Spread the love.
There is no messing around with the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and under the cover of darkness, the band launches into an atmospheric 'Love Burns.' It was almost the witching hour and under the black Benicassim night sky, it was hard to imagine a better setting for the band to show their rock n roll credentials. In the United Kingdom, it would be unlikely that the band would be placed above the Kings of Leon on a festival line up but in Spain, there didnt seem to be too much questioning of this fact.
As the set wore on, more and more people were moving into the audience, swelling the crowd to a larger level and making for a better atmosphere. The light show, aided by the time of night was swirling like mad, looking like tractor beams scanning over everyones head.
Although known as a three-piece, the additional live member aids in creating a rounder sound and after a few tracks, all seemed set for the BRMC to reign in Spain. Of course, this is not a band who treads the easy path and when Robert Been announced he had lost his voice for a few days it seemed like another near miss for the band. He certainly sounded croaky but he seemed genuine when he said he was delighted to be here and you wondered what else could possibly befall the band and try to derail them. He sounded completely fucked but to his eternal credit, he played, sang and retained that nonchalant who gives a fuck attitude. 'Stop' perhaps came across a bit slower because of this and there was a straining in the vocals but this only added to the menace of the track.
The affected vocals were aided by the classic driving riff which underpinned the song and by the time 'Spread Your Love' appeared, everything seemed as right as rain. This song has a bassline that makes people want to jump and was one of the first reasons that people fell in love with the band and clearly remains a fans favourite.
Maybe its all the stuff that's already been mentioned but the set was dark and atmospheric, being exactly the type of background that the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club benefit from.