Stockdale breaks the egg into a worldwide omelet

By “Big Vic” Smith

Wolfmother Stockdale at Cosmic Egg hatch party

SAN FRANCISCO (Hollywood Today) 11/27/09 — “It took 40 years to renovate, and now you tear it down,” said Grammy-winning Wolfmother leading man Andrew Stockdale.

He said that about his his next shredding tune in Oakland CA, one of the last U.S. Wolfmother concerts before bowing their “Cosmic Egg” album (due today, Black Friday, discounted briefly for $5 on Amazon.com) and moving their tour to worldwide venues.

Australia’s Wolfmother is heavy rock n roll, part Black Sabbath, part Led Zeppelin, and all ‘feeling it’.  Although Stockdale, the sole remaining founding member and songwriter, said one of his major influences is swing jazz. And Led Zep even invited Wolfmother to perform the classic “Communications Breakdown” at the Zep induction into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame;

The stunning Fox Theater was packed with an eclectic crowd at this past week’s Wolfmother show there.  The young-in’s were pushed all up in the front as they do and the main floor homesteaded enthusiastic moshers and crowd surfers.  Hands, fists and rock fingers were in the air and the crowd was loud.  The show was alive!  My eardrums shot.  Wolfmother bring back heavy metal to “in”.  The Grammy’s noticed too as Wolfmother won Best Rock Performance in 2007.

The whole band played their instruments with jumps, jerks, jives and wails.  Their bodies were extensions of their instruments and every note played was sincerely responded to with vigor.  I was pleased by the lack of inhibitions and lack of fronts.  This was a real show, played freely from the heart, and they look dead cool and sexy with all that rawness.

I thought I heard a couple licks of Neil Young’s Harvest Moon as they returned to the stage for the encore and then Andrew said “The last time we were here (Bay Area), we played the Bridge School (this past October).  This song is dedicated to Neil Young, up there in his ranch house.”  Do I know what song he played, no.  Do I know their song titles, no.  I didn’t need to know.  While the show was entrancing it didn’t feel repetitive.  I was head banging, feeling kinda cool with my long blonde locks swaying in my face, blocking my vision and there I was somehow rebelling all over again.  I hadn’t head banged in a long time but I could feel it opening a door to that mystic land far away and over the hills that Led Zeppelin once teased us with. I could feel them right then and there and I think thats what a great rock show should be, and this was one.

Afterwards, speaking with Andrew, I took note on his humility.  Surely such a success of a show, and string of shows, that had the majority of the floor crowd hanging long after jumping like piranas after set lists and stage shwag, would conjure up some air, some front, some defenses if nothing else.  But no, he is gentle, engaging and relaxed.  He separates his stage persona from his self, which is great for survival in rock n’ roll.  I don’t want to go on about it and sound like a kiss ass so I’ll just go limp and say “Andrew, well done.”

Wolfmother ended the U.S. tour with a huge listening party for “Cosmic Egg” snd a show at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles with The Heartless Bastards. They will tour tour the UK and Ireland in January and then to Australia in February with AC/DC. Expect them back in the States if the Egg album does well.

www.wolfmother.com –

More pics at www.victoriasmithphoto.com