Official Show Reviews Thread

[Met-Al]

Hey, folks!

I just had an idea. Dustin is quite the album collector, and as such, likes to post his new purchases when he gets a chance. Though I love collecting CDs, I'm more of a concert-going type of guy. Thus, I thought it might be neat to start a thread for show reviews. If anybody's up for it, feel free to post your recent concert experiences here. In the meantime, anybody interested can read on about my most recent show.

Just this past Friday, Joan (Orbweaver) and I caught Tyr at Capone's in Mokena, IL. For those unfamiliar with their music, I'll do my best to describe them. Normally, I don't dig folk metal. I think it generally sounds the same, what with all of the "oompa oompa" drum beats and sandpaper-grinding vocals. Tyr, however, takes the folk metal sound and gives it their own unique spin, with more complex arrangements and actual vocal melodies. I never thought I'd use the term "progressive folk metal" to describe a band, but Tyr really deserves that tag.

It took me a while to get into their sound, as I guess it would for anyone who's normally not into folk metal, but once I did, I was looking forward to checking them out live. I'm happy to report that they did not disappoint. Heri Joensen is a very good frontman for the band. He may not be the most gifted vocalist, but he's certainly capable, and he knows his limits well. He's also a pretty good guitarist, whether he's playing rhythms or reaching for the highest of the 29 frets on his custom 7-string guitar. Terji S. (I'm using an initial because it's impossible to spell his last name) was a teriffic complimentary guitarist to Joensen, spending lots of his time giving close-ups of his instrument to the fans on the side of the stage. Gunnar H. Thomsen looked like he was having the time of his life playing bass on stage, pounding out a solid low end while providing some quality backing vocals. Kari Streymoy proved to be a breath of fresh air as a drummer. Whereas many metal drummers are on one of two very opposite sides of the speed spectrum these days, he opts to play with an impeccable mid-paced, deceptively technical flair.

The band started things off with a brand new song that is to appear on their next album, slated for a June release. It was quite possibly the most up-tempo song I've ever heard from them. From that point, they played a fairly even mix of songs from all four of their studio albums, with some of the highlights being "Hail To The Hammer," "The Edge," "Ramund Hin Unge," and "Gatu Rima." All in all, they were certainly worth standing through the horde of crappy opening acts, consisting of tourmates Alestorm and Suidakra as well as local openers Something Beautiful (who play to backing tracks for drums and keyboards!) and Act Of Destruction. The saddest thing about the show was that half the crowd left after Alestorm's set. These people clearly missed the real show. Alestorm is one of those bands who are amusing for about five minutes and just plain annoying for any remaining time spent having to tolerate them. I personally can't wait for that novelty to wear off.

So, does anyone else wish to share a recent concert experience? I'd be curious to know what folks are digging on around here.


Stay metal. Never rust.
Albert

 

[OrbWeaver]

I'll post my Lizzy Borden review from back in November. This is a copy/paste from my Livejournal, so if you see LJ names, and references to folks I know, that's why. BEWARE: Fangirling ahead!

Now, without further ado...

My boyfriend and I met up with dagnyt4gg4rt at the HoB before the show. She had stopped by Metal Haven and grabbed our tickets. Metal Haven was giving tickets for the show away for free. Apparently Lordi (the headliners) weren't drawing much of a crowd, and the show wasn't selling very well. So Metal Haven had a ton of tickets they were just giving away. We then ate dinner at the HoB and took advantage of their Pass the Line benefit. When we got in there, there was LOTS of floorspace. The last time I was at the HoB it was for Nightwish, and it was packed. So it was kind of strange seeing all that room available. More people filed in as it got closer to Lordi's set, but it was still pretty bare.

As I was wandering around to see if anyone I knew was there, I passed a group of four guys, who were talking about the show. One of them said "I don't know about Stolen Babies or Lizzie Bordeaux. I think they're local acts, or something. I've never heard of them." I wanted to give the guy a solid lecture on Lizzy BORDEN (Bordeaux? Seriously?) and the history of the band, but decided against it. That group would see soon enough that neither band was a "local act." I then rejoined my little group, and we waited for the show to start.

The first band was Stolen Babies. Definitely NOT the kind of music I enjoy, but they were good at what they did. And the singer was tiny and adoreable and I'd like to pack her in a box and send her to each and every one of you, because she was just so darned cute. dagnyt4gg4rt already mentioned the heckler. I'll elaborate a bit more. He yelled at the band "YOU SUCK!" The bassist then said "We're going to move to Chicago and live right next door to you, just for that." The crowd laughed and clapped, and the singer segued into the next song. After that song was over, the heckler yelled "YOU STILL SUCK!" The bassist then moved right up next to the singer, and grinned at the heckler, and played just for him. Or so it seemed. It was all very sarcastic.

Later on, the band was doing a meet and greet. The boyfriend and I waited with dagnyt4gg4rt so she could meet them, and the heckler showed up, just to harrass the band in person. The bassist looked as if he was going to start kicking the guy in the head. One of the band went and got security. During all this, I yelled at the guy to leave the band alone, and to get lost. At this point, security was telling him to leave, while some woman (I assume with the band) was threatening to kick his ass. As Security was escorting him away, he was loudly protesting "I didn't assault anyone! What about freedom of speech???" And all this was in front of his kids. I guess he was trying to show his sons what a badass he was, or something. It was all rather pathetic.

Lizzy Borden's set was...OMGFUCKINGAWESOMEIWANTTOMOLESTHIMNOW. I haven't been so bouncy and happy at a live show since...well, gee, in awhile, anyway. It's not that I don't enjoy going to live shows, but sometimes the energy isn't there. This show was sublime. They even played the one song off of "Appointment with Death" that I was hoping to hear, titled "Under your Skin." That song is the sex. Hell, the whole set was the sex. The songs I can remember he did were "Abnormal," "Appointment with Death," "Live Forever," "GIve 'em the Axe," "There Will Be Blood Tonight," "American Metal," "Under your Skin," "Tomorrow Never Comes," "Me Against the World," and that's all I can remember offhand. He did a lot of stuff from the new album, but did some of the 80's hits, too.

Lizzy also had lots of nifty masks that he changed into at various times. For one song, he swung a Louisville Slugger around. He also had a skull that he held aloft for one song. At one point, a girl threw her bra on stage, and Lizzy played with it for a bit during one song, then lovingly draped it over Ira Black's mic stand. For "Give 'em the Axe" he weilded a prop axe, and then licked the blade. As he licked the blade, he popped a blood capsule so it looked like he was slicing up his tongue. Stage blood covered his chin, neck, chest. He then asked everyone if they wanted blood (and the crowd screamed its assent) and the band launched into "There will Be Blood Tonight" and Lizzy smeared everyone in the front row with blood. My boyfriend even got a swipe of blood.

During the set there were a few times where it was clear Lizzy was out of breath, but it never affected his singing. His vocal tone and control was always dead-on, and he sounds just as good now as he did in the 80's, and as good as he does on "Appointment With Death." I'm not suprised he was out of breath. He's in his 40s at least, he's a few lbs heavier than he was in the 80s, and he was running around like a madman. At one point he even crawled out of a TV screen, then got on top of the TV set and sang. I did notice that he was wearing some really thick platform boots. And he seemed kind of short even then. Methinks Lizzy Borden is vertically challenged. That's just an observation, not a dig at him or his performance. The whole thing was really fantastic. I'm a bit enamoured, if you haven't noticed.

After his set, the b/f and I got a shirt each, and I wanted to see how Lordi was live. I was also hoping that Lizzy and his band would come out to the bar area for drinks. Sadly, they did not come out, so I did not get to molest give a nice hug and politely ask the band to sign the band photo I got for free at the merch booth. I wasn't very impressed with Lordi, either. What I watched of their set was amusing, but the music was rather boring, and the singer was much more of a one-note wonder than I thought he would be. But the Lordi fans that were there were not disappointed, so I would call the entire evening a success for all. Except the idiot that tried to harrass Stolen Babies. I figure security booted his ass solidly out of the venue.

 

[Met-Al]

Time for another concert recap! Just this past Saturday, I saw Firehouse opening for Skid Row at The Fuel Room (part of Austin's Saloon And Eatery) in Libertyville, IL. Here's how it went down.

My posse arrived in time to catch the opening act, a local cover band named Uncle Sam. These guys get a lot of good gigs, and from what I understand, they make good money doing it. After seeing their performance, I'm scratching my head trying to figure out why. They really didn't sound any different from every other Chicagoland area band who covers the same 70s and 80s hard rock songs. All that aside, what bothered me was their bassist. This guy obviously thought that he was hot shit. He kept prancing around on stage like he was the main attraction. Here's a tip for you, buddy: anybody can play Cinderella songs on bass. This guy proceeded to act like an ass on stage up until the end of their set, when he--get this--opted not to help his bandmates tear down their equipment. Instead, he decided it was time to pretend that various folks in attendance wanted to talk to him. He'd stare at the first couple of rows for a bit, pick a victim, and then try to make conversation with them. This went on for a about a half hour while Firehouse's road crew did their work. This moron literally did not leave the stage until the house lights went out to indicate that Firehouse was hittiing the stage. It's times like this that I wish I was closer to the stage. That way, I could have pulled the idiot off and taught him a lesson about opening band etiquette.

From that point on, it was all about Firehouse. I've seen these guys four times before this show, and they hadn't disappointed me yet. This show proved to be no different. C.J. Snare is in great vocal form. He might have lost a note or two in his range, but considering his age, that's quite impressive. In my opinion, Bill Leverty is a rather underrated guitarist. This guy plays with such finesse, that you can find his picture next to that very word in the dictionary. Allen McKenzie supplied some solid bass as well as some excellent high harmony vocals. Last, but not least, Michael Foster banged on the kit like the madman he is known to be. Of course, the vocal harmonies between all four members were spot-on. There's only one other band I know of that can do vocal melodies this beautifully, and that's Pain Of Salvation.

The set just seemed to fly by, with the focus being on the first two albums. In fact, that's really the only disappointing thing about the set. These guys have made some great material since "Hold Your Fire," but they seem content to stick to the old stuff instead of injecting some rarities or newer material into the set to spark some interest. The set included the following songs (not in this order):

All She Wrote
Shake And Tumble
Don't Treat Me Bad
Oughta Be A Law
Lover's Lane
Overnight Sensation
Love Of A Lifetime
Reach For The Sky
Rock You Tonight
When I Look Into Your Eyes
That song that Michael Foster always sings (the name escapes me)
You've Got Another Thing Coming (yes, they covered Priest)

After their set, we watched the first song or two of Skid Row's set and vamoosed. Johnny Solinger just doesn't cut it for me. He's certainly no Bas (hell, even Bas is no Bas anymore), and the material the band has recorded with him thus far sounds like that of the new generation of punk-flavored cock rock, a la Buckcherry.

Anywho, Firehouse rocked like they always do. I'm hoping they'll eventually bust out some stuff that you wouldn't expect them to play, but nonetheless, they put on a spectacular show.


Stay metal. Never rust.
Albert

 

[Met-Al]

Now it's time for something completely different!

What some folks might not know about me is that I really like a lot of jazz fusion. It's hard to find any touring acts in that genre, so when I find one that's coming to Chicago, I usually don't pass it up. This past Wednesday, I attended one such show in Palatine. The main attraction was none other than the legendary Alan Holdsworth.

I had seen Holdsworth once before at the same venue (Durty Nellie's), but it was as a bonus to a Chad Wackerman drum clinic. After about an hour-to-90-minute drum clinic, Chad Wackerman invited Holdsworth and celebrated bassist Jimmy Johnson to the stage for an hour-long set of songs. Even though I don't play an instrument, I find myself fascinated at clinics because I'm always curious as to how musicians acheive their respective styles. I had a fun time at that show.

Unfortunately, this show wasn't as much fun for me. Holdsworth and Wackerman (this time with Ernest Tibbs on bass) played in the same style in which I had previously seen them, and they played extremely well, but it just didn't blow me away like I hoped it would. In all honesty, I think I've come to expect more out of the concert experience as I've gotten a little older. That night, I realized that though Alan Holdsworth is a phenomenal guitarist from a technical standpoint, he generally sticks to a trio of tricks: lots of legato picking, lots of odd chords, and lots of what sounds like a chorus pedal. There really wasn't any variation from song to song. I found myself more interested in what the rhythm section was doing. If it wasn't for the expert-level musicianship of Wackerman and Tibbs, I would have been absolutely bored. At one point during the show, Holdsworth played what I can only describe as an unaccompanied chord solo. He must have played nothing but odd chords through this chorus-like pedal for about five minutes. I felt like I was back in 1997, watching Robert Fripp opening for the G3 tour with a set of Soundscapes material. If you find yourself suffering from sleep deprivation, I highly reccommend picking up one of Robert Fripp's Soundscape CDs. I swear that's the only purpose they serve.

All in all, it wasn't a bad show, but it didn't satisfy my jazz jones like I had hoped it would. When it comes to jazz, what really gets me going is stuff along the likes of Al DiMeola, Cab, and Vital Information. Hopefully, the Chicago area will be graced with a similar act in the near future.


Stay metal (or jazz?).
Albert

 

[OrbWeaver]

Hey Al, maybe you should start using your LJ again. Post your concert reviews there, too!

 

[drum_addict_48]

Well Al I got to admit, I am a little jelous. Even though your review was rather poor. I would have shit myself seeing wackerman live, and in a clinic setting too! I remember I got a chance to go to a clinic with jazz great Peter Erskine. It was awesome!!! After the clinic, I went up to talk to him and ended up helping him tear down his drum kit. He gave me all kinds of advise on the music business and drum technique. We also talked about his record company that he was just starting back then called fuzzy music records. Very Awesome experience! I haven't been to any clinics like that in years...
-Bizzaro

 

[Met-Al]

I'll bet all of you folks who frequent this thread (both of you) were wondering, "When is Albert going to grace us with another concert review?" Well, fear not, loyal readers! Just this past Friday, I went to the House Of Blues in Chicago to see a British living legend: Robin Trower.

If you've seen a fair share of concerts in Chicago, you may have noticed that the starting time posted on your ticket isn't necessarily the actual starting time of the show. In fact, if you are actually interested in seeing the opening act, you may find that they were actually thrown onto the stage an hour before the scheduled time. Such was the case at this show. There was a local opener called The Steepwater Band, and though they aren't my cup of tea musically, I was curious to see them because I used to work with the drummer some years back. By the time my gorgeous Orbweaver and I arrived, we found out that the band was playing their last song. Mind you, we arrived around 8:40 for a 9:00 show. All things considered, it was a minor complaint, as I was really there for the main act.

Trower hit the stage around 9:15, and for the next 90 minutes, the man owned the place. He spoke very little in between songs, opting to fill the set with as many songs as possible. The last time I saw Trower was in 2000. At that show, I remember talking to a gentleman who said, and I quote: "He plays like the guitar is an extension of his body." I don't think I've ever heard a more apt description of a musician. That statement was just as true at this show as it was nine years ago. Robin Trower may not shred like the guitar heroes that have succeeded him, but few of those guitar heroes have the connection with the instrument that he possesses. He tends to play extended solos on stage, but I never found it boring in the least. If you can't hear his emotions in his music, you can certainly see it in his face. Orbweaver and I came to the conclusion that Trower makes the best "old man guitar" faces ever.

Another highlight for me was finally seeing longtime vocalist Davey Pattison. Though I thoroughly enjoy the classic albums with James Dewar, he doesn't possess Pattison's "babymaker" voice. Though I was disappointed with his lack of stage presence and his book of lyrics (he was looking at this book at least once for every song), I had no choice but to forgive him due to the fact that his voice is still so smooth after all these years. The rhythm section played their roles competently, but there were no feats designed to attract you to their playing, as the music is clearly driven by the famous guitar and vocal duo.

The set list consisted of the usual Trower classics, such as "Too Rolling Stoned," "Day Of The Eagle," and "Bridge Of Sighs," but other fan favorites like "Twice Removed From Yesterday," "Shame The Devil," and "Go My Way" made it into the set as well. What excited me the most was the inclusion of "Victims Of The Fury" and "No Time."

In conclusion, the show was a good time, and it proved that you can still bring it live at an old age. Stay tuned for another review, this time coming much sooner!


Stay metal. Never rust.
Albert

 

[OrbWeaver]

Trower's "I just sucked a lemon" guitar face, and his "this is my impression of donkey teeth" face are the best. Especially when the "Donkey teeth" face includes biting the air.

 

[drum_addict_48]

Man Orbweaver you're brutal!!! Donkey Teeth...... I know It make look strange but you can't deny that he kept your attention.... That's the key to any performance!
Bizzaro

 

[Met-Al]

Here comes another one! It would have come sooner, but my internet situation at home is still totally fugazi. The lovely lady and I attended a two-day festival over the Fourth Of July weekend that brought us down memory lane. Held in Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois, the show brought a rather small crowd to a rather large soccer stadium. Only the floor covering the field was open to the public (leaving the 13,000 seats surrounding it unoccupied), and yet I daresay the total number of attendants might have covered one-tenth of it. Despite the low turnout, though, the majority of the bands made the most of the evening. What follows is my account of the first day's events, which took place on July 3rd.

First up was Chicago's very own forgotten 80s throwaway band, Off Broadway. When I mentioned that the majority of the bands made the most of the evening, I wasn't including these guys. For starters, half of the band looked like they had just gotten off of work, while the other half were in full rock star mode. They just didn't look like they were on the same page. To top it off, the singer came off as insulting, as if he couldn't believe that there was barely anybody there to watch him perform. Here's a bit of wisdom for you, Mr. Singer-Guy: you sing in a band that had a VERY MINOR hit in 1980. You haven't released anything new in years. You were playing at 5:15 on a Friday. What were you expecting? Just be happy that anybody offers you gigs anymore.

That's enough complaining. Onto the main reason why I attended the first night of the festivities: Over The Rainbow. If you're not familiar with the band, here's a little background information for you. Joe Lynn Turner decided to assemble a band comprising of former members of the various lineups of Rainbow to keep the legacy alive. Seeing as how Ritchie Blackmore is too busy making music for Renaissance Faires (don't get me wrong; I like Blackmore's Night. I just wish the man wouldn't give up on his rock output altogether), Joey managed to find a very suitable replacement: J.R. Blackmore, Ritchie's son from a previous relationship. The band also consists of powerhouse drummer Bobby Rondinelli, bassist Greg Smith (who provides some excellent backing vocals), and Paul Morris on keyboards (who tore it up more than I expected). These guys came out with all guns blazing, and they didn't let up for the next hour. Even at age 57, Joe Lynn Turner shows no signs of vocal distress. As for the younger Blackmore, the songs were left in pretty capable hands. He may not be the maestro that his dad was, but he plays the songs with skill and respect. The set included plenty of fan favorites, among them being:

Death Alley Driver
Stone Cold
Man On The Silver Mountain
Long Live Rock 'N' Roll
Kill The King
Tarot Woman
Stargazer
Since You Been Gone
Street Of Dreams
I Surrender

Following that ripping set was none other than...you guessed it...Starship! What?! As I previously stated, this show was nostalgia city, and Starship was here to, er, build it. All bad jokes aside, they played a good set that ranged from their 80s hits all the way back to the days of Jefferson Airplane. Though I may get bashed for stating this, I much prefer the Starship material over that of the Airplane. Maybe it's the lack of drugs, but I just don't get what was so special about a lot of the music of the 60s. Anyway, the only original member left in the band is Mickey Thomas, but he put a band together that can handle whatever is thrown at them. The role of Grace Slick was played by a much younger woman (who wasn't bad on the eyes at all, by the way), and she was really into the part. Thomas's performance in particular was outstanding, especially when you consider that the man is 59 years old. All in all, I'm not all that crazy about Starship, but I did enjoy their set, as they performed the music with gusto.

We didn't stick around for the headliner (Billy Squier), as I'm not a fan, and Joan doesn't know who he is. Besides, we had the whole next day ahead of us, and the theme for the actual holiday was cock rock! Stay tuned for part two.


Stay metal. Never rust.
Albert

 

[Met-Al]

I'm back with the second half of my review of the Bridgeview Music Fest! As I stated in my previous review, the second day of festivities took place on the Fourth Of July, and the menu had everrything you wanted as long as you wanted cock rock! Though the second evening's attendants were generally a different crowd from the first night's audience, the turnout was about the same. Here's a blow-by-blow account of what went down that rainy holiday evening.

My entourage missed openers The Leftovers and Enuff Z'Nuff (not by accident, mind you), but made it just in time for L.A. Guns. Which L.A. Guns, you ask? This would be the version of L.A. Guns that actually has the band's namesake in it. Oddly enough, Tracii has been playing out with two different vocalists depending on their availability. Most of the shows that I've seen listed for the Tracii Guns version of L.A. Guns have had Marty Casey (Rock Star: INXS. See what levels of fame and fortune you can attain after being on reality television?) on vocals, but for this particular show, we were graced with the smooth, melodic, and soaring vocals of (sarcasm mode turned off) Jizzy Pearl. How does this guy keep getting gigs? His voice was shot before he even started his pseudo-career, and his wannabe-rock-star swagger makes him look like a total moron. Tracii is an okay guitarist, but he's certainly nothing to write home about. Throw in a forgettable rhythm section, and you have one boring 45-minute set. What's strange is that they opened with the one song that anybody would really know by them, "Never Enough." You would think they'd have saved it for last.

As if being in L.A. Guns wasn't embarrassing enough for its members, they had to go offstage knowing that they were being followed by none other than a Guns 'N' Roses tribute band! That's right! Adler's Appetite was next on the bill! As the band's name indicates, Steven Adler lead this group through a set of songs from the only Guns 'N' Roses full-length album on which he appeared. Chip Z'Nuff was performing double duty at this show, as he was Adler's bassist. New vocalist Rick Stitch actually made these songs listenable for me (I'm not a G 'N' R fan in the least, and one of the main reasons for that is Axl's voice), but that's about the best thing I can say about this band. A couple of my friends were telling me that they thought Steven Adler handled his drum parts rather well, considering that his brain is beyond fried. I could only respond by telling them that he better damn well be playing these songs to the best of his ability, as he's been performing this material and nothing but this material for nearly 22 years! It would be like complimenting Bill Ward on his ability to play material from the first four Sabbath albums. When Bill Ward can play "Devil And Daughter," or, Heaven forbid, something new, then I'll give him some credit.

The next band was supposed to be Lynch Mob (my main reason for attending the second night of festivities), but as is par for the course with Lynch, the band flaked out with no explanation for cancelling whatsoever. There I stood, worried that I would end up not liking any of the acts on the bill. Then, out of nowhere, my ears were saved by the rocking sounds of...Warrant. Seriously. I never claimed to be a Warrant fan. I always thought they had some good tunes, but I never flipped my lid over them. Well, my friends, the tide has turned, for Warrant has within their ranks a new secret weapon: former Lynch Mob vocalist Robert Mason. I've always been a fan of Mason, and I hoped his inclusion would light a fire under the band's ass. Surely enough, it did that and then some. Mason sang those songs better than Jani Lane ever could, hitting the high notes with ease and belting out every melody like he was born to do it. Joey Allen and Erik Turner proved to be a formidable guitar duo, trading off leads the likes of which I've never seen from any other cock rock band. Steven Sweet was quite the monster on drums, and he showed some excellent backing vocal chops to boot. I found myself having the time of my life listening to such songs as "Down Boys," "Heaven," "Sometimes She Cries," "Big Talk," "Cherry Pie," "Blind Faith," "Sure Feels Good To Me," "Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich," and "Bed Of Roses." If these guys don't write and record an all-new album with this lineup, it would be a dirty, rotten, filthy, stinking crime.

Finally, headlining the show and making her first appearance in Chicago in well over thirteen years, Lita Ford hit the stage to play all of her hits as well as some new songs to be released in September. Joining the first lady of cock rock was Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (a guitarist I've been waiting to see for years), P.J. Farley (bassist for Trixter), Dennis Leeflang (after doing some research, I found out that he was the original drummer for Sun Caged! Holy shit!), and Michael T. Ross (keyboardist for Hardline). At one point during the set, Lita was joined on stage for two new songs by her infamous husband, Jim Gilette. I've always found Jim Gilette rather amusing, to say the least, so I was curious to see if he could still go for all of the extremes of his five-octave range. It seems that these days, Jimmy is more content to stick to his very low range. It's fitting, seeing as how he's quite the muscle-bound ultimate fighter now. He did hit one quick high note for any naysayers in the audience, but I was hoping for a hilarious, Nitro-inspired assault of ridiculous (and annoying) screams. The backing band was more than capable of handling Lita's material. I would much rather see each of these musicians in their respective bands so they could let it rip. The only exception was Bumblefoot, who didn't sound much like the virtuoso that I've come to know in recorded form. His solos were kind of sloppy, and his tone had way too much treble. Lita actually sounded better as a lead guitarist than he did, though in retrospect, I wonder if it sounded that way on purpose. Lita was in decent vocal shape after years of inactivity, but she often hit some sour end notes. All of her big hits were on display that evening, including "Gotta Let Go," "Kiss Me Deadly," "Back To The Cave," "Close My Eyes Forever," and "Hungry." Overall, it was cool to see some of the members of her band on stage for the first time, but it just wasn't my thing.

On a side note, I have to question Lita's onstage antics. Her twelve-year old son has been helping as a roadie, and he stood on the side of the stage throughout the performance. When Gilette joined her for their "duets," she had no problems getting rather touchy-feely with him, grabbing his crotch and letting him grope a breast. I highly doubt her son wants to see that kind of action. In addition, she picked some guy out of the audience at random and threatened to have Jim kick his ass. I was standing right next to said attendant, and I didn't notice him heckling the band or anything. It was rather odd, and it left a bad taste in my mouth.

Despite my ramblings, the fest was a fun time to goof around with friends while catching two really good bands and being entertained by the rest. The best part was that the tickets were only $15 for both days. I repeat: not $15 for each day, but $15 for both days! That alone should have sparked the interest of more concertgoers. Those who didn't take advantage of the low price really missed out on some awesome performances from Over The Rainbow and Warrant.

As if I didn't give you enough cock rock reviews lately, you'll have another one coming your way soon! Who will it be? You'll have to come back to find out!


Stay metal. Never rust.
Albert

 

[Jasonic]

Al - Good job with the review.
I have been curious about the Over The Rainbow performance.
It's a shame that performance went totally under the radar.

Let's face it. There are literally hundreds, if not more, Rainbow fans who WOULD have gone to that, had they known who Over the Rainbow even was.

I mean, if you aren't a BLABBERMOUTH reader, would you even know this band existed? I think they should have let the name get out there a little more before hitting the road.

I would say you saw something unique, as I HIGHLY doubt they will ever tour again.

I got into Rainbow when BENT OUT OF SHAPE was released, primarily due to the STREET OF DREAMS video. I quickly bought that on tape. Then, I picked up RITCHIE BLACKMORE'S RAINBOW, and LONG LIVE ROCK N ROLL on vinyl!!! That was my first knowledge of DIO ever fronting the band. Keep in mind, this was 1984......... Such information wasn't as readily available as today.

 

[Met-Al]

Thanks for checking out the forum, Jasonic!

I appreciate the compliment! Over The Rainbow's set was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime event, and I'm glad to have caught it. I think you're absolutely right about the lack of promotion involved. Had more folks known about the event, I'm sure there would have been a much larger crowd. I hope that the town of Bridgeview puts another show like this together next year with better advertising. I think it could really pick up if they get the word out, and I also think that anyone who was in attendance this year would be happy to spread the word about how well the show ran.


Stay metal. Never rust.
Albert

 

[Met-Al]

Hi, everybody!

I thought I would have time to write up some more concert reviews while I was out in Salt Lake City this past weekend, but almost every free moment I had out of the studio was spent either eating or sleeping. Seeing as how Dustin and I will be at THE concert event of the year next week, I decided I really need to catch up on my reviews. Here's the first of three that will be coming your way before I give my two cents on this year's ProgPower.

July 23rd was a Chicagoan cock rock fan's wet dream, as the House Of Blues was blessed with the presence of one of the most underrated and diverse bands of the genre: Extreme. I've been wanting to see this band for years, and I'm happy to report that they did not disappoint me.

Unfortunately, the opening band did. They were one of those New Wave Of Cock Rock bands out of L.A. They were called Swirl, but my cohort Phil and I kept calling them "Swirly" because that's what we wanted to give each member of the outfit. Everything about this band screamed "wannabe," from their wardrobe to their overly excited attitude. Every song sounded just like the last one with these guys. I'll never understand what made this music popular in certain circles. Unlike the cock rock bands of yesteryear, groups like this forget about writing melodic, catchy tunes. Instead, they prefer to put emphasis on the sleaze factor while adding an alternative flavor in hopes of luring the Godsmack fans into the fold. Needless to say, they failed to win my approval.

Thankfully, Extreme came in to save the evening from being a waste of time. Opting to rock out with a vengeance, they opened their set with "Decadence Dance." I must admit that I've never considered Gary Cherone to be a great singer, but he fits this band perfectly. His vocal performance was pretty much on par with his recordings, but what really grabbed me was his onstage persona. I think that with the exception of performing "More Than Words," he didn't stay still for a single moment. At one point, he was riding the bass cabinets like they were a bucking bronco! It was then that I realized why Eddie Van Halen wanted him as his third vocalist. On a side note, does anyone else think that Gary vocally resembles John Bush circa 1983-1991? Moving along, an Extreme review wouldn't be complete without some thoughts on Nuno Bettencourt. Though there's a distinct cockiness to him, I think it kind of adds to his charm. There's nothing like watching him rip into the solo to "Play With Me" while telling the audience, "This is boring." The man can undoubtedly shred, but he's just as amazing on the rhythm side of the spectrum, as was evidenced by his excellent riffing on "Get The Funk Out." Believe it or not, the man who really surprised me that evening was Pat Badger. Until that night, I never realized just how much he keeps up with Nuno's ridiculous rhythms. In addition, his backing vocals carry the group immensely. I'd be curious to hear him as a lead vocalist. I think he could pull it off without a hitch. The only member of the band who didn't really impress me was Kevin Figueiredo. He does his job as a drummer, but it seems like he's content with just that. Considering how over-the-top the rest of the band is, perhaps they prefer to have a drummer who merely anchors their sound. Even still, I would have preferred to see them with former drummer Mike Mangini. Other than the songs I previously mentioned, the funky four played "It('s A Monster)," "Hole Hearted," "Rest In Peace," "Star," "Take Us Alive," and a rather cool version of Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin." In retrospect, I would have like to hear something off of "Waiting For The Punchline," but that's a minor complaint for an otherwise excellent show.

Extreme would most likely have played a longer set were it not for the fact that they were co-headlining a tour with Ratt. Seeing as how Phil and I are not fans, we only watched the first two songs before we split. I have to say that Warren DeMartini and the recently recruited Carlos Cavazo were sounding great together, but Stephen Pearcy's lame attempts at singing always ruin that band's sound for me.

With that, I'm now caught up through the month of July. The August shows will hopefully be reviewed before I set off for Atlanta next week. For now, though, I think it's time I had a good night's rest.


Stay metal. Never rust.
Albert

 

[Met-Al]

As I attempt to catch up on my concert reviews for this thread, I realize that I'm now over two months behind on this review alone! I really hope that there will be some openings in my schedule to fit the rest of them in because I will otherwise be in over my head! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this one.

It's often believed that you get what you pay for. If that's true, then a free concert would be attended with no expectations. All I can say is that my experience at Crestwood Fest on August 7th would have been well worth it if there was a hefty ticket price, for that evening boasted a spectacular headlining act: Asia featuring John Payne.

I know what you're thinking: why would you see another version of Asia when the original lineup is back together and touring around the world? Personally, I feel that John Payne is the definitive frontman for the group. He deserves to use the Asia name for helping Geoff Downes keep the band alive for the last nineteen years. Besides, you know that the original lineup will never play any songs recorded between 1985 and 2005.

There are two additional reasons to see this lineup, and one of them is the lineup itself. For starters, new axeman Mitch Perry was an extremely pleasant surprise. Prior to seeing the show, I was disappointed that recent guitarist Guthrie Govan was no longer touring with the band. After a few songs into the set, however, I was convinced that Perry was indeed no slouch. Seated behind Mitch Perry was former Hurricane and Conspiracy drummer Jay Schellen, who not only handled the kit with ease but also provided some sweet backing vocals. Finally, situated behind the keyboards was Erik Norlander, a musician I've been waiting to see for some time. Granted, I really want to see him with Lana Lane or Rocket Scientists, but it was great to catch him nonetheless. Of course, Payne was in fine form, singing with passion and playing some smooth bass.

As if the reasons above weren't enough to warrant checking out the "other" incarnation of Asia, there's one very important reason I must have you readers know. When they play songs written by the original lineup, they do it better than their predecessors. I saw the classic lineup last year at the House Of Blues, and though it was a very good show, the band lacked the overall enthusiasm and vigor of their younger counterparts. The only old guy who could keep up with John Payne's group is Carl Palmer. Despite the musical ability and energy of the band, however, the crowd went from merely enjoying the show to jumping out of their seats and dancing when they played "Heat Of The Moment." Aside from the obvious inclusion of the biggest hit, the other classic tunes tackled by Payne and Co. were "Only Time Will Tell," "Sole Survivor," "Time Again," and "Don't Cry." "Go" was a welcome addition, but I was more excited about "Days Like These," "Who Will Stop The Rain," "Desire," "Military Man," and two songs from the highly under-rated "Silent Nation:" "Long Way From Home" and the title track.

The band was happy to stick around after the show to meet the fans and sign whatever they had. It was a pleasure to chat with them, but I felt bad for them when some moronic drunk attendee decided to pitch a fit because he thought Steve Howe was going to be on stage. Apparently, this pillar of society didn't get the memo. Thankfully, Mitch Perry set him straight before security escorted him out.

Even with that idiotic outburst after the show, the band seemed pleased with the response they had from the audience. This reviewer certainly left happy, and I would most definitely see them again if they come to my area. You should do the same.

Hopefully, I'll be able to post another one of these reviews soon. After all, I did attend a show the day right after this one. Who was playing? There's only one way to find out!


Stay metal. Never rust.
Albert

 

[OrbWeaver]

I have a review I wrote for this past ProgPower. It's copied from my Livejournal, so don't mind the references to other people who are on my Livejournal.

Wednesday
My friends and I arrived on Wednesday for the Mid-week Mayhem show. Circus Maximus did a set full of covers, and a few of their own material. They were supposed to play covers with Pagan's Mind, but Pagan's Mind was on tour with Stratovarius and could not arrive until later in the week. Most of the covers they did were pretty typical, including Europe's "The Final Countdown." They also did Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer." This caused my ex to loudly proclaim "YOU MADE ME LIKE A BON JOVI TUNE." To be fair, they did a really good job covering the song.

After their set, a Queensryche cover band, Mindcrime, did the entire Operation Mindcrime album. The band was fronted by Zero Hour frontman, Chris Salinas. They did an excellent job. It was nice being reminded of Queensryche when they were actually good. And Pamela Moore actually sang a song with them, too! After their set, there was a live band Queensryche karaoke.

However, this was restricted to established vocallists, and my ex, Al got to do "Queen of the Ryche" since he's the singer for Katagory V. Before he did his song, Urban Breed (Bloodbound, Pyramaze, former Tad Morose) sang a song and pretty much ruled the night. After Al went on, the singer for Circus Maximus gave him a hug. All weekend Al had people coming up to him and congratulating him on the song. One guy even said "You owned Urban Breed!" The singer from Enchant, Ted, also loved Al's performance. They had a bromance the rest of the weekend.

Thursday
Thursday was the ProgPower showcase. The lineup was Future's End, Suspyre, Enchant, and Primal Fear. Future's End is a newer band out of California. They did an absolutely fantastic job at ProgPower. They brought two cases of their album with them, and it was sold out almost immediately after their set. dagnyt4gg4rtreally dug their set and was lucky enough to snag a CD before they were sold out.

Suspyre played a very solid set. I saw them live a few years ago when they played the Chicago Powerfest (before it turned into Ozzfest Jr.) For some reason I like this band a lot better as a studio band. They seem a bit more melodic on their albums than they do live. Regardless, they played a solid set, and were sporting a cute Asian chick as their keyboard player. Something they didin't have last time. And in case you were wondering, yes, she was awesome as a keyboard player.

Enchant also put on a really good show. They had entertaining crowd banter, and really good music. The singer also plays guitar, but I noticed he didn't actually sing AND play. This was somewhat disappointing, but singing and playing is pretty hard, and their music was really very good, so he's forgiven. At one point during a quiet moment after one of their songs, Al yelled out "YOU GAVE ME AN EAR-BONER!!!" Ted, Enchant's singer found Al in the midst of the people and said "Hey! It's the Queen of the Ryche guy! Let's hear a scream!" Al of course obliged, and said scream could probably be heard up to the rafters of Center Stage - and he did it without a mic! And thus started the weekend of Ted and Al's metal brormance.

Primal Fear is one of those bands that I absolutely adore as a live band, but I cannot get in to their studio output. Regardless, they put on an amazing show this year. Ralf Scheepers' voice was in considerably better shape than last time (and he sounded great last time!) and his biceps are still bigger than my head. They did most of the songs you'd expect, including "Metal is Forever" which is always a crowd favorite. They also did a number of songs from their new album, which I actually purchased after their set. And guess what? I actually enjoy listening to the album! Well done lads, well done. They still have the stupidest lyrics ever, but we all know most Power Metal isn't known for deep lyrics. It's mostly just plain fun. Which I enjoy. Pamela Moore also appeared on stage with Primal Fear and did the same song she sang on Wednesday, but this time with Ralf. It was pretty epic.

Friday
At about 8AM Friday morning I get a call on my cell phone from seasonspeech. She and her friend Charles had arrived after driving all night and desperately wanted let into the hotel so they could sleep. At one point she even said "Oh man, the thought of sleeping in a bed gives me a raging boner!" So I got up and let both of them into the hotel room. Charles promptly collapsed on the couch, and Mallory climbed into bed with me (giggity!) Up until that point, Jessica (dagnyt4gg4rt) and I had the room mostly to ourselves (also giggity.) But it was fun sharing with Charles and Mallory.

Some hours later we all got up, got food, and headed back to the venue for the Friday night festivities. Since Friday is ProgPower's Corset Night, Jess, Mallory and I were dressed appropriately. Corset Night is very popular, especially with the male festival attendees...and even the musicians. XD Unfortunately, after the show, when we were walking back, some locals saw the three of us and started following us, all the while catcalling. That was not a pleasant experience. The rest of the night, however, was.

The first band of the night was Cage. This was one of the few bands of the fest I didn't actually watch. I had my fill of Judas Priest Jr. with Primal Fear, I don't feel the need to watch a band that desperately wants to be Judas Priest as much as Cage does. And the singer really, REALLY wants to be Rob Halford. He even dresses like him. However, fans of the band say they did an amazing job. I'll just have to take their word for it.

The second band of the night was Mindflow, a progressive band out of Brazil. Most of their discography is simply full of crazy prog music, so we were all pretty interested in seeing how they pulled off their materiral live. What we ended up seeing was disappointing. They sounded like Tool, and not at all like they sound on their albums. Jessica, however, really enjoyed their set. On the plus side, they were all really pretty. Brazil seems to produce pretty musicians.

Diablo Swing Orchestra was the third-slot band, a slot that Glenn Harveston reserves for "oddball" bands. DSO definitely falls under the "oddball" category! They were absolutely amazing. I want to see them again. Right now. They did primarily material from their first album, and a few songs from the new album. The band had lots of energy live, and seemed to have a genuinely good time performing. The cellist was even sick, and still managed to bring his A-game. The last song of the set, the singer and one of the other band members busted out Kazoos in leiu of the horn section that they weren't able to bring along. Jessica managed to snag a setlist, so if anyone wants to know what they played, ask her. We got to hang out with the band after the show. They were all very nice, and put up with us pestering them for photos. The bassist, Anders, even chatted with us for quite a bit! At one point Jessica even gave Daniel, one of the guitar players, a neck rub. Woo woo!

Sabaton was on after DSO. I'm not a Sabaton fan, so I got something to eat during their set. However, I did get back in time to see the last couple of songs, and get some photos. At some point during their set, the singer had a wardrobe malfunction. His pants ripped at the seam and Mallory "SAW SWEDISH JUNK!!!" as she put it. The singer had the most vivid green, scaly-looking boxers EVAR. But I do commend him for continuing the performance, despite his unfortuate malfunction.

After their set some of the members were hanging around outside the venue. Mallory was entirely too mortified to say hi to any of them, so I walked over and said hi to the keyboard player, Daniel. After I introduced myself, Jessica grabbed Mallory and bodily hauled her over to us, despite Mallory's claims that she would die. Daniel was very nice, and with a measure of amusement, weathered Mallory's nerves very well. At one point other members came out, and he called them over to say hi to Mallory, who of course, nearly fainted with glee each time. I'm not lying, she really did nearly faint with glee and nerves. Jessica can back me up on this. She also threatened to kill us both many times. In fact, I suspect I'm going to get threats over this part of my review. Oh, and her new nickname is "Alkaseltzer Battletits" courtesy of Daniel. MWAHAHAHAHAHA.

Royal Hunt was about to come on, so I left Battletits and Jessica to chat with Sabaton. I have Royal Hunt's, Paper Blood, which I really enjoy, so I was looking forward to seeing Royal Hunt live. The current singer is Mark Bowles, and he was really, really good. The band did not disappoint me, either. They pretty much covered most of their material, including a song or two off of Paper Blood, so I was very pleased. They had to lady backup singers too, and many of the men in the audience REALLY liked them.

The headliner of the night was Crimson Glory, which I sadly missed. I had gone outside to catch up with Jess and Mallory, and since Sabaton were still out there, I chatted with them. Other musicians wandered by, and we chatted with them as well. Time pretty much got away from me. Crimson Glory basically did a tribute to Midnight, and had TONS of guest singers the entire set. I'm told it was quite the mighty set. I'll have to watch the DVD. :/ The singers that performed with Crimson Glory were: Urban Breed (Bloodbound, ex-Tad Morose), Rob Rock (Rob Rock), Mark Boals (Royal Hunt), Clay Barton (Suspyre) and Kelly Sundown (Beyond Twilight/Darkology) Wade Black (Crimson Glory/Leatherwolf), Zak Stevens (Savatage/Circle II Circle), Lance King (Pyramaze/Balance of Power), Nils K. Rue (Pagan's Mind), Chris Salinas (Zero Hour/Power of Omens), Ronny Monroe (Metal Church), Andy B. Franck (Brainstorm/Symphorce/Ivanhoe), Sean Peck (Cage), Danilo Herbert (Mindflow), Joakim Brodén (Sabaton), Michael Eriksen (Circus Maximus) and David Vanlanding (Crimson Glory/Michael Schenker Group). After CG was done, the lineup for next year's ProgPower was announced. I already posted the lineup, but I'll do so again at the end of this review.

Saturday
Satruday! Time for more rocking out! Since I was lucky enough to be a gold badge holder, I got to go to the guitar and drum clinics they had going on earlier that day. The two guitar clinics were Drew Creel (3-time winner of Austin's "Best Metal Guitarist" award) and Joel Gregoire. Both were really good, and Joel's clinic made me think I could play guitar - though we all know I can't. There was also a drum clinic with Casey Grillo of Kamelot after that, which was really good. And it was nice seeing Casey drum in time signatures other than 4/4.

Circus Maximus opened up the final night of the festival. The guys from Norway put on a really good set. They mostly played songs off of Isolate, which made me happy, but they did do a few songs off of the first album, too. They were just as good this night as they were on Wednesday night when they did their covers set.

Orphaned Land was another band I had no interest in seeing, so once again I went and got food during their set. Where we were eating Suspyre was also eating. We had a fun discussion about the Rules of Metal video - something they all thought was hilarious. But if you want to know how Orphaned Land was, ask Jessica and Mallory.

Pagan's Mind was next. They were very well-recieved two years ago, so were invited back again. As usual, they put on a really good set, and mostly played stuff from the new album. I only watched half the set since I'll be seeing them this coming Friday with Stratovarius. I am looking forward to that quite a bit. But all in all, if it's Pagan's Mind, you can't go wrong. And their bassist STILL grins throughout the set. I don't think I've ever seen a happier bassist.

Brainstorm was next, which I was really excited about. I caught Andy Franck outside during Pagan's Mind's set and got a photo with him. From what other Brainstorm fans told me, Brainstorm's set was not 100%. However, since I'd never seen them before, I thought they were absolutely astounding! I don't think I've seen a band with more energy. Though Andy did forget some lyrics here and there, which was odd. But Brainstorm at 50% is still better than most bands at 100%. I hope to see them again, especially since I wonder how face-meltingly great they are when Andy isn't off!

The headlining band of the evening was Fates Warning. I had been outside between Brainstorm and Fates hanging out with Jess, Mallory, and Daniel from Sabaton again, but I wanted to see if Ray Alder would actually sound good this time. Ray Alder's voice was in better shape, but the band down-tuned all the songs to fit his current range. Years of smoking have pretty much demolished Alder's high range. Regardless, they put on a really good show, and their encore was The Ivoryr Gate of Dreams! In its entirety!!! ZOMG. I had initially left half-way through to hang out with friends some more, but they had already left TO GO PARTY WITH SABATON. You bitches. But if they hadn't left before I came back out, I wouldn't have gotten to see the coolest encore ever.

After Fates Warning's set was over, everyone cleared out of the venue and stumbled back to their hotels. When my friends and I got back to our hotel, Jessica and Mallory were still out. They arrived with Charles at around 5 AM (and woke me up. KILL YOU ALL!) The first thing I heard from Mallory was "SABATON! I HUNG OUT WITH THEM! I'M DRUNK!!! FREE T-SHIRTS!" Both Jessica and Mallory were given free Sabaton t-shirts. Needless to say, Mallory stopped being shy. XD

The next morning, after four hours of sleep, Ms. Mallory sits bolt upright and loudly proclaims "I SAW SWEDISH PACKAGE! FREE T-SHIRTS! SABATON!" No lie. That's how it happened. Al groaned and said "How are you functioning right now???" Mallory responded witih "I LOVE LIFE!" She didn't even have a hangover. The rest of us were less than sunshiny and energeic. Seriously Mallory, how the hell do you function???

All in all it was a successful weekend. The sad part is I have to wait another year for ProgPower to come again, and to see Mallory and Charles again. Sadness!

The video announcing next year's lineup is (for now) on the ProgPower website www.progpowerusa.com Be assured I pretty much screamed, jumped up and down, and spun in circles for the majority of the announced bands. Jessica and Mallory have the ringing ears to prove it, and some poor sod behind me had the brused toes to prove it. I appologized for stomping on his poor feet, though.

 

[Met-Al]

Now that I have a free moment, I'll post about the show I saw the night after the Asia show. Feeling pretty good after seeing a great proggy pop group, I thought I'd switch gears and go back into cock rock mode. As it turns out, my all-time favorite cock rock band was playing at a small bar called Tailgater's in Bolingbrook. This is the band that started my love affair with everything that is melodic and heavy. Some of my earliest memories involve my dad cranking their cassettes in our old apartment when I was three years old. The band in question is Dokken.

Opening the show was a local band called Veilside. Normally, I could go on at length about why I didn't like a particular band or their performance, but the most I can say about Veilside is that they're just another boring baritone-fronted alternative rock band a la Tantric (or just insert any band you've heard on hard rock radio stations in the past eight years. I mentioned Tantric becaude Veilside did a pretty boring cover of "Breakdown."). Add to the fact that their guitarist is obviously influenced by Mark Tremonti (right down to the look, in fact) but can't even pull off licks good enough for Creed, and you have all of the details that I can remember about this band.

As for the headliner, let me start off by stating that I am well aware of the fact that Don Dokken lost what little voice he had before I first ever saw the band in 1995. Despite that depressing note as well as the fact that the band tends to play the same ten songs in their set for every tour (apart from the "obligatory" one or two songs from whatever new album they're promoting), I have now seen Don and crew ten times. I continue to see Dokken for three main reasons: 1) Don is a great songwriter, and I love to hear great songs performed live, 2) the musicians in each lineup are generally stellar, and 3) I'm one of the few people in the audience that looks forward to hearing those "obligatory" new songs, especially since I most likely have only one chance of seeing them performed on stage. Do you know how some people can't stop buying Kiss's merchandise or going to their shows? Well, Dokken is my Kiss, the difference being that I believe Dokken's newer output holds up rather well to their classic albums.

Now that I have that little disclaimer out of the way, let's move on to the actual show. Naturally, I wasn't expecting much out of Don. However, I was at least hoping that he had maintained the sobriety that he announced last year. Unfortunately, that proved to be a complete wash, as he was quite visibly toasted. A sober Don Dokken can at least sing vocal melodies that work for the songs. This evening's Don made last year's Don sound like Pavarotti. I'm just glad that he didn't use the same handful of jokes that I'm used to hearing every time I see him. He actually had some new material that was pretty amusing. Long-time drummer Mick Brown, now back in the touring lineup after spending the last year playing with Ted Nugent, had scaled his kit down from seven pieces to four. Opting for focus rather than flash, he played every song just as well on a small kit as he would on his more visually pleasing setup. Though he indeed rocked out, he did annoy me with his constant exclamation of "Everybody scream!" Sadly, Barry Sparks has opted out of the last two tours due to obligations with other bands. Standing in his place was Sean McNabb, former bassist for Quiet Riot, House Of Lords, and Great White. No thanks to the band's website, it was hard to find any information regarding who he was. Don didn't bother to make any real mention of him on stage, either. Nevertheless, the guy did a fine job on the instrument and backing vocals. The real star of the show was Jon Levin. It's a shame that most folks will never get over the fact that George Lynch has been out of the band for twelve years and counting, because Jon is a pretty skilled guitarist. He handles the old solos very authentically, and he really displayed some chops on the only song from the set in which he had a hand with writing and recording.

Speaking of setlists, I was kind of surprised by some of the selections this time around. All of the usual suspects appeared at some point, but there were a few additions that made the show worthy of attendance. The set list consisted of the following songs:

Breaking The Chains
Paris Is Burning
Tooth And Nail
Just Got Lucky (this one hasn't been performed in Chicago for at least 10 years!)
When Heaven Comes Down
Into The Fire
Alone Again
The Hunter
In My Dreams
It's Not Love
Kiss Of Death
Dream Warriors (this one hasn't been performed in Chicago for at least 21 years!)
Too High To Fly (complete with Don's usual bad Jim Morrison impression. Dysfunctional has so many better tunes. Why does he insist on only playing this one?)
This Fire (the only new song of the set, but at least it was one of the best songs off of Lightning Strikes Again, not to mention something other than the first song!)

All in all, I had a fun time, and it seemed that the decently large group surrounding me did as well. I know for a fact that one woman up front enjoyed herself, seeing as how she and Don shared quite a sloppy kiss at the end of the show! Now that's rock and/or roll!

Stay tuned for a review I've been waiting to do for the past two months or so. Outside of ProgPower, it was easily the best show I've seen all year.


Stay metal. Never rust.
Albert

 

[Met-Al]

Seeing as how I have a little time off of work thanks to the Thanksgiving holiday, I thought I'd finish up another one of the reviews that I owe you faithful readers. This is one review I've been anxious to write since I saw the show on August 23rd. Even though three months have passed and I've seen a ton of bands in that time, I remember the details of this show rather well. Next to ProgPower (for which I'll be writing my next review!), this was easily the best show I saw this year. As is indicated by the title, I'm referring to this year's Progressive Nation tour.

Though I had an absolute blast watching Dream Theater on the previous Progressive Nation tour, I was less than impressed with the rest of the lineup. Opeth and Between The Buried And Me are not my cup of tea in the least. Three proved to be a more interesting band than I thought they would be, but they still don't excite me nearly as much as most other prog bands do. Upon the initial announcement of this year's lineup, however, I was, to put it lightly, very giddy. Besides getting to see my favorite band of all time for the 16th time, I would have an opportunity to see Zappa Plays Zappa, Pain Of Salvation, and Beardfish all in the same evening? How can you go wrong? Unfortunately, due to financial problems with record label Inside Out, Pain Of Salvation and Beardfish were forced to bow out of the tour. Being rather disheartened, I wasn't very hopeful that their replacements would be up to par. As it turned out, I did find myself very pleased with one of the replacements. Scale The Summit took Beardfish's spot, which had me very intrigued. Pain Of Salvation's replacement, BigElf, had quite the opposite effect. At any rate, I was looking forward to three-quarters of the lineup, which was a huge improvement over last year.

The show took place at the Chicago Theatre, a terrific-sounding venue that normally hosts shows for the likes of big-name comedians, smooth jazz acts, and music artists more in favor with the 60+ crowd. If the 3,600-seat venue wasn't sold out, it was pretty damn close to it. That's not a bad accomplishment, seeing as how these acts aren't exactly embraced by the mainstream media, not to mention the fact that tickets cost about $87 after Ticketmaster's butt rape fee.

Scale The Summit was the first band to take the stage, and though they were the least experienced band on the bill, they kept the audience watching and listening intently. Sticking only to songs from their sophomore release, Carving Desert Canyons, the young lads wasted none of their 30-minute time slot as they tore through a powerfully complex yet melodic instrumental set. Guitarists Chris Letchford and Travis Levrier wove a hypnotic web of soaring guitar lines, chunky riffs, and noodly solos on their respective eight and seven string guitars. Jordan Eberhardt somehow managed to bang his head through the whole of the set while playing some thick six-string bass lines, and drummer Pat Skeffington held all of the pieces together with his excellent precision. It looks like this tour gained them a lot of attention, as they'll be out on the road again very soon with Between The Buried And Me, Cynic, and Devin Townsend.

Following Scale The Summit was BigElf, which, as I already indicated, was the only band I wasn't crazy about seeing. I can't really fault the band's performance, as they really have it together on stage. Damon Fox is a very skilled frontman who handles vocal duties while keeping his hands busy on a slew of vintage keyboards and organs. Ace Mark is the kind of guitarist over which classic rock fans would drool. Bassist Duffy Snowhill and drummer Froth clearly emerged from the psychedelic school of music, and they make a fitting rhythm section for the band. Overall, BigElf rightfully won plenty of people over, but theirs is a sound that is too entrenched in the hippie world for my tastes.

Dweezil and his entourage hit the stage next, and the crowd was in for a real treat. If you're like myself and you were never able to see the genius of Frank on stage, then Zappa Plays Zappa is as close as you're going to get. Dweezil has truly done his homework, as his attention to detail is second to none. He has surrounded himself with some of the best talent around. It's impressive enough that bassist Pete Griffin and guitarist Jaime Kime can keep up with all of the craziness. Then you have to factor in the wonderful talent of Ben Thomas, who has the daunting task of channeling the voices of Ike Willis, Napoleon Murphy Brock, and Frank himself. In addition, you have the octopus arms of Billy Hulting on marimba, mallets, and percussion. As if these great players weren't enough, the ones who totally blew my mind were Joe Travers (quite possibly the smoothest drummer I've ever seen) and Scheila Gonzalez (who effortlessly made transitions between alto, tenor, and soprano sax as well as the flute, keyboards, and vocals!). Of course, Frank's loving son is no slouch himself, proving himself to be every bit the guitarist that his predecessor was. They opened the set with a song they learned only for their Chicago appearance, the charming love song entitled "Ride My Face To Chicago." Other highlights included "Pygmy Twylyte," "Montana," "Cosmik Debris," and two songs with special guest Mike Portnoy: "Broken Hearts Are For Assholes" and "Peaches En Regalia." Those who came for the act were certainly not disappointed, and those hearing the music of Frank for the first time were left with a long-lasting impression.

Finally, we come to the headliners. Anyone who knows me is well aware of the fact that I pledge undying allegiance to Dream Theater. This band simply incorporates everything I love about music into their sound, and they have more than enough chops to pull it off. On top of that, James LaBrie is the reason why I sing in a progressive metal band. I haven't missed a single Chicagoland appearance of theirs since I first saw them on November 1st, 1997, and nothing short of the hand of death will keep me from seeing them in my hometown in the future. I'm not saying that they're the perfect band, as no band is perfect. I'm just saying that no other band has blown my mind as consistently as these guys.

If most other headlining bands only played an eight-song set, I could understand folks getting pretty upset. Seeing that Dream Theater is the headlining band for this tour, however, you know that an eight-song set amounts to about 90 minutes of material. Their newest album is entitled "Black Clouds & Silver Linings," and their stage setup fit that title appropriately. The dark backdrops were complimented by shiny outlines. The band started their set by diving headfirst into said album, playing a haunting rendition of "A Nightmare To Remember." My only complaint about the studio recording was drummer Mike Portnoy's grunting near the end of the song. For live performances, Portnoy rectified the issue by using a vocal effects processor to sound more like a death metal vocalist. Continuing on new album mode, they followed up with "A Rite Of Passage," complete with some of the most adventurous guitar playing I've heard from John Petrucci in some time. Jordan Rudess then took some time to shine on his own, performing an unaccompied keyboard solo that included a duel with a computer generated version of himself on a screen and even a solo performed on his iPhone! From that point on, the kings of prog incorporated some of their older material into the set. "Sacrificed Sons" featured James LaBrie in excellent singing form, and "The Dance Of Eternity" gave John Myung the opportunity to flex his bass muscles. This guy makes it look too easy! Just as they follow this rocking instrumental on "Scenes From A Memory" (surprisingly the oldest album represented in the set!), the band went right into "One Last Time," a quick little number that makes for a fun sing-along. Keeping the sing-along theme going, they continued by playing "Solitary Shell," a song that always gets the hands clapping. Next, the band switched gears and chugged along to "In The Name Of God," easily the best song off of the somewhat lackluster "Train Of Thought." LaBrie was in fine form for this one, never missing a note. Just when you thought they were done, they came out for an encore to perform the epic track from the new album, the nearly 20-minute "The Count Of Tuscany."

It was understandable that the Long Island boys stayed away from any songs off of "Systematic Chaos," as they spent the previous year playing that material all over the world. However, it was kind of strange that they didn't touch upon any of the first four albums. Then again, as the band's discography grows, it must get harder for the band to decide what songs to play night after night. I was just pleased to hear half of the new album performed, so the rest of the show was like icing on the cake for me. Each Dream Theater show is different from the last, so I know I can look forward to something I've never seen them do when they come around next time. You can bet I'll be there, and I hope the rest of you folks will be present for their future appearances in your respective hometowns as well.


Stay metal. Never rust.
Albert