Meldrum

Meldrum
Date : 09/15/09
Place : Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood CA
Review By ~Aniruddh (Andrew) Bansal

Meldrum hit the stage quite late, at around 11.30 pm but it was worth the wait! They did not perform any of their older songs in this set. It was all about promoting the new album 'Lifer' which was completed last year by Gene Hoglan and Michelle Meldrum but wasn't released due to Michelle's death. Its finally ready for release now and it was interesting to hear an exclusive Lifer set for the last show of the West Coast tour!

Neither me nor other Meldrum fans are familiar with the song titles that I discuss here except for two songs which are available on their Myspace page. The first song was called 'Paid' and the singer Michele Madden kicked it off in her usual energetic style. The guitar parts were really good too. Its a good opening song on the whole. Michele greeted the crowd after this song and continued with the next song 'Walking'.

Then came the songs '68 Blonde' and 'Money Shot'. I really liked 68 Blonde because it was good for head banging! 'Blackened Blue' was my favorite song of the set. It was the heaviest song of the set and Michele's and the guitarist Laura Christine's performance was especially good on this one.

I feel it a must to say a few words about the band's performance. Gene Hoglan was brutal on the drums and it was a great pleasure to observe his work from up close, having enjoyed listening to all the stuff he has done with other great bands like Testament, Death and Dethklok. Laura Christine has really good stage presence and she can definitely shred! I feel its important for guitarists to have some kind of stage presence in addition to their abilities on the six-string, otherwise they might get isolated into their own little world on one side of the stage while the focus is on the front man/woman. Laura certainly succeeds in that aspect. The bassist Frida Stahl does a good job on the other side of the stage and he is the head banger of the band! Last but surely not the least, Michele Madden the Aussie singer is one of the more eccentric performers I've seen. She is really energetic. Sometimes she gives off so much energy that its almost scary! She keeps moving around on the stage for the whole time. She does quite a lot of kneeling, arching back and lying down on the stage too. And of course, she is fiery on those vocals! She is highly entertaining and a treat to watch!

Overall, an interesting show despite being unfamiliar with the songs. I would recommend Meldrum fans to give their new album a listen, whenever it comes out in its entirety.

Here's the full setlist:

1. Paid
2. Walking
3. 68 Blonde
4. Money Shot
5. Home
6. Greenley
7. Inamorata
8. Mayhem
9. Blackened Blue
10. A Toast To Romance