To use Biff's words, the House Of Blues in Chicago became the House Of Metal on November 6th. Saxon and UDO rocked the place without mercy. This was TRUE heavy metal at it's finest and reinforced my belief that true heavy metal is alive and well and living in Europe. US metal fans should appreciate it that bands such as these are willing to come over and play for us. The true metal scene is pretty much of a joke here. My only criticism would be that Paul Quinn's guitar wasn't mixed very loud or at least it seemed that way. It was very difficult to here him from the other side of the stage which was disappointing as I feel he is a great guitarist. The rest of the band played very well and sounded awesome. It was great getting to see them again as it had been 18 years for me. I was also disappointed in the turnout. There were probably 200-300 people there. I heard the place was packed last time Saxon played there. I was told that Saxon got no publicity at all this time around. In fact, I talked to several fans who had no idea Saxon were coming to Chicago until the day of the show or a day or two before. No Saxon songs on the radio or concert announcements. What's up with that? With all of the absolute crap on the radio, there has got to be room for something good. Great bands such as Saxon should receive much better in the way of promotion. A couple of fans I met at the bar told me that if they hadn't stopped for a drink after work, they wouldn't have known about the show. This show was confirmed well enough in advance as opposed to a lot of the others. Oh well, truly a great show by a great band. The highlight of the night for me was getting to meet and talk to Biff briefly before the show. That was totally cool as he is a true heavy metal legend. He was very friendly which was also cool. Thanks again Saxon and please hurry back.
