Multi-talented cult legends BLITZEN TRAPPER have added a genre to their mixed bag of tricks: musical theatre. The band produced the stage musical WILD & RECKLESS in Portland in 2017. While the theatrical production itself has not been staged outside of Oregon, the band is currently touring Europe with the album of the same title. They tore apart East London on April 12 with their unique fusion of alt-country and art rock, giving the small Hoxton venue a sold-out, explosive performance.
The story of the rock opera they produced last year may not have been part of the show, but the imagery of lost hope and the American highway transported the audience right into the backseat of a tortured soul wandering through the Western United States. Fittingly, the new tracks REBEL and WILD & RECKLESS are fantastic motorway anthems.
There was plenty of older material in the setlist, with the audience providing a word-perfect sing-along to BLACK RIVER KILLERfrom 2008’s now classic FURR.
The show was not without its snafus, including a broken guitar string and Erik Menteer having problems with his keyboard. But with their laid-back PNW humour, the band gave the epic rock show performance the comfort of a backyard hangout.
The band will continue to play Europe for one more month before heading back to the US. WILD & RECKLESS is out now in Europe on British indie label Lojinx. Out on heavyweight vinyl LP, CD & digital.
Setlist #
- Fire & Fast Bullets
- Wild and Reckless
- Love Live On
- No Man’s Land
- Evening Star
- When I’m Dying
- Rebel
- Lady on the Water
- Baby Won’t You Turn Me On
- Black River Killer
- Furr
- Nights Were Made For Love
- Love Grow Cold
- Thirsty Man
- Fletcher
Encore
- All Across This Land
London, England