vacation”, it is hard for me to not become Captain Obvious and avoid the clichés, but damn, once again it needs to be said that their live performances rule. Plus, it is always heartwarming to see a group that knows it has such a big fan base in their country, yet still remain modest and utterly grateful; no posh attitude, no fuck-yeah-now-we-rule, only pure fuzz rock adventures and utter respect for the fans.
Their professionalism is also something undeniable, carrying now all those experiences from the European tours and such, so let’s save some precious writing space and get right down to the best moments, like the prolific psychedelic crescendo at the end of “Track Me” with the audience being in a weird phase of indecision between “I want to close my eyes and see the universe now” and “I want to break every single thing in this joint”. Although 1000MODS now work as a well oiled machine they still honor the loose structures and off-the-beaten-path moments that made us fall in love with them. And the crowd reactions on the opening “Road to Burn” and the beloved closing “traditions”, “El Rollito” and “Vidage”, just fucking priceless…
Not just the usual front line veterans, but the whole place dancing altogether in one motion, a big pit on the center, waters splashing everywhere and five generals on stage giving every drop of sweat they’ve got to fuel this fire with more gasoline; the quintessence of having fun to a point of elevation. “She” captivated our hearts once again (with Dani on top notch singing form) and I have to admit, “Super Van Vacation”, that crazy psychedelic closure has become my favorite concert “dessert”, on par with NIGHTSTALKER’s “Children of the Sun”.
“7 Flies”, “Low”, “Claws”, “Big Beautiful”, “Alice in Navy”, all played their groovy part on keeping this Christmas ball going, with clear sound and some fanciful quality on behalf of the guitars. The old timer “Desert Side Of Your Mind” dropped by to say hello, plus we had the unexpected pleasure of hearing an unreleased track, which pretty much stepped on the same road as the two previous albums. Express your gratitude to the loudly cheering fans, tear down the drum kit, throw the mic stand to the floor and off you go, like gentlemen, until we meet again, for another guaranteed desert/stoner/ rock and roll festivity.