I’m a huge Turbonegro fan, but sadly I haven’t been able to see a show since Hank left the band, so catching them on their recent abridged world tour was a huge deal for me. An awesome bonus was getting to hang out with all the new local Turbojugend crews that popped up over the past decade. Huge props to Alex Rosen for establishing the new Turbojugend Asbury Park and helping revitalize the Turbojugend movement in New Jersey.
Turbonegro took the stage promptly at 9pm with no warm-up act, sans a DJ set that could have been confused with the typical pre-show PA music. The band started hot with a rousing rendition of their recent single “Hot for Nietzsche,” which sounds a million times better live without all the spit-and-polish production. The sea of Turbojugend jackets could care less if the song was old or new as they careened into the barricade singing along to every word.
The line-up has changed a bit since last time I caught the band. Pål Pot Pamparius and Chris Summers are also no longer with the group, but their replacements, Tommy Manboy and Håkon Marius, are doing a great job on keyboards and drums, respectively. I love the fact that newish singer Tony Sylvester is not a clone of former-singer, turned Norwegian Idol judge, turned folk singer Hank von Helvete. While definitely an imposing singer on stage, Sylvester’s banter is definitely more fun and his singing style more raw. He’s done s great job modifying Hank’s more melodic vocal styling to blend with his balls-to-the-wall roar, without sacrificing the soul of the classics. In other words, if you were afraid that this is not the Turbonegro you fell in love with a decade or two ago, stop worrying. These are the rock gods you are looking for.
The band smartly pulled songs from their entire catalog, including numerous numbers from Party Animal and Scandinavian Leather. My only complaint is that the 15+ minute introduction segment, featuring covers of Blur, Bowie and Van Halen tunes (to name a few) could have been better used to spotlight a few more fan favorites, like “Prince of the Rodeo” and “Denim Demon.” The crowd roared for older tunes like “Don’t Say Motherfucker, Motherfucker” and “Back to Dungaree High,” but it was “Age of Pamparius” and “I Got Erection” that nearly leveled a block of New York City. Hopefully, the new songs Turbonegro have been throwing our way means that a new album and full tour will be in the horizon. Hopefully by then my melted face should have healed up nicely. In the meantime, click the video player above this article and check out Turbonegro ripping through “Get It On” from the Gramercy Theatre.
Shoot me a message with your info if you want to trade Turbojugend patches for some old TJ NJ patches.
Setlist courtesy of setlist.com:
- Hot for Nietzsche
- We’re a Norwegian Band (Grand Funk Railroad cover)
- You Give Me Worms
- All My Friends Are Dead
- Are You Ready (for Some Darkness)
- Turbonegro Must Be Destroyed
- City of Satan
- Blow Me (Like the Wind)
- Dude Without a Face
- I Wanna Come
- Drenched in Blood (D.I.B.)
- Special Education
- Back to Dungaree High
- Wasted Again
- Fuck the World (F.T.W.)
- Get It On
Encore
- The Age of Pamparius
- Don’t Say Motherfucker, Motherfucker
- Song #2 (Blur cover) (Band Introductions: Drummer Tommy Manboy)
- That’s Just The Way It Is (Bruce Hornsby & Ricky Skaggs cover) (Band Introductions: Keyboards Crown Prince Haakon-Marius)
- Rebel Rebel (David Bowie cover) (Band Introductions: Deathpunk Guitar Rune Rebellion)
- Jump (Van Halen cover) (Band Introductions: Bass Happy Tom)
- The Heat Is On (Glenn Frey cover) (Band Introductions: Filthy Pipes Tony Sylvester)
- Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting) (Elton John cover) (Band Introductions: Lead Guitar Euroboy)
- I Got Erection
- Outro (Starship “We Built This City”)
