Posts Tagged ‘quiet riot’
Quiet Riot Concert Review, San Antonio, TX, June 25, 2016
The 80s metal weekend continued last night in San Antonio for the modern version of Quiet Riot which features only Frankie Banali from their definitive 80s era. The band also features Chuck Wright who played bass on the original recorded version of the song Metal Health and did backing vocals for that whole album. Jizzy Pearl and Alex Grossi round out the line up on vocals and guitar, respectively.
There were 4 opening acts. I missed the first one, Iron King Stag. Years Gone was up next and I had seen them before. They’re a tight band, but I had that type of rock. Lead guitarist is good though. Black Heart Saints were up next and I’d say that if you liked Tesla, Skid Row, Kix and Motley Crue minus some of the sleaze, this is the band for you. THEY WERE NOT THE BAND FOR ME. haha. Singer could fill in with Tesla perfectly. That vocal style grates on my nerves. The covered Come Together which I didn’t recognize until the chorus and covered Stevie Wonder’s Superstition. The Selfish Machines were up next and other than a weak version of We’re An American Band, I don’t remember anything else about them. Also, it was announced early on that if you bought the Quiet Riot documentary DVD, you’d be guaranteed to get your stuff signed. I hadn’t seen it yet, so it was an easy $20 to spend.
After the last set change, lights go down and Queen’s We Will Rock You is played as the band comes on stage. They opened with Run For Cover, Slick Black Cadillac and Mama Weer All Crazee Now. Listen, there was only one Kevin DuBrow (well, the singer for Slade as well), but Jizzy Pearl handled the vocals just fine. He’s got the vocal range that works perfectly. Alex Grossi handled the guitar parts just fine without destroying Cavazo’s solos. Frankie’s playing was solid, but Chuck’s bass work was pretty incredible. I never knew just how good that guy was. The set included pretty much everything that you’d expect. It was a fun show all around and odd that I didn’t know anyone at the show besides Helstar’s James Rivera.
A little backstory, the only other time I have seen QR was in 1999 in Norfolk, VA. They did a meet and greet that day at Mars Music and like an idiot I didn’t bring The Book to the signing or to the show that night. One of things I did bring was a WASP CD/EP for Sunset and Babylon. At the signing, Frankie asked me if he could have it since he said he had never seen one before. I said no and he got a little pissed off and said, “I’m not signing your stuff then.” Kevin DuBrow looked at him and said, “Seriously, Frankie? Sign his stuff!” Frankie signed it and we moved on. The show that night was $5 and this shitty old theater called The Riverview. When I had gone back home after the signing, I realized that I had a spare copy of that EP and brought it with me to the show. There may have been 50 people at that show, maybe less. It was the classic lineup as well. Pathetic turnout. During the end of their set, I held up that CD and pointed to Frankie and said, “It’s yours.” His eyes lit up and he smiled. Once they finished, they just stepped off of the stage and hung out with everyone. Frankie came straight up to me and I handed him the CD. He thanked me and apologized saying he was having a bad day. He handed me his sticks and we spoke for a little bit before us talking with the rest of the band.
Last night as I got through the line to have him sign the DVD and The Book, I asked, “Do you still have that Babylon and Sunset CD that I gave you?” He said, “Holy shit, that was you?! I totally remember that day. Thanks again!” He then marveled over The Book and asked how to get one, signed it and I moved on. Chuck Wright had just come out and I had him sign on the Black Roses section. “What book is this?” I told him how to find one and mentioned that he was listed in there several times. I forgot to get him to sign my Metal Health cover, but oh well.
Fun night.
Lynch Mob Concert Review, Austin, TX, June 12, 2016
I love Dokken. Tooth and Nail, Under Lock and Key and Back for the Attack are great albums. Breaking the Chains is just OK. Lots of folks slag that band but whatever, I’m a fan.
Lynch Mob headlined an early show last night with Roc Holiday and Snake Skin Prison. I missed SSP but caught Roc Holiday’s set. Paul Lidel (Dangerous Toys/Dirty Looks), lead guitarist and backing vocals for Roc Holiday, is simply a badass. He made their set for me.
It was a pretty packed crowd for this venue, Texas Mist. I hung out towards the back for Lynch Mob’s set with a good pal that I hadn’t seen in quite some time. To be honest, I never cared for anything Lynch did after Dokken. Too bluesy. BUT…his band is full of people who are listed in The Book. So going to a show that’s less than 10 minutes from my house was worth the effort.
Lynch’s band sounded absolutely great. Oni Logan’s vocals were stellar to be honest. I had heard that the drummer, Jimmy D’Anda, was not feeling well, but you wouldn’t have known it by his playing. Bassist Sean McNabb held the bottom down perfectly as well. And then there’s George. His performance was not so stellar. He fumbled around his pedal board quite a bit. His solos, especially during the Dokken songs, were awful except for that break in Tooth and Nail, he did that perfectly. He pretty much seemed like he didn’t care to be there at all. It was a bit disappointing, to be honest. Three times as they were counting a song in, everyone started except for George and they had to restart each time. I could speculate on the reason but anyone that was there, especially those of us who met him after the show could pretty much tell what was up. I’ll leave it at that.
After the show George and Sean came out to sign stuff. I got a minute with him and he signed The Book and my Tooth and Nail CD. He saw Pilson’s signature and asked when I got it. I mentioned that I got it during the “Foreigner tribute band” show. He laughed and said, “Well all original Dokken members are doing a Japanese tour. We’re getting paid so much money, it’s the only reason I’m doing it. I’ve got kids and grandkids to support.” He was very nice and so was McNabb who told me he was coming back to Texas later this year playing bass for Joe Lynn Turner(!!!!). He also stated that Oni Logan typically doesn’t come out to sign stuff and that D’Anda was pretty sick so he wasn’t coming out.
I went to the back stage curtain and one of their road crew was walking back there. I stopped and asked if he could get Oni and Jimmy to sign and I showed him where the pages were marked. Understand that this book has only left my sight a few times to get signed. I was able to see them each sign it through the curtain, though. The crew guy brought it back and said that Oni laughed that he was listed in there with Ferrari.
It wasn’t a great show by any means, but still enjoyable to hear some Dokken classics. Oni Logan’s voice was great on those.
Click fotos to enlarge.
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- Jimmy D’Anda
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- George Lynch (in gold)
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- Oni Logan
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- Sean McNabb
Scorpions/Ratt – Concert Review – San Antonio, Tx – July 23, 2010
SCORPIONS – RATT
San Antonio, TX July 23, 2010
Amazing. In a word that’s the best way to describe this show. But as always, I will go into more detail.
The day starts out with me picking up Christine and Charlotte, piling their pretty selves in my car and heading 75 miles south to San Antonio to the AT&T Center. Since it’s a Friday we allowed some extra time to
Christine, Charlotte, Yours Truly
get through Austin and SA’s traffic. Good idea. The doors opened at 6:30 and we arrived at about 5:45. Hung out in the parking lot, had a beer, talked music and talked a lot of BS. Good times.
We hop in line and 15 minutes later we were in the door. Of course we head to the merch booth to check out the shirts. Both Ratt’s and the Scorpion’s shirts were pretty fugly so I didn’t pick one up. That’s a rarity, me no picking up a concert shirt. We’re inside, grab a beer and go find out seats. I of course looked at the seating chart as I was buying the tickets but didn’t really realize how good they were. My photographer friend, Jinger, was behind us when she wasn’t in the photo pit shooting both bands.
The place was filling in pretty well and I believe it was sold out by the end of the night. San Antonio is a legendary town for metal. So many bands from around the world got their first US break there. Scorpions and Ratt were 2 of those bands. Sure Ratt was popular in the LA scene on the early 80s, but SA radio really pumped them and got them out of California. The SA crowds are great too. They love metal there. It’s pretty awesome.
Warren, Carlos and Robbie
The lights go down and on comes Ratt. Thanks to the interwebz I had seen the setlist that they have been running for this tour and was pretty stoked for it. Morning After! Alright! Stephen Pearcy was never known for being a great singer and he’s still not, but he did a pretty good job last night. The band consisted of Pearcy, Warren DeMartini, Bobby Blotzer, Robbie Crane and Carlos Cavazo(!). Carlos! I’ve always been a huge fan of the first 3 Quiet Riot albums that Carlos was on. Was fortunate enough to meet and hang out with him in 98. Nice guy, fine guitarist. Ratt sounded great overall. Warren is definitely a hotshot player. Robbie’s been in the band for a long time now and did a fine job. He’s got strong backing vocal skills too. Seeing Ratt was a bit special for me as I had never seen them before. “Back in the day” they came to town with Poison and Bon Jovi and I refused to pay to see either of those bands. Blech! So this was a perfect bill for me to see them on, even if it was 20+ years after their heyday. The only song I didn’t care for in their setlist was Way Cool Jr. That song sucked then and it still sucks now.
Here’s the setlist as I recall it:
- You’re In Love
- Lay It Down
- Lack Of Communication
- Loving You’s A Dirty Job
- I Want A Woman
- Best Of Me
- Slip Of The Lip
- Nobody Rides For Free
- Back For More
- Way Cool Jr.
- Wanted Man
- The Morning After
- Round And Round
Damn fine setlist.
RATT says goodbye
After the Ratt set, the girls and I go out and grab a drink and they run into some friends of theirs who ended up joining us for the Scorpions set.
The music on the PA at rock concerts has always been an interesting subject of discussion. Before the Scorps came on, they were paying all Nickelback. It was pretty annoying. Then Back In Black comes on (very
Klaus and Rudy...Sting of the Tail!
loudly) and of course people start cheering. I never cared for that song but it’s fun seeing how amped people get anytime it gets played in an arena. 20 seconds into it, the lights go down, the songs ends and here comes Rudy Schenker walking on the stage to open the show. The crowd goes apeshit…including me. Rudy! RUDY! The rest of the band quickly follows and they open up with Sting In The Tail from the new album.
The band sounded great all night. Klaus’ voice was clean and powerful even though you can tell that they were playing everything tuned down. But for a dude that’s 62, he did a fine job. They all did. They have some Polish bass player named Pawel Maciwoda and James Kottak on drums. Kottak is a maniac. One of those showy type drummers, but solid as a rock and did a great job. He did a drum solo and had a rather humorous synchronized video of him in a bunch of different live recreations of Scorpions albums. For me the video was more interesting than the solo, but the guy obviously has a great sense of humor.
I’ve seen the Scorpions twice before. Once in 1991 on the Crazy World Tour and the other in 2002 with DIO and Deep Purple. This show was probably better than the 98 show but hard to top the 91 show. I was a little
Matthias
letdown that they played nothing from the Uli Roth era as in recent years. They had been doing either In Trance or We’ll Burn the Sky, but nothing on this tour…their final tour. In general it didn’t matter. They were great. They did Send Me An Angel and dedicated it ti Ronnie James Dio. For Angel and Holiday, Rudy and Matthias had a Flying V and Explorer electric/acoustics! It made me giggle a bit but it was pretty cool.
One great surprise was at the beginning of their encore. Klaus talked about how special San Antonio was to helping the Scorpions then they went right into Still Loving You. This is the only show on the tour, as I can tell, that this song was played. We freaked out. They dropped Winds of Change (thank God). That song always annoyed me. The finished up with No One Like You and Rock You Like A Hurricane. I would have stayed for another 2 hours of music had then been able to do it. The energy from the crowd and from the band were pretty amazing. In recent years the only show that rivaled this one was Iron Maiden in 2008.
The setlist:
- Sting Of The Tail
- Make It Real
- Bad Boys Running Wild
- The Zoo
- Coast To Coast
- Loving You Sunday Morning
- The Best Is Yet To Come
- Send Me An Angel
- Holiday
- Raised On Rock
- Tease Me Please Me
- Dynamite
- Kottack Attack (Drum Solo)
- Blackout
- Six String Sting (Matthias rocks out)
- Big City Nights
- Still Loving You (encore)
- No One Like You (encore)
- Rock You Like A Hurricane (encore)
The drive home was long and both of the girls fell asleep. It was an incredible night for a lot of reasons.
Upon returning home to downtown Austin, I walked across the street and caught the last 2 songs from Jason McMaster’s Killa Maul Metallica tribute. Awesome as always. Slipped across the street from there and ate a slice of pizza, drank half a beer, came home and went to bed.
Wonderful night with wonderful people.
Long live the Scorpions!
Scorpions
The Zoo
Holiday
Quiet Riot – Metal Health (1983)
Let’s just be straight here, I love this album. I have since it was released. 1983. I was 13. It was a tough year for me…I 
guess 83-85 were a little difficult. Not necessarily because of going through the typical teenage bullshit, but there were other things going on that really made those some tough years. But hey, I got through it. I spent a lot of days and nights listening to this album. I used to have this little one speaker GE boombox that I would put under my pillow at night to keep listening to music as I went to sleep and so my parents wouldn’t hear it. Not that they had a problem with QR, they just had a problem with my obsession with music. haha It was a thin cassette player so I only needed to remove my bottom pillow to make it fit and not kink my neck. Usually sometime in the middle of the night the player ended up on the floor and the second pillow was back in its proper place.
I picked this up right after hearing Metal Health on the radio. “huhuhuhuhuh, the song says bang your head.” It was catchy. I never cared for Cum On Feel The Noize. It was goofy…still is. I was never a Slade fan, but I don’t dislike them, just never really got exposed to them beyond the 2 songs that QR did, which are goofy. Beyond the goofiness of COFTN, this album is pretty great. Especially songs like Breathless, Run for Cover, Don’t Wanna Let You Go…the whole damned thing. When I pop in the CD I never skip any tracks, not even COFTN, it’s just part of the flow of the record.
In 1999 I got to see them with this lineup. They did an autograph signing earlier in the day at Mars Music and of course I went. They were all in good spirits except for Frankie Banali who seemed to have his ass on his shoulders a bit that day. I brought a few things to get signed like some odd QR EPs, a few CD covers and a few WASP CD covers. Apparently Frankie didn’t have one of the WASP CDs that I brought and asked if he could have mine. I told him no and he got a little peeved about it. “Well I’m not signing anything else.” “Fine, dude, no biggie,” and I finished out my time with the rest of the band who were gracious. Cavazo gave a head nod towards Frankie and just shook his head at him in disapproval. They had about 200 people show up to meet them which I thought was a decent showing for a concert that was getting no promotion and was at a shitty venue.
I came home after the signing to chill out for a while before the show and realized that I had 2 of the WASP CD/EPs so I brought it to the show. We got to the Riverview Theater and I swear it looked closed. This place was trying to get revitalized and they were bringing some decent bands there but it never seemed to take off for them. For this show only about about 40 people showed up…FORTY PEOPLE. I felt really bad for them. They came out and played like there were 20,000 people there. Kevin never once commented on the size of the crowd. They were awesome. After watching Cavazo play I gained a lot more respect for him as a guitarist. That guy is really friggin’ good.
After the show the band came back out to hang out with everybody. I was talking with Rudy Sarzo about his days with Whitesnake and such Frankie came up to me and said, “Hey, come here a second.” “Sorry I was such a dick earlier. I was having a bad day.” I told him it was no big deal and pulled out the spare copy of the WASP EP that I had and handed it to him. He was shocked and gave me a big sweaty hug. haha. “Until today I didn’t even know that this EP existed.” I ended up talking with him quite a bit for the time they hung out. I told him that his first 2 albums with QR were big influences on me when I was learning how to play drums. All of them were nice and Kevin seeked out every person in the room and thanked them personally for coming out. That wasn’t the asshole Kevin Dubrow that I had read about in the ‘zines, this guy was actually nice.
It was a fun day and night and I finally got to meet a band that I had loved for 16 years. The news of Kevin’s death in 2007 really brought me down. I had read just prior to that that he had gotten himself clean and sober. It was too bad that those demons continued to haunt him and that he wasn’t able to continue down that path to recovery.
RIP Kevin.
The Metal Files 
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