Last Motörhead concert in France: the twilight of Lemmy – Le Figaro

WE WERE Y – On 19 June, the British trio was on show at the Hellfest in Clisson (Loire-Atlantique). Following the sudden death of its leader Lemmy Monday, back to their last French time.

Friday, June 19, 2015, a frail figure s’ ahead of the big stage and a breath travels the Hellfest, though stunned by scorching heat. A hoarse voice, a little off, starts: “We are Motörhead and we play rock’n’roll.” Indication useless: the audience knows who she is dealing with. With his cowboy hat and his legendary mustache, Lemmy, the leader and founder of rock’n’roll group, died of cancer on Monday, is unmistakable.

Among the tens of thousands of spectators assembled in a dense crowd, all flags fly the flag Motörhead – black veils flanked the famous logo of the trio, an armed face chains and resumed defenses with a vengeance and more or less legally, several ready-to-wear brands and even become the symbol of an erotic accessories line.

Immediately, the epileptic drummer begins its ride and the first riff Shoot You in the Back sounds. If the crowd seems happy, the image that appears on the two giant screens is not encouraging. At 69, the singer and bassist Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister, living legend of rock, not really wear nice. His cheeks hollowed already are eaten by large aviator sunglasses and cowboy hat screwed on the skull.

This evening in June, despite an effective set (Motörhead Motörhead remains, the formula is overused but surely making its strength), an uneasy feeling runs through the audience. Printing diffuse attend the twilight of an idol. Impossible not to note the long pauses that mark the musicians Phil “Wizzo” Campbell and Mikkey Dee between each security to allow the singer time to catch a breath one feels short. “Lemmy, Lemmy” encourages the crowd, with relatively little regard for the other two yet talented members of the trio. The game scene is reduced to a minimum – quasi-static, Lemmy gratifies still the public smiles and repeated thanks

After thirteen tracks, the singer announced the last song, surely the tube. a career of forty, ultrafast Overkill . He thanked, again, the hearing before catching – with a trembling hand – the bottle of San Pellegrino who recently replaced its eternal beer can. And after a final salvation, which looks like a farewell, left the stage, visibly exhausted.

Following the attacks of Paris, the Motörhead concert at the Zenith in Paris, initially scheduled on November 17, was postponed to February 2. It will not happen: Lemmy was gone Monday, two days after his 70th birthday and a strong 22nd studio album, Black Magic , released in August. The drummer, Mikkey Dee, sadly announced, “Motörhead, that’s it.”