The Metal Files

So many shows recently and upcoming, it’s making me tired. Last week my good friends Savage Master were in town and I hosted them and made breakfast for them. It’s always great having them at the house.

This week Raven came through and I offered up my house to them after their Saturday show at the Lost Well in Austin and he accepted. I really do like hosting bands and I’ve met John and Mark several times since 2000 and they’re great guys and total road dogs.

On with the show…

Crimson Devils started promptly at 9PM to an unfortunately super small crowd but they sounded great. Jake and Curtis and the drummer (who I don’t know) are well-rehearsed and super tight and it’s always a pleasure to see Curtis on bass. He’s a beast. There were several shows happening this night (Scorpions, Moxy, Warbringer/Heathen etc) and it looks like the draw was going to be small. A few more people started trickling in by the end of their set.

Riot Act features ex-Riot guitarist Rick Ventura who played on Narita, Fire Down Under, Restless Breed, and Born in America. LA Kouvaris was in Riot Act and unfortunately passed away from complications related to COVID in 2020. RIP. The band also features Don Chaffin who I recognized but couldn’t quite place. He sang for Dan Spitz’s Red Lamb who I saw play to a tiny crowd several years ago. The band opened with Rock City and went straight into Road Racin’. The crowd size was starting to grow and everyone was loving the classic Riot tunes. The band sounded great and Don’s vocals were a perfect fit. They played 2 originals which sounded like they could’ve been on any classic Riot album, good stuff. They closed the set with Altar of the King and Warrior, two of my favorites and they crowd was very boisterous and had grown a little more as people were getting there after seeing some of the aforementioned shows that night.

Riot Act setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/…/the-lost-well-austin-tx…

Quick set change and the crowd had grown to about 50 folks or so, which was pretty decent all things considered.

Raven was touring for the 40th anniversary of their legendary Wiped Out album. Many of the old Austin Raven fans who saw them with Metallica in 1983 were in attendance and it was great seeing them all up front with fists in the air and singing every song.

Raven opened with Take Control and Hell Patrol and the crowd was all about it. John and Mark never stay on one spot on stage and getting good photos of them is hard. haha. They are one of the best live bands out there and always put on a great show. They rolled through the Wiped Out set like butter and closed the show with Wiped Out from their first 1980 7″ entitled Don’t Need Your Money. Mike Heller on drums is a perfect with them and really brings a new dynamic to them live and is a super nice guy as well.

Raven setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/…/the-lost-well-austin-tx…

After the show, the band chilled out with fans, signed stuff, took pics and then we loaded up their trailer and headed back to my place along with their tour companion Joey. Once settled in at the house, I cranked the AC to super cold and everyone crashed out pretty quickly.

The next morning around 9ish, we all started coming back to life and I made breakfast tacos for everyone…it’s a tradition now for bands that I host. Nothing fancy but it always seems appreciated. It was fun talking with the guys and hearing old tour stories and just random conversations. “Johnny Action” will never be forgotten!

After breakfast and loading up their RV, we snapped a photo, hugged it out and said our goodbyes.

The Gallagher brothers are truly nice guys and it’s always a pleasure to spend time with them.

This is also a good time to mention Jason McMaster and Metal Dave Glessner’s Talk Louder Podcast interview with John: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBx_8zhEK94