The Warlocks are a psychedelic band from LA who dress not unlike the Velvet Underground in their prime and are clearly not given to star-like behaviour. They slope onto the stage at Birmingham’s Rainbow, tune up and burst straight into “Red Camera” from their 2009 album The Mirror Explodes. A heavy, dense mediation that comes on like a deep, Spacemen 3-flavoured drone, it whacks up the volume and sets the tone for the evening. It doesn’t get the audience moving around much but it certainly grabs their attention.
As the track comes to an end, singer and guitarist Bobby Hecksher announces, “That was like pure drugs. Perhaps we should end things there!” Fortunately, he thinks better of finishing the show after one tune and launches into a tale of playing gigs under the influence of LSD in Texas before kicking into “Isolation” and its dark, distorted wall of sound that suggests the MC5 on downers.
This is the last that we get of banter from the stage though and the Warlocks’ tunes begin to bleed into one another, punctuated by brief thanks for the crowd’s appreciation. Drone-heavy grooves like “Dead Generation” and “Chameleon” from recent album Skull Worship wash over the audience who sway and jerk to a heavy, throbbing sound that fuses hypnotic guitar with a pounding rhythm. It’s deep and powerful stuff but it does call out for some light to accompany the menacing darkness.
The Warlocks seem to be drifting on a sea of fuzzy distortion and a deep groove
Fortunately, as the feedback fades on the druggy groove of “It’s Just Like Surgery”, Hecksher and the band break into the more up-tempo and hip-swinging “Shake the Dope Out”. The assembled masses respond with a bit of movement but no one looks like they are going to break into a sweat. This is followed by the similarly lively “The Dope Feels Good” and “Hurricane Heart Attack” from 2003’s Phoenix. The Warlocks, however, look almost like they are unaware of the audience and seem to be drifting on a sea of fuzzy distortion and a deep groove, some with their eyes closed in an almost meditative state.
Towards the end of the set, “Caveman Rock” from the band’s self-titled 2000 debut at last gets things moving on stage with the Warlocks finally breaking out of their stupor. They then launch into “Angry Demons” and close with the hypnotic “Zombie Like Lovers” before thanking a rapt and slightly deafened crowd.
According to The Warlocks’ keyboard player, the band are currently recording their follow-up to the Skull Worship album. On tonight’s evidence, it should be one dark trip.
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