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Turbonegro
The U.C. Theater
Berkeley, CA
May 25, 2018
By Dan Wall
Set List: Intro, Well Hello, Rock and Roll Machine, Hurry Up and Die, Skinhead Rock and Roll, On the Rag, Bohemian Rhapsody/We Will Rock You, City of Satan, Hot For Nietzsche, All My Friends Are Dead, Fist City, Wasted Again, Powder Ballad, Just Flesh, Get it On, Special Education. Encore: The Age of Pamparius, Self Destructo Bust, I Got Erection. 90 minutes.
Are they gay or straight? Rockers or punks? Normal or downright out of their minds-it’s all for naught, since Turbonegro is one the loudest, heaviest and nuttiest groups of punks on this planet-or in the universe for that matter.
Many of you in the reading audience are probably wondering-who is Turbonegro?
Imagine the Village People, on crack, playing songs that require a love of KISS, Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop and the Ramones, all turned up to 13 and played with a sly grin on their faces.
And the gay thing? Try arguing you aren’t with a song history that includes “Rendezvous with Anus,” “Rock Against Ass,” “Let the Punishment Fit the Behind” and “Sailor Man.” Turbonegro is gay!!
They aren’t. But it must have been fun trying to explain to Uncle Phil back home in Norway what you were doing with songs like that on your records. It’s just part of the big joke that the Turbojugend (the band’s fan club, located in cities all around the world) are in on, and if you don’t like it, stay away (no seriously, these people will kick your ass!)
The songs, the spectacle, and the thrill that is a Turbonegro show was on full display in late May, as the band took over The U.C. Theater in Berkeley on an abbreviated tour that hit just five cities. Thank God the Bay Area got one of these shows.
It was my first visit with the band in 10 years, and my first time seeing new vocalist Anthony Madsen-Sylvester. A lot of loyal fans and many in the rock community thought Turbonegro would die off after singer Hank Von Helvete left the group in 2010, but despite those predictions, Turbonegro is doing quite well, thank you, with a new line-up and the album of the year candidate “Rock and Roll Machine” to support.
Sylvester, who also goes by The King of Nothing, might be a slight improvement over Von Helvete (don’t say that too loud around the old fans), but he has a great voice, good stage presence and looked to be sober. That’s important to these guys, since the reason Von Helvete left the band was to get sober and stay home with his young family.
Sylvester has one thing in common with the ex-vocalist-both are big men who prowl the stage like a crazed lunatic and dress like a cheerleader from hell. Too keep the music together onstage, look no farther than longtime bassist Happy Tom (Thomas Seltzer, who doubles as a newsman back in Norway), a solid player who keeps the rumble under control. And believe me, sometimes these guys get a groove going, a riff rumbling, and the whole thing sounds it could head right off the rails. But Tom (dressed as a cop), along with new drummer Tommy Manboy and keyboardist Crown Prince Haakon Marius (I am not making these names up) keep the rhythm together quite effectively.
The real star of the show is guitarist Euroboy (Knut Schneider), a glammed-out punk who channels the best of Mick Ronson, Michael Bruce and Johnny Ramone. Dressed in a sparkly one-piece that looked like a spacesuit, Schneider and rhythm specialist Rune Rebellion locked horns playing in tandem, while Euroboy took most of the biting solos that dotted the set.
To support the new album, the quintet played all but one song (the afore mentioned “Let the Punishment Fit the Behind”) while splitting up the newbies with many classics. Highlights were plentiful-the “Bohemian Rhapsody/We Will Rock You” Queen medley paired nicely with “City of Satan;” “Wasted Again” and “All My Friends are Dead” stirred up quite a ruckus; and “The Age of Pamparius” was devastating in its customary slot as the first encore.
But it’s the last song of the set, the legendary “I Got Erection,” that is the one song that floors any crowd who is lucky enough to see this band. Ever heard 1000 people screaming “Woah-I got erection” repeatedly during the elongated intro to the song-well my buddy Earl and I were acting like complete idiots, along with the rest of the misfits gathered on this night, screaming our lungs out to one of punk’s great “love ballads” (I think you know better than that).
Turbonegro isn’t a new band-the group released its first album back in 1992, but the group has refined its sound over the years. Originally a hardcore punk band (as evidenced by the roaring versions of “Just Flesh” and “Self Destructo Bust”), the band has evolved over the years into a rock group with melodies, some punk and a bit of metal mixing together into a tasty rock and roll stew. It all comes together on songs such as “Get It On” (which borrows heavily from the Ramones classic “I Just Want to Have Something to Do”), huge songs with massive riffs and choruses that sound great live.
You might not be lucky enough to see the group live-this tour is over, and we can only hope the boys come back this fall to further support the new album. But trust me, if you like the bands I have mentioned here and love good, fast punky rock, pick up the new album and the band’s classic “Apocalypse Gods.” You will be foaming at the mouth after hearing these two records, hoping that Turbonegro appears within 100 miles of your home. And you just might get an erection (gentlemen-girls, you’re on your own). This band is that good live!
