On the road since 1981, the Masters Of Reality swapped the city of New York for the desert. Chris settled in Joshua Tree, California, becoming the “Godfather of Desert Rock”, but he doesn’t want to take all the credits to himself, as he stated in a recent interview “I can’t make any claim at all to inventing desert rock, or stoner rock, or whatever you want to call it. I make rock n roll records, and hopefully try to make the listener feel like I did when I heard my favourite music.“
Chris Goss, Masters of Reality at The Garage (Thanira Rates Photograpy/Thanira Rates)
The Masters entered the stage surrounded by the inspirational poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley “… I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul” presenting a good potpourri of songs from the band’s six albums. To begin the evening, they performed in sequence Up In It, The Blue Garden and Why The Fly? then the first break to greet the fans
Chris Goss, Masters of Reality at The Garage (Thanira Rates Photograpy/Thanira Rates)
“It’s good to be back here! It’s hard, like I said, in 25 years of music to try put all together in a little while is kind of hard to do. So, if we don’t get your song this time, next time, all right? So, we still rock. If I could fly my fat ass over cross the ocean then you can move your fat ass over… Let’s go.”
Chris Goss, Masters of Reality at The Garage (Thanira Rates Photograpy/Thanira Rates)
In the funky beat of Deep in the Hole, Chris Goss invited the crowd to clap their hands; “That’s what I was talking about, it’s really easy! C’ommon”
Paul Powell, Masters of Reality at The Garage (Thanira Rates Photograpy/Thanira Rates)
The melancholic The Ballad Of Jody Frosty was enough to make the audience take a breath to gradually warm up with Theme For The Scientist Of The Invisible. The powerful bass of Paul Powell induced fans to a hypnotic state while they were bouncing their heads, leading to Absinthe Jim And Me and the funky-desert-blues Third Man On The Moon, making the temperature rise on the dance floor.
Chris Goss, Masters of Reality at The Garage (Thanira Rates Photograpy/Thanira Rates)
The ballads of the night were also presented in the form of Doraldina’s Prophecies, Ants in the Kitchen, 100 Years (Of Tears On tThe Wind), Rabbit One and the doom-ish V.H.V., which left the curfew forgotten by the crew, and according to the venue, it should have ended at 10 pm…although at this time, it was already far from it.
Chris Goss, Masters of Reality at The Garage (Thanira Rates Photograpy/Thanira Rates)
After the laid back vibe, as in the desert, the heat returned to the venue with the rock-a-funky She Got Me (When She Got Her Dress On) making the crowd swing and then exploding in Domino with a parched mosh pit thirsting for more.
Chris Goss, Masters of Reality at The Garage (Thanira Rates Photograpy/Thanira Rates)
Words by Stella Bruk. Photography by Thanira Rates. Masters Of Reality at The Garage on 16th May 2015
and the whole set here:http://rockshot.photoshelter.com/gallery/Masters-Of-Reality/G0000eh.FTg0CKBQ
