This was going to be a weird show for me because while I am very open to all sorts of music, I was going into this one on the blind side. Only recently had I even heard the name of the Hellacopters and it was from first reading it on the guitar wielded by Dregen of Backyard Babies. He had apparently been one of the key members at one point in his career. I was able to hear their latest release entitled Rock & Roll Is Dead, and while this group hails from a land more known for their Metal nowadays let me tell you this; as long as the Hellacopters exist Rock & Roll is very far from dead. The brief US Tour would be the first in a number of years for the guys so as one could expect we were going to hit a completely sold out room. This is never a bad thing and The Bowery Ballroom has a nice setup for a gig like this. They have a good sized stage and a very roomy floor where the dancing was going on full-throttle.

Read on for Ken Pierce's full show review!

Openers for the night included Nebula, who I would also be seeing for the first time. They have a new CD out on Liquor & Poker Music as well entitled "Apollo" and their sound is Rock but with a Stoner feel that is growing more and more popular these days. The band was founded by lead singer/guitarist Eddie Glass and their brand of Psychedelic and Stoner was a nice way to open up the set that was to come from Hellacopters. I have to admit they really sounded great as well and I was happy to capture some good photos of their performance for the readers to enjoy.

Hellacopters came on later than planned and the room was absolutely full to the brim, with no space for an extra body left. This is one hell of a way to return to New York City and I would certainly be in the minority tonight as far as my understanding of the impact they have on their fans. The band hits the stage like a hurricane, and it's a brand of Rock and Roll that has a really familiar style to it. My over-exposure to Metal of late makes me have trouble figuring why it reminded me of someone else so strongly. Either way it was a great time and lead singer/guitarist Nicke Andersson certainly gets the blood pumping in the audience. He is a great talent and very energetic and another one of those guys who seems to feed off of the audiences vibe. I was standing near the other guitarist Robert Dahlqvist when they performed as the amount of lovelies near Nicke just made no room for me to have any other choice. The lineup of the Hellacopters is rounded out by Kenny Hakansson, Boba and Robert Eriksson and I have to say that I enjoyed the level of tightness that the group had in the live sense. It's one thing to see a show and a band that you have a lot of experience in and come home satisfied. When you can check out a set from a group that somehow you missed the mark on and have such a rocking time then that says something for the level of quality they deliver. The Hellacopters is for anyone who wants solid Rock and Roll with a shot of espresso put in for extra kick. Liquor & Poker Music has been excellent in bringing a lot of this kind of music to the listener and they show no signs of stopping yet. Check out the bands latest album and then look to some of the labels catalog as the results will surprise you and feed that Rock & Roll need.

Ken Pierce

Official Web site: www.Hellacopters.com