Concert Report: Mammoth WVH and Freakabout – Bourbon Theatre, Lincoln – 9/5/2023

Mammoth stomped onto the stage at the Bourbon Theater in Lincoln, with a roaring 3-guitars, fronted by Wolf VanHalen. Wolf, who made a stop in Lincoln a few years ago, and also in 2008 when he played bass with VanHalen, was back with his band, supporting their sophomore effort, Mammoth II. Even though he could easily capitalize on the VH sound, Wolf has created a sound all his own, drawing on influences from Queens of the Stone Age and the Foo Fighters. On songs like “Mr. Ed” and “Horribly Right,” you can hear the chords that hallmark many of the 90s grunge rock, but with Wolf’s own twist on it, usually more guitars, with blistering solos. The tempo slowed down on songs like “Stone,” which still had a solid crunch from the drums, and “Distance,” which was the first single off of Wolf’s debut album, Mammoth I. The song, written for his Dad before his passing, is made even more poignant if you’ve seen the video. Mammoth is now touring on their sophomore effort, Mammoth II, which came out Aug. 4^th. A clear crowd favorite from the latest album is “Take A Bow” which even surprised Wolf on how many people knew the words. One of the encores was “Don’t Back Down,” which was the 2^nd single off of Mammoth 1. At times you could catch Wolf, lost in a guitar solo, with a huge grin on his face, and it’s Eddie all over again. After playing 2 VanHalen songs with members of the Foos and the Darkness at the Taylor Hawkins tribute, look for more collabs between Wolf and other groups in the future. Catch Mammoth on tour, opening shows for Metallica in the next couple of months.

Freakabout a band from Lincoln with two albums up on Spotify opened the show with an eight Song set.  Lead Singer Cortney Kirby and Guitarist Aaron Galvan lead the band.  Galvan at one point asked the crowd if they saw Van Halen in Omaha with David Lee Roth on Vocals and Wolfgang Van Halen on Bass?  The crowd road Yessss…Then he said well we have that in common because so did I to general laughter.

It was a great rock show on a Tuesday night.

Mammoth WVH Setlist:

1. Mammoth
2. Mr. Ed
3. Ephiphany
4. I’m Alright
5. Talk & Walk
6. Miles Above Me
7. Horribly Right
8. You’ll Be The One
9. Like A Pastime
10. Stone
11. Think It Over
12. Distance
13. You’re To Blame
14. Take A Bow

(Encore)

15. Another Celebration At The End Of The World
16. Don’t Back Down

Concert Report: Anne Nau
Concert Photos: Dallas Nau