Concert Review: Warrant at Crocodile Rock in Allentown, Pennsylvania on July 23, 2009

Warrant returned to Lehigh Valley on the evening of July 23. The line-up features Erik Turner on lead and rhythm guitar and background vocals, Joey Allen on lead and rhythm guitar and background vocals, Jerry Dixon on bass and background vocals, Steven Sweet on the drums and background vocals and Robert Mason, formerly of Lynch Mob, on vocals and guitar. Robert has been Warrant's vocalist for the past ten or so months. This was a great night for old school Warrant fans [at this point, the band no longer plays any material from Ultraphobic or Belly To Belly (or later) and now that Jaime St. James is no longer performing vocal duties, songs from the CD he recorded with the band are no longer in the setlist either]. The first LP was played almost in its entirety and more than half of the songs from the second LP were performed. There were two songs from the third LP and a cover of a Queen song that the band recorded for the Gladiator soundtrack.

As usual, the band opened up with "Down Boys" followed by "Big Talk" ... at the beginning of the song, Robert said it hadn't been played for a while and he's right - I have seen Warrant a few times since 2001 and I have never heard them play the track before. "Sometimes She Cries" had a really crisp sound - it was good! The band got really heavy with the rockin' and powerful "The Hole In My Wall" from the Dog Eat Dog era. As the evening progressed, the guys slowed it down for fan favorites "Heaven" and "I Saw Red". Business picked up again for "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and "D.R.F.S.R.". The lights went down until Steven hit the drums for that familiar beat ... "We Will Rock You". The crowd went wild for the last song of the evening, the Glam Metal anthem "Cherry Pie".

It was a Thursday night gig and a 70-mile drive one way, but it was well worth the trip. It was an awesome show and I had a blast! There were a few microphone problems early in the set, but it was taken care of. Robert did very well and overall the band did the songs justice. Steven's background vocals were great as were the other members'. Erik and Jerry were spot on with their guitar playing. Joey was sporting a cool glittery guitar.

The setlist was as follows:

01. Down Boys
02. Big Talk
03. Sure Feels Good To Me
04. 32 Pennies
05. Sometimes She Cries
06. The Hole In My Wall
07. Heaven
08. So Pretty
09. Machine Gun
10. I Saw Red
11. Bed of Roses
12. Ridin' High
13. Blind Faith
14. Mr. Rainmaker
15. Uncle Tom's Cabin
16. D.R.F.S.R.
17. We Will Rock You
18. Cherry Pie

Pics of the show (all taken, cropped and uploaded by the author):









Cool shot!










A lot of enthusiasm.


Good one.




Look at this action!






Many more live photographs can be found here:
http://s744.photobucket.com/albums/xx90/mafd1974/Concerts/Warrant/Warrant%20July%2023%202009/

Here I am with some of the guys after the gig:

Robert Mason


Joey Allen


Jerry Dixon


I brought some rad memorabilia with me ...

Autographed photos (taken in 2007 and signed in 2009):


I finally completed this t-shirt! Jerry Dixon was the final signature I needed. Through the years, when meeting members of Warrant, Jerry was never around for some reason, but I finally got him! I told him he was the last one I needed and he asked if I had Jani on it and I told him "oh yeah". He then said "I feel bad now". No need, haha. It took me six years, but it's complete now - all five! Photo:


Warrant banner signed (as Jerry was signing it, Steve said that he doesn't have any of this ... referring to the banner and perhaps the other items I had with me) by four out of five members now (the others signed it in 2007 ... the only autograph I need now is Jani Lane):


Trading cards signed that evening (I also have cards signed by Erik and Jani so the set is now complete - I'll have to photograph all of them together someday):


What a night! It's too bad Warrant didn't have any local dates following the Croc Rock show. Here's to 2010!

Concert Review: Judas Priest and Whitesnake at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ on July 11, 2009

Judas Priest headlined while Whitesnake was one of the opening acts.

I got to the gig late so I missed Whitesnake's first two songs. A couple people told me what they were so I know the exact setlist. It was a typical Whitesnake performance. David Coverdale always surrounds himself with top-notch, professional musicians and he is still giving funny introductions to the guys in the band. He said guitarist Reb Beach was the "Prince of Porno". One song from Whitesnake's latest album was performed and as usual, the band does not play any tracks from prior to the Slide It In LP although "We Wish You Well" was played over the loudspeaker as the gang said goodbye. The band sounded good. "Here I Go Again" was interesting in that it was the version from 1987 until the end ... it closed like the version from 1982 so it was a bit of early Whitesnake I suppose. Here is the setlist:

01. Bad Boys
02. Fool For Your Loving
03. Love Ain't No Stranger
04. Slow N Easy
05. Lay Down Your Love
* Guitar Solo
06. Cryin' In The Rain/Drum Solo/Cryin' In The Rain
07. Is This Love
08. Give Me All Your Love
09. Here I Go Again
10. Still of the Night

Next up, the main focus of the evening - Judas Priest. The band is touring to promote what they call the thirtieth anniversary of British Steel so they are performing the album in its entirety at each venue. It is actually the twenty-ninth anniversary since it was released in 1980, but in an interview, vocalist Rob Halford stated he wanted to celebrate early. The date discrepancy aside, the fans really wanted to hear every song from the LP and the band delivered. Rob either was not able to hit many notes or simply avoided them the past two tours I had seen him on, but tonight was different for he hit a lot of notes and I was . I am not sure if pre-recorded high notes were played via the sound guy. I would like to believe that he actually hit those notes because those notes truly made it a real Judas Priest show.

The band opened with an incredibly heavy version of "Rapid Fire" accompanied by a lot of smoke and flickering lights proving that, yes, this was indeed a Judas Priest concert. The quintessential "Metal Gods" followed ... I cannot imagine a Judas Priest concert without it. It featured all of the trademark elements: the rocking motions of K.K. Downing and Glen Tipton, the in-place headbanging of Ian Hill, the non-stop hands of Scott Travis and some nice high notes from Rob. During "Breaking The Law", the microphone was turned over to the crowd for much of the chorus and the "you don't know what it's like" between the guitar solos. They continued on with the rest of the British Steel album finishing with the grooving song titled "The Rage" - a very interesting composition combining Reggae, Blues and Metal making it perhaps Judas Priest's most eclectic song in their catalogue - and the powerful "Steeler". When that was finished, Rob acknowledged the entire LP was performed and asked the crowd if they wanted more. The band carried on with "The Ripper" from their 1976 Sad Wings of Destiny LP ... it has been a good number of years since that song has been played and the first time Rob performed it since returning to the band. This was followed by 2008's "Prophecy" and "Hell Patrol" from their Painkiller album of 1990. They closed the set with the classic "Victim of Changes", a song that showcased each member's respective talents from the beat of the drums to the bass line to the dual guitars to, of course, the well-known and revered vocals of Rob Halford. A great rendition of the song. While waiting for the band to return to the stage, the crowd heard the familiar rev and out came Rob riding on a motorcycle like he has done many times before. K.K. and Glen could be heard giving the intro's and what song was it ... none other than "Freewheel Burning"! This song from the Defenders of the Faith era has not been performed live since 1986 and what a return it was!! The song was performed fast and heavy, the way it was written and the way it was intended. The crowd was quite pleased and energized. I went crazy!! "Diamonds and Rust" was next and after a bit of audience participation, "You've Got Another Thing Comin'", the absolute final song of the evening.

The band's set list (note: at some venues, "Rock Hard Ride Free" was performed in place of "Hell Patrol"):

01. Rapid Fire
02. Metal Gods
03. Breaking The Law
04. Grinder
05. United
06. You Don’t Have To Be Old To Be Wise
07. Living After Midnight
08. The Rage
09. Steeler
10. The Ripper
11. Prophecy
12. Hell Patrol
13. Victim of Changes
-----------------------------------
14. Freewheel Burning
15. Diamonds and Rust
16. You've Got Another Thing Comin'

It was a fantastic evening of Classic Metal. These past three tours by Judas Priest have been awesome - each tour had a significantly changed setlist and that is so uncommon with bands. Having seen Judas Priest on EVERY tour (with the exception of festivals) since 1988, this is why I keep coming back for more. From 1982 to 1998, the band had the same setlist for the most part, but these past three tours have been a different experience each time. I would see them every tour anyway, BUT the different song selections are the reason why I would see them multiple times within one year. I wanted to go to the gig the following night in Wantagh, NY, but I had a schedule conflict. I will be at the show in Columbia, MD on August 22. See you there!

Concert Review for Over The Rainbow at the Music Pier in Ocean City, New Jersey on July 6, 2009

This was a Rainbow reunion of sorts. Over The Rainbow was to feature Rainbow alumni from three different decades, but Tony Carey, the sole representative of the 1970s, left the band after a few gigs. Paul Morris was called in to take his place. He and Greg Smith fulfill the 1990s quota while Joe Lynn Turner and Bobby Rondinelli were in the band in the 1980s. Finalizing the group is Jürgen "J.R." Blackmore, the son of founding Rainbow member, Ritchie Blackmore … who better than the next of kin??

The band hit the stage about ten minutes after eight and opened up with the very well-received “Tarot Woman”. This was followed by another song from the Ronnie Dio-years, “Kill The King”. Next up, Joe Lynn Turner, wearing his signature shades and biker gloves, got to sing a track from his era of the band, “Street Of Dreams” … this song featured an outstanding keyboard performance by Paul Morris and great background vocals by Greg Smith. The next two songs were true Rockers … “Man On The Silver Mountain” and “Death Alley Driver”. The band continued on with “Eyes Of The World” from the Graham Bonnet-era. Two songs from the 1990s were performed next: “Ariel” and “Wolf To The Moon” … nice to see these added to the setlist as their inclusion gave hardcore fans a genuine career-spanning experience of Rainbow tunes. Next was the Russ Ballard-penned, “I Surrender” followed by what appeared to be an impromptu instrumental as Joe Lynn Turner left the stage for a few minutes … as far as the setlist is concerned, it is not certain whether this instrumental was planned or unplanned. Joe Lynn returned to the stage with “Can’t Happen Here” and afterwards he said the song is as relevant now as it was back then and briefly discussed the current state of affairs in the world. The very groovy “Jealous Lover” (said to have been added to the set due to many requests) was next in line followed by a drum solo by Bobby Rondinelli ending with the sound of the gong leading into the powerful epic, “Stargazer” … Jürgen Blackmore brought out the strat for this one! Although the audience was neither bored nor tired at any time during the show, the crowd was truly energized for the final song of the set, “Long Live Rock ’n’ Roll” which also had a bit of the Deep Purple classic, “Lazy” incorporated into it. The band left the stage only to return minutes later. The first encore was a medley of “Since You Been Gone” and “Stone Cold” – the former being performed in its entirety while the latter was nearly complete itself. The second and final encore was the Rocker and party anthem “All Night Long”. The concert was over at about 9:50 so the band’s set was over 90 minutes.

This concert was a real treat for Rock and Metal fans as many of these songs have not been performed in this area in years and these songs deserve to be heard. It was an awesome performance. The band members appeared to be having a lot of fun on stage and Greg Smith particularly looked to be enjoying himself. It was a smaller crowd (100 or less people), but the reception and participation by the fans made up for the lack of numbers. Members of the band were seen walking around Ocean City’s boardwalk later in the evening. The setlist for the night is as follows (“Power” was performed in Russia earlier in the year whereas “Stone Cold” was not so there was a bit of a change in the setlist):

01. Tarot Woman
02. Kill The King
03. Street Of Dreams
04. Man On The Silver Mountain
05. Death Alley Driver
06. Eyes Of The World
07. Ariel
08. Wolf To The Moon
09. I Surrender
**. Instrumental
10. Can't Happen Here
11. Jealous Lover
**. Drum Solo
12. Stargazer
13. Long Live Rock 'n' Roll/Lazy/Long Live Rock 'n' Roll
-------------------------------------
14. Since You Been Gone/Stone Cold
15. All Night Long

For statistical purposes, here is a breakdown for the number of songs played from each album (as can be observed, every album from Rainbow’s catalogue was represented):

Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (1975) - 1
Rising (1976) - 2
Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (1978) - 2
Down To Earth (1979) - 3
Difficult To Cure (1981) - 2
Jealous Lover (1981) - 1
Straight Between the Eyes (1982) - 2
Bent Out Of Shape (1983) - 1
Stranger In Us All (1995) - 2

Band members:
Joe Lynn Turner (vocalist of Rainbow from 1980 to 1984)
Bobby Rondinelli (drummer of Rainbow from 1980 to 1983)
Greg Smith (bassist of Rainbow from 1994 to 1997)
Paul Morris (keyboardist of Rainbow from 1994 to 1997)
Jürgen "J.R." Blackmore (son of Rainbow founding member, Ritchie Blackmore)

Now for the concert photographs (all taken, cropped and uploaded by the author):





















Here I am with Jürgen "J.R." Blackmore:


Bobby Rondinelli autographed the ticket stub for me:


This is a very important tour for Heavy Metal historians and it is highly recommended for everyone out there to see Over The Rainbow at one of their remaining gigs.
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