With their cool-induced swagger, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club sauntered into Minneapolis’ legendary danceteria, First Avenue, last night (May 22), keeping the coolest part of the city up late with select cuts from their last two long-players (Howl, Take Them On, On Your Own) and new rockers from their latest album, Baby 81. Playing like true stars in tight jeans and dark attire, guitarist/vocalist Peter Hayes waltzed around with confidence, guitar cradled in his arms, and Robert Turner’s visible comfort onstage was definitely raw and apparent.
Though not exactly the motionless shoegazers that some say they are, Hayes and Turner remained poised, occasionally indulging in passionate lurches and soulful sways during especially intense riffs (“Berlin”). Bathed in dizzying strobe lights, Turner’s cigarette suavely dangled from his mouth. Highlights included the pounding new single “Weapon of Choice” and the oh-so-Zeppelin “666 Conducer,” but BRMC didn’t stop there, opting to close the evening out with a mini acoustic set. STORY AND PHOTOS BY MICHELE KOURY
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