Hello Everybody,
I'm new to this board (just signed on today), but I wanted to pay a belated compliment to the band for excellent live work, and moreover, for bringing it to the cultural gulag (did I spell that right?) that the States have unfortunately become thanks to the teen-pop phenomenon. Anyway, I thought the band's show in West Warwick, RI, USA on the Metalhead tour was one of the best shows I've ever seen, so here's a belated review....
It was October of 2000. I was a student at a small college in a small New Hampshire town, going about the business of a student at... never mind...when I stumbled upon a report online that Saxon were coming to (of all places!), the Station rock club in West Warwick, Rhode Island (my home state)! I had tons of work to do, but as soon as I found out, I decided: screw philosophy class, I'm going down there! I called my friend (and drummer) Adam, and even though he wasn't really into Saxon at the time, he agreed to go.
Man, we expected a pretty cool show, but nothing could have prepared us for what we saw! After local metal heroes Slight Of Mind finished up a commendable 30-minute set with shoddy sound quality (the sound man, like many others I have seen, apparently didn't realize that the guitar was supposed to be more than a decoration), UDO took the stage for just under an hour, playing a nice mix of old Accept and very similar UDO tuneage, guitarists Igor Gianolo(?) and Stefan Kaufmann (yes, that one!) displaying no shortage of tasteful licks.
After much anticipation and chanting (Saxon! Saxon!...), Biff and co. finally took the stage, kicking off with a stunning rendition of the not-so-stunning (in my opinion) "Metalhead." "Motorcycle Man," however, was the one that really got the crowd going, and from here on, I think everyone present knew this was not the work of a washed-up nostalgia act (are you taking notes, Mr. Oliver?...Good!)! And the sound was just about album-quality as Saxon cruised through "Princess of the Night," "Denim And Leather," "Wheels of Steel"...heck I could try and name 'em all, but let's just say, most of your favorites, plus a few surprises.
I could go on forever about all the cool stuff we saw and heard, but one thing that must be mentioned is Fritz Randow's absolutely mind-blowing drum solo. The maestro managed to throw in just about every cool lick in the book, while at one point juggling at least three drum sticks and catching them in his mouth at the same time!
Needless to say, the crowd loved every minute of it, and Saxon took advantage of the fact quite well, coming back several times for one encore set after another until it was time for the club to close. In fact, the encores were almost as long as the actual set, until things finally came to an ecstatic close with "And The Bands Played On" ("and on...and on... and on," commented one audience member). Definitely a night not to be forgotten. And my friend Adm, who knew virtually nothing of the band up until that night, thanked me profusely, calling his ticket "The best eleven bucks I ever spent!" Who am I to argue? Thanks, Saxon!
