Scrap Metal Live Review -- Uncasville, CT

On August 5, 2011, Scrap Metal returned to the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, CT. For those unaware, Scrap Metal is a band that was originally formed by members of various 80s glam bands (Nelson, Slaughter, Mr. Big and Night Ranger) on the premise that the band would play only the hits from each of the members' bands. Additionally, special guests appeared at every show (including Kip Winger, Jimi Jamison, Jani Lane, C.J. Snare, Jeff Scott Soto and others). The actual band members have thinned out over the years, as Kelly Keagy and Eric Martin appear to have drop out, and Mark Slaughter was not present at this most recent show, leaving just the Nelson twins as the core famous members of the band. The special guests this time around were Janet Gardner (Vixen), John Corabi (Motley Crue, The Scream) and Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow, Deep Purple).

The shows are always loose and the band is 'winging it' to a certain extent, as this is a band that simply gets together for these shows, so they are not well rehearsed. You can actually see various players referring to notebooks and calling out cues on stage, but the band is made up of professionals, so it does not detract from the show at all. The band opened with a cover of The Boys Are Back In Town, with all members and special guests on stage. Corabi carried the lions share of the vocal duties for the opening number. Thereafter, the guests left the stage and we heard a few Nelson songs off of the first album ("After the Rain," "Love and Affection," and "More Than Ever"). Thereafter, Gunner Nelson introduced Janet Gardner as "one of his favorite song writers ever." I found this amusing, since Richard Marx wrote a large part of the first (and most successful) Vixen album, and the second album, while I do enjoy it, is not anything groundbreaking. But Gunner is salesman up on that stage, and I understand he was doing his job in promoting his guest. The band played "Edge of a Broken Heart," "Crying" and "How Much Love." Truth be told, Janet was the sole reason I wanted to attend this show, as I loved Vixen back in the day, and jumped at the chance to see Janet sing live again. Quite simply, Janet still has a strong voice and looks fantastic. I wish she go back to performing live a bit more frequently.

Next up was John Corabi, for perhaps the most odd part of the night's show. Initially, John came out and did a solo acoustic version of Hooligan's Holiday (which is what he has been doing all summer on tour with Cinderella). Thereafter, it became apparent that the guys in Scrap Metal were less familiar with Corabi's work, as the remaining songs were all Motely Crue songs that were recorded by Vince. They played "Home Sweet Home," "Live Wire" and "Smokin' in the Boys Room" (I know, that is not a Crue song, but clearly that is what the band was drawing from). To me, it seemed to be a slap in the face to John and all of the other work he has done, but to his credit, he rolled with it and sang those songs perfectly. I almost didn't recognize the chorus to Live Wire, as I have never actually heard it sung live before (that is when Vince holds the mic out to the crowd for them to sing). John seemed to be having a great time and I give him credit for getting the job done, and he clearly had the strongest voice that night. Plus, it was just so strange to see the Nelson brothers playing Live Wire with Corabi singing... very surreal.

Next came Joe Lynn Turner, who sounded great and they played "Street of Dreams," "Stone Cold," "Highway Star" and "Smoke on the Water." I was impressed with Joe's voice and he put on a good show as well, with a lot of crowd interaction.

Then the show took a bit of a downward turn. It used to be about the band members playing all hits all night long, but with the thinning list of 'rock stars,' there is apparently less to draw upon and so the premise changed to include a long guitar solo from an impressive player (I do not recall his name), followed by a cover of "Long Train Runnin'" sung by the other guitar player (also do not recall his name), and I think there was a bit of a keyboard solo in there as well. Seemed like the band needed to add some filler, but really, this did not add to the show at all. The show concluded with all members and guests returning to the stage for a cover of Led Zeppelin's Rock n Roll. Overall, a good show, but the band has been better, and the diminishing number of 'stars' is hurting the show. Hopefully the guys can turn this around, as it really is a show worth seeing.

The only real disappointment of the night was the fact that there is no longer a meet and greet after the show. I'm not a huge fan of meet and greets, but this was always a fun one to hang around for, as the Wolf Den (the room where the show happened) only holds about 300 people, so it was never really too taxing on the band, and it was a nice gesture for the fans. However, when the show ended, everyone was ushered out of the room and the various members never made an appearance to greet the fans that continued to wait around.

It seems as though the Scrap Metal shows are limited only to appearances at the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut, which is a shame because it is a fun show. I have seen the show many times (including their very first show), so I can tell the differences between shows more than most, but others that I was with this past time were seeing the show for the first time, and they absolutely loved it. Any fans of glam would love this show, and if you ever have the chance to attend, I strongly suggest you do so.

Cinderella in Foxboro, MA -- Live Review

On Wednesday, August 3, the Cinderella tour rolled into Foxboro, MA, so how could I not go? To sum my review up in a few words.....it was a Cinderella show.  If you have seen the band live over the past few years, you know what I mean.  The band has essentially played the same set and put the same show on for years.  Everyone knows that Tom will wear the top hat during "Night Songs," that Jeff and Eric will spin their guitars during the Night Songs-era songs, Jeff will have more costume changes than the cast of a Broadway musical, and that before "Shake Me," Tom will say, "Are you ready to get this place shaking? I said are you ready to get this place SHAKING?" 

While it may sound like I am complaining about a stale show, that certainly is not the case. I walk into to a Cinderella show knowing I am going to leave satisfied that I saw a great show and clearly I am not alone, as the show was either sold out, or very close to being sold out.  The guys are entertaining live and put some real effort into entertaining the crowd, and above all else, they still sound amazing. Musically, they are as tight as they have ever been. Vocally, you can tell that Tom is holding back some when singing, but as someone who witnessed him at his worst during the Poison/Cinderella tour a few years ago, I fully understand why he chooses not to blow out his vocal cords. 

 

From top to bottom, the set clocked in at about 1 hour and 20 minutes, and contained 13 songs. The addition of "Once Around the Ride" this tour was a nice touch, as was "Long, Cold Winter."  Personally, I would love to hear "Loves Got Me Doing Time" or "If You Don't Like It", but again I understand what they are doing.  You can't drop the hits and risk disappointing the loyal crowd when you know what they want to hear, and Tom probably does not want to do longer sets for fear of reinjuring his vocal cords. 

 

One brief, stand out moment for me was during "Shelter Me," Tom began playing his saxophone solo, but something was clearly wrong with the horn. He took it off and gave it to a stagehand and said, "It's f---ed up."  But what he did next, all "rocks tars" should take a note of... he shrugged his shoulders and just went on with the song.  No tantrum that things weren't working properly, no storming off stage, and I can't imagine anyone got fired over it.  He rolled with the punches and just kept on delivering a show for the people that paid to see him that night.

 

The band MASS opened the show, but I only caught 1/2 of their last song, so I can not review their set (but I can, however, review the Five Guys burger, as that was where I was during their set).

 

On a side note, I will say that this is the second time I have seen a show at this venue, and I think this place is amazing. The club is called Showcase Live, and it is a nice, clean, big room with great stage and lights; but most importantly, the sound is fantastic.  It is a bit of a drive for me to get to there, but it is definitely worth the time it takes to get there.

Should Vince Neil Be Honored?

It was recently announced that Vince Neil would be receiving the 'Lifetime Achievement in Rock 'n' Roll Award,' presented to him by Vegas Rocks! Magazine.  Few music related stories have ever bothered me quite as much as this one did.  Personally, I think that Vince is a deplorable human being, and that fact that people are choosing to honor him rather than shun him shocks me. 

My dislike for Vince has really developed over the past few years, but the primary reason has to do with his recent arrest in Las Vegas for driving under the influence (oddly enough, which occurred in the very city that is honoring him).  Let's all remember that Vince was solely responsible for the death of Razzle Dingley from Hanoi Rocks many years ago, as Vince crashed his car while he was driving drunk with Razzle in the car.  As tragic as that was, I did not hate Vince for that.  He was a young rock star that suddenly had a lot of money, and he made a bad decision which resulted in Razzle's tragic death.  However, this is an event that should have altered his life from that point forward.  He robbed the world of another life, and living with that must have been horrible.... but he did not learn his lesson, and he did it again, and endangered the lives of himself and others on the road. I do not care that it was 20 plus years after the fact, because it never should have happened again.  He is older and should be wiser now, but apparently he is still just as dumb as he was in his twenties.  Add to that the recent allegations of domestic violence, the many accounts of fans that have met him only to have him be outright rude to them, and the lackluster performance he delivers live.  I was at M3 in 2010, and Vince disappeared for three songs of a set that was less than an hour total. (Thankfully, his talented band did an amazing job, but how is Vince not present for that many songs that are being played by the Vince Neil Band)?

 

Yet Vince continues to do well in the world of rock. Motley Crue has embarked on a tour that is putting up successful numbers, and is expected to continue to do so throughout the summer. His solo band is doing well, his book sold many copies, and he is becoming quite the businessman (as he has really been branding his name as of late). What puzzles me is who is continuing to support him?  With the recent not guilty verdict on the Casey Anthony case, the world is asking, "Where is the justice for Caylee?" Everyone seems to be upset by the idea that Casey Anthony is poised to cash-in on the tragedy that her daughter suffered, and the world seems ready to boycott anything that her name is attached to. I understand this reaction, and it makes sense as most people would not want to see an accused murderer profit for any reason. 

 

My question to the readers of this site is this: are you going to protest and boycott any television shows featuring or books written by Casey Anthony regarding the death of her child and the trial that followed?  And if you answered "yes" to that question, are you also going to attend the Motley Crue tour this summer?  Finally, if your answer to both questions were "yes," then why do you support one person who we know took the life of another and yet continues to behave in the same dangerous manner, but not other who was not actually found guilty of any murder/manslaughter charges?  How do you decide which murders to support and which ones you will shun (assuming Casey Anthony did, in fact, murder her daughter)? Motley Crue will be at the Mohegan Sun Arena on July 15th (about an hour from my house), and I will be nowhere near the venue that night.  I do not deny the fact that Motley wrote some of the greatest songs of the genre and they put on an amazing live show, but I can not justify putting any of my money into Vince's pockets. 

 

Where is the justice for Razzle?

New Jetboy vs. Classic Jetboy - An M3 Comparison

This past weekend's M3 Festival featured a set by Jetboy during Friday's "Kix-Off Party."  Jetboy performing at M3 is nothing new, considering they have played every M3 festival to date, however the twist to this years set was Jetboy was now featuring a new singer, D.K. Revelle, as Mickey Finn left band in late 2010. Personally, I am a longtime Jetboy fan, and I think Damned Nation is one of the most solid albums to have been released during the late 80s/early 90s time frame. Last year, I was front and center for Jetboy's set, and honestly is was probably the set I was most looking forward to (even though the band was taking the stage just past noon on that day). It was brutally hot that day, but it didn't slow the band down at all and they delivered a killer set. I hadn't seen the band live since 1990, when I saw them on tour with Vixen and The Electric Boys, but they sounded as good as ever, and the classic Jetboy sound remained.

Fast forward one year to 2011, and the set that I listened to last weekend seemed like almost an entirely new band. As festival sets are shorter, Jetboy did not have a lot of time allocated to them, but they crammed in a lot of music. They opened with "Dogs Gotta Roam" off the the recent Off Your Rocker EP (which was recorded with Mickey on vocals), and also played "Going Down (Above the Clouds)" off the same album. From the classic material, they performed "Stomp It (Down to the Bricks)" and "Ready to Rumble" from Damned Nation and, of course, they closed with "Feel the Shake" from the Feel the Shake album. The also included two new songs, "Stripped Down" and "Little Miss Sin Eater." Clearly, the band is concentrating on the new music that they have written, and not relying on their past catalog, and they performed a solid set with more energy than last year's show (but that could be due to the insane heat last year that was not present this year).

 

The first difference I noted was how tight the band sounded now. I recall when I spoke with Billy earlier this year, he relayed to me that it was difficult to Jetboy to rehearse, as the majority of the band lived in the San Francisco area and Mickey lived in Los Angeles. Now that the new singer is closer, clearly they are able to actually practice and work out the nuances in the songs so that it all sounded like more of a unit. They showed some creativity by changing some of the classic parts around a bit and added a big ending to "Feel the Shake" which included a callback to the "Ready to Rumble" riff from earlier in the set. Additionally, there is the obvious change in voices.  D.K. stays pretty close to the original versions of the Jetboy songs that pre-dated his time in the band, but does add his own swagger to the songs and plays with the vocal timing a bit... but I fully understand him adding some of his own flavor to those parts, so as to not be labeled a carbon copy of Mickey. The new songs, written with D.K., are in the same vein as prior Jetboy songs, as they are guitar-riff driven, AC/DC-type songs, and D.K. sounds great singing them. A fan of the classic line-up would not be disappointed with the new songs.

 

So of the two versions, which do I prefer? To be completely honest, I have been listening to Jetboy since 1990, and Mickey's voice is what I associate with those songs. So if I had the ability to choose, I would want to hear Mickey singing the classic songs. However, that is not to take anything away from D.K., as he is a great singer and performer, and the new songs suit his voice very well. I understand situations change and they require bands to adapt, and D.K. was a great choice to replace Mickey. Additionally, as stated above, the band, as whole, sound better now. The change in singers brought a new level of energy to the band that may have faded some during the end of Mickey's tenure. The creativity is flowing and they are writing new songs and moving forward. While change is not something that we fans of the 80s Glam music like, this is a situation where, for us fans, the differences are about as good as it gets, and the band has taken this shot in the arm and are reacting in a positive way. Bottom line, if Jetboy was coming to my town, I wouldn't think twice about attending.

Jetboy at M3 2011

Jetboy at M3 2010

KISS Edition: What Were They Thinking?

I was listening to Hair Nation the other day (The Howard Stern Show was probably on a commercial break), and they played, "Hate" by KISS, off of the Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions album, and the song really got me thinking. Obviously, this was an attempt by KISS to latch on to the grunge era and to try to stay relevant and sell some albums. The problem was that the effort was so disingenuous, and it just didn't sound like KISS.  Now I understand a band changing and growing, but I do not think that occurred here. Lyrics like, "Tell me what you want me to be, I can't stand myself anymore" just did not make sense. Were we to believe that Paul Stanley (the Star Child from the 1970s that was able to shoot lasers out of his eye and defeat the androids that had taken over Magic Mountain in Southern California) was suddenly a member of the disenfranchised youth? Did KISS believe that this segment of the music buying population would be able to relate to their music? To me, it appeared to be more of a desperate ploy to 'hang with the cool kids,' and it made me feel bad for the band. 

 

The whole song got me thinking about KISS' career once the make-up came off. Creatures of the Night and Lick it Up were both great rock albums. Animalize was a decent album as well, and no one can deny the brilliance that is "Heavens on Fire" (though the rest of the album is hit or miss, including the classic lyric about the log and the fireplace). From there you go to Asylum (which had a number of catchy singles) and then Crazy Nights (which, admittedly, the band was trying for a Bon Jovi-type sound, heavy on the keyboards). 

 

KISS were innovators when they debuted on the scene in the early/mid 1970s, and they put on a show that was second to none. But without the make-up, they really lost their identity, and were like a rudderless ship, simply chasing fads in music and trying to keep up with the other, more successful artists. That isn't to say they didn't put out some great music, but they really lost their status as leaders, and were clearly followers during this time period. Carnival of Souls, to me, is the culmination of this lack of direction, as they recorded an album is just reaching for something that was not there. But of course, as with any KISS album, there are always bright spots, and to this day, I say the song "Childhood's End" is an amazing song from the KISS catalog that unfortunately was buried on this album that is bypassed by most.

 

Am I wrong, or is this the worst KISS album ever recorded?



Less Than Two Weeks Until M3

The M3 Festival in Columbia, Maryland is less than two weeks away. The festival takes place on May 14, 2011, with a shorter "Kix-Off" party on May 13, 2011. Personally, I cannot wait to attend this year's event, and I am expecting a completly different experience than last year.

 
Last year, on the day tickets went on sale, I got extremely lucky, in that I pulled front row center tickets to the event. Real, legitimate front row center seats. Never in my life have I been in the front row, so to land such amazing seats for an all-day festival of amazing bands was unbelievable.  As such, it goes without saying that I spent the majority of the day in my seat, watching the sets on the main stage from only a couple of feet away. I remember being less than five feet from Tom Keifer while he was singing "Coming Home" and thinking how amazing those seats were. Far and away, it was my best concert experience to date.

 
However, as great as that day was, I cannot help but think that I missed out on so many other aspects of the festival environment. I only ventured away from my seats for a short while, to briefly check out the grounds and to visit with Allyson, her husband, and Christian. I didn't experience the freak show nor did I watch any of the second stage bands. I didn't walk the lawn and talk to random people. To me, the day was based solely on the music, because I know the odds of me ever getting seats like that again are slim (to say the least). 

 

This year, I am hoping to get an entirely different experience. I did not opt for the VIP tickets this year, so I plan to walk the grounds, hang out with friends, and meet some new and interesting people.  Next weekend should be a great weekend full of fun and 80s rock. Long live the 80s!

Oh, and if you still want to attend the event - tickets are still available! Come say "hi" to the Bring Back Glam! crew.



Stryper Live Show Review

This past Saturday, the Stryper tour made a stop at Showcase Live in Foxboro, Mass. I have seen the band a few times before and they have always impressed me, so it was a no-brainer and I made the one and a half hour trek up the show. I had never been to the venue before, but it was large, had excellent lights and sound, was clean and was well run.

 

MASS was the opening band.  I have never heard them before and apparently I am the only one because the place was full of people singing along and going crazy for this band. Apparently, they have been around since the 1980s and are old friends of Michael Sweet. They played a tight set with a lot of energy. They were really good, but just not my style (but again, I was clearly in the minority on that one, and the crowd loved them). MASS did impress me with their cover of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir." The band nailed the music and the singer sounded perfect, so much so that it actually made the hair on my arm stand up.

 

Stryper had an early start time, and took the stage at just about 9:00 p.m. I had a spot standing about 10 feet in front of Oz Fox.  As I wrote above, they have never let me down live, but far and away, this was the best I had ever heard the band sound.  They opened with "Sing Along Song," which I never would have thought was a good opener, but it worked perfectly. From there, they pick and chose songs that ran the length of their career, and really, there was not a bad song played all night.  Since they are touring in support of the new album of cover songs, The Covering, they did play a few songs off that album; specifically, "Over the Mountain," "Shout It Out Loud" and "Heaven & Hell." The band played together so well, and Michael's voice is so strong, that you just can not help but get sucked into the energy of the show.

 

I did have a few thoughts and observations watching the show this time around. Regarding Robert Sweet, I have always heard that he is an amazing drummer, and being a drummer myself, I always watch him play. He has always been solid, but has never quite blown me away. That changed this past Saturday night. Robert played with such power and intensity, and in a way I have never personally seen him play before, that I now understand how he earned that reputation.  Another thing I really enjoyed was watching Oz Fox play. Sure the guy is a very talented guitarist and singer, but that is not why he kept drawing my attention. The reason is because, of all the four on stage, he seemed to be the most genuinely excited and happy to be up there playing. You could just get the sense by watching him that he truly loves what he does, appreciates the people that are there to see him, and really cares about delivering a great show every time. In this day and age, when 80s bands just don't put the effort in, it is nice to someone who actually cares as much as he clearly does. That is not meant as a knock at the rest of the band either, as all of them put on a show as well as a performance, it was just that Oz, in particular, stood out to me the most.

 

Finally, I had an observation about the crowd. Everyone knows Stryper is a band with a message, and whether you are there for a combination of the message and the music, or just the music, you know what to expect when you go see Stryper live, and there should be a certain amount of respect for their beliefs (and those of many others in attendance) when you walk in the door. I am not particularly religious, but I, along with 95% of the audience, was respectful of the views expressed. However, inevitably, at every Stryper show, there is always someone yelling out Satan references and sarcastic hallelujahs, trying to either (1) be funny, or (2) get a rise out of the band. For the most part, a Stryper crowd is older, and really should have matured past this level of juvenile humor. Do they really think they are being original by yelling those things out? Do they really think that in 28 years of performing, Stryper have never heard those "jokes" before? I simply do not understand why someone would pay to see a show, only to try to insult the band and ruin the enjoyment of those around them. In fact, I recently read a review of a Stryper show earlier on the tour where the review said he wore a Danzig shirt (specifically Danzig, because they question religion, and not Slayer because Tom Araya is a Christian), and that he got a dirty look from the band's tour manager. Again, why go to the show wearing specific clothes to try to cause a problem.  It is a concert, not a debate, so the band is not going to notice, or quite frankly care, about your shirt. It is a level of immaturity that most leave when they graduate high school, but man, for those 5%....they just can not let it go.

 

One last note is just an observation of a culture clash from that same night. The club was double booked that night, and immediately following the Stryper show was an all-male tribute to Lady Gaga, called Rad Bromance (yes, that is funny). Well, the Stryper show ran a little long, and several of the Gaga fans showed up during the last few songs of their set. There were guys in full-on drag with half shirts, make-up and teased hair. (The irony of which is that such attire was actually typical of the 80s rock scene when Stryper was having their hey day). I even saw one guy in a Native American headdress.  The costumes and effort that they put into their outfits was fantastic, and to see them standing amongst the Stryper fans, mostly in jeans and leather, was great. You have to love it when worlds collide.