STYX, Ted Nugent and REO Speedwagon Take Us On A Rock And Roll Nostalgia Show

Styx, REO Speedwagon and Ted Nugent brought their nostalgia filled Midwest Rock and Roll Express to the civic center in Roanoke, VA recently. The rock and roll resume of this tour includes over a century of classic rocking and countless hits solidifying these bands contributions to the history of rock. Although the turnout for the show was somewhat light, less than 4000 in attendance, that didn’t discourage the band from giving the fans their money’s worth.

The Motor City Madman opened the show and quickly made an impact on the crowd. Ted is an artist who tends to make more headlines by what he says off-stage rather than what he does on-stage. He proved on this night that his Gibson guitar is like another appendage when he hits the stage. It becomes a piece of him and he just bleeds rock and roll. There were a few familiar faces joining him on-stage including Mick Brown of Dokken fame on drums and original Ted Nugent Band rhythm guitarist Derek St. Holmes.

Uncle Ted let the music do the talking on this night as he put most of his outspoken views on hold. He may not pack as many “hits” as the other two bands on board, but songs such as “Wang Dang Sweet Poontang”, “Stranglehold” and his signature song “Cat Scratch Fever” definitely fired up the mostly 40something crowd. He definitely knows how to get a crowd out of their seats and fired up at a show.

Styx took the stage next and displayed an infectious youthful exuberance that many bands half their age don’t have on-stage these days. There were some in attendance who shockingly did not know that Lawrence Gowan was handling lead vocal duties for the band. He’s been doing so for fourteen years now as founding member Dennis DeYoung has been out of the band since 1999. Gowan definitely has a style of his own as you don’t see many keyboardists who actually climb on top of their keyboards and use them as a perch to sing to the audience.

Long time members Tommy Shaw and James “J.Y.” Young really do shine when they hit the stage, especially Shaw. He is like a little kid jacked up on Mountain Dew as he is constantly running around the stage and entertaining the crowd. The band cranked out hit after hit including such staples as “Too Much Time on My Hands”, “Come Sail Away” and “Renegade”. Bassist Chuck Panozzo, who has limited stage time due to health issues after being diagnosed HIV positive in 1998, did join the band for a few numbers.

REO Speedwagon closed out the night’s festivities as front man Kevin Cronin took the stage dressed in all black and sporting shades and a fluffy white hair-do that many commented on. The band was also missing several original members, but that did not seem to bother most in attendance as Cronin’s vocals sounded stronger than ever. The hits began to flow with such favorites as “Take It On The Run”, “Riding The Storm Out” and ”Don’t Let Him Go”  blasted from the speakers.

The band also proved that they still had the whole power ballad thing down pat. “I Can’t Fight This Feeling” and smash “Keep on Loving You” saw couples embrace and lighters raised high in the air. Although REO played a set that was a balance of ballads and rockers, they didn’t seem to pack the punch that Styx and Nugent did. I think it would have been a better balance by sandwiching them in the middle of the lineup rather than closing the night.

Overall, it was a great night of music from all three bands. Yes, it was a night of nostalgia as many in attendance exchanged “I can remember when” stories that revolved around the bands. There was an abundance of air guitar being played on this night as well as swooning and drooling over Tommy Shaw’s mane of flowing hair and his tight leather pants. It may be called dinosaur rock by many in the industry, but the fun that the evening provided for all in attendance was far from prehistoric.

Pillbuster Bring The Noise To Virginia Beach, Virginia

Virginia Beach, Virginia may not spring to mind when you think about cities with awesome music, but all that's about to change. Most of Pillbuster may have relocated to that city, but they brought a wealth of musical expertise with them. Their self-titled album was recently released and I interviewed them for Rock Revolt Magazine:

http://rockrevoltmagazine.com/interview-pillbuster/

Mayhem Festival Delivers A Day Of Metal To Bristow, Virginia

The annual Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival has become the summer camp of metal in its short existence. 2012 marks the event’s five year anniversary and this year’s lineup promises a little bit for everyone. The nearly half-day long event brought a mix of veteran acts as well as quite a few rookies to the Mayhem stage. The blistering sun was beating down upon the sea of black t-shirts all around us. The added humidity was helping to create a sea of b.o. all around us and the day was still young.

The gates opened and the crowd was herded in like cattle. Every band had a merch booth set up as well as Revolver and a few others. There were plenty of options for anyone around to spend their hard earned money on. There were a few freebies for the fans such as a CD sampler from Sumerian Records. Rockstar Energy Drink also had a tent set-up giving away small cans of their drink. The temps were high that day and that tent stayed packed all day long. There’s no telling how many cans were consumed on that day.

A forgettable local band kicked off the day and the second band to hit the stage was I The Breather. Shawn Span and his boys got the crowd all fired up and a dust cloud soon erupted from the moshing in the pit. The band played several songs off of their newest album Truth and Purpose and converted quite a few people into fans with their powerful set.

The smaller Sumerian Records stage featured very intimate, in your face performances from Dirtfedd, Upon a Burning Body and Betraying the Martyrs. These three bands, with emphasis on the last two, definitely put their all into their short, yet power packed sets. Each performance saw the eruption of dust clouds again, which proved to be a great indicator for each band as to how well they were liked by the crowd. Obviously, the bigger cloud meant that more people were moshing.

The Jagermeister stage never slowed up a bit as the day progressed. Whitechapel  were next up to perform and were followed by The Devil Wears Prada and As I Lay Dying, who were alternating with Asking Alexandria as to who would open the main stage and being on the Jager stage before Anthrax. The godfathers of thrash and one fourth of the Big 4, Anthrax, chose to close the Jager stage everyday instead of playing the main stage. They were performing their bare bones, guerilla set which featured song after song, in your face, minimal talking, attack mode. Their set list ran the gauntlet and included songs that were recorded before a lot of the people up front in the pit were even born. “Anti-social”, “Caught in a Mosh” and “Fight ‘Em Til You Can’t” got great reactions from the massive crowd that formed to watch these icons of thrash.

The main stage began with Asking Alexandria, who had been alternating with As I Lay Dying for rights to open the big stage. Their set included “Closure”, “Morte et Diablo” and “A Lesson Never Learned” which seem to go over really well with the crowd. The main stage area slowly began to fill as they played as the smaller stages had finished their day and people began to filter over to the bigger stage.

The legendary Motorhead and their front man Lemmy soon took the stage. They were loud and kept the banter to a minimum as they blasted song after song from their extensive catalog. Lemmy did attempt to converse with the crowd between a few of the songs, but it was kept to a sentence or two and then on to another song. There wasn’t a lot to their stage presence, as their focal seemed to be purely on the music.

Another one fourth of the Big 4 was up next as Kerry King and Slayer took the stage to a huge roar of approval from the crowd.  As far as volume goes, I thought Motorhead was supposed to be loud! These guys took the volume knob that Motohead had turned up, cranked it up ALL the way and then ripped it off! They were dark, heavy, powerful and had a no BS approach to their show. There was almost no banter between songs as they unleashed on song after another. Kerry King is a menacing force to watch perform on the stage live. He aggressively slays that guitar as if there is a personal grudge between him and the instrument.

That left only one band to play and I can say with confidence that it was the band that almost the entire venue couldn’t wait to see perform. Slipknot was back and prepared to claim the stage that had made them somewhat legendary. This was, of course, the first US tour that band has taken on since the death of their bassist Paul Gray in 2010. The band took the stage and showed why their legions of fans are so dedicated to them. 

A Slipknot show is a sight to see as the nine members come together to form a nine headed masked beast of fury and pyro. They unleashed such classic s as “Duality” and “Psychosocial” with intensity and unbridled passion. It was truly a sight to see as lead singer Corey Taylor displayed the power that he has power that he has over the crowd at a Slipknot show. When he told the crowd to get down and jump when he counted to three, I looked around the crowded arena and could only see a scattered handful of people standing. That, my friend, is power and a pretty dynamic display for a front man of any band. Their set also included tons of pyro and even snow.

Of course, with each year’s announcement of the lineup for Mayhem, you hear the usual whining of people about how weak it is and that it’s not what it used to be. Yes, this year did see Sumerian Records having their own stage for the first time and they brought along several very hungry bands from their roster who all played great sets. There was also one half of the Big 4 with Anthrax and Slayer being there as well as the legendary Motorhead. Top it all off with the first US tour since 2010 by Slipknot as they set out to reclaim their elite status in the metal world. I think this year’s Mayhem had a great mix for everyone and 2013’s lineup will prove to be big shoes to fill in keeping up the great tradition of metal’s biggest touring summer package.

A Rainy Uproar Stop In Bristow, Virginia Still Manages To Rock The Fans

The Rockstar Uproar Festival is typically one of the last big concert packages of the summer. Where the Mayhem Festival focuses on bands more of the metal genre (with some exceptions), the Uproar leans more towards the rock/hard rock genre. The show pulled into Bristow, VA to the Jiffy Lube Live Amphitheatre on September 2. This beautiful venue is located a roughly thirty miles away from Washington, DC and is sometimes listed as DC on a lot of tour schedules. The bands even referred to the crowd as DC on and off throughout the day.

At first, it seemed as if Mother Nature was not in the mood to rock that day as the skies opened and the rain began to pour. My guess is that Hurricane Isaac must be a fan of easy listening music as he was the blame for all the rain pounded the area. It made for a very difficult road-trip there and a very muddy parking lot coming into the venue. I think many people were deciding to wait out the storm at home as the crowd was slow coming into the venue after the gates opened.

One of the first bands that we saw perform was Mindset Evolution. The band won the grand prize on the 2011 Ernie Ball Music Man Battle of the Bands which included a spot to play on the next year’s Uproar Festival. The guys definitely made the most of their opportunity last year and continue to win fans over this year with a great, high energy performance. Redlight King received a very favorable response from the crowd that was beginning to grow as the rain was finally letting up. These guys have had several songs all over the radio including “Old Man” and the hugely popular “Bullet in my Hand”.

Up next was a red-hot band with a lot of momentum going into the Uproar tour. In This Moment took the stage to deliver songs from their new album Blood, which debuted at #15 and had huge first week sales. Maria Brink and the boys delivered a tight five song set which closed with their song “Blood”. There was more stage props incorporated into the show making it more theatrical, which was a nice touch. Maria did not venture out into the crowd this time to start her circle pit, which was a disappointment for some. It was a bitter sweet day as this was the last day that In This Moment performed as they were only invited to perform on half of the tour. On a positive note, they definitely had the biggest crowd for both of the side stages that day.

Speaking of momentum, Fozzy was another band coming into the tour with a lot of momentum. Their newest album Sins and Bones also saw a huge first week and it definitely had the guys pumped up. Lead singer and WWE Superstar Chris Jericho definitely has the charisma to front a band of any genre. They also had a tight, thirty minute set that featured selection off the new album including the popular single “Sandpaper”, even though M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold was nowhere to be found. The band sounded great and was very animated; they were definitely having a blast on-stage.

P.O.D., touring in support of their latest album Murdered Love, could be considered by many in attendance as the “elder statesmen” of the tour. These guys have been doing what they do for twenty years, but you wouldn’t know it once they hit that stage. They headlined and closed the side stages were one of the best performances of the day. Lead singer Sonny Sandoval knows how to get a crowd fired up. At one point, he even walked out on top of the crowd as they help him up. “Youth of the Nation” and “Alive” drove the crowd into a frenzy. These guys were certainly one of the highlights of the day.

The main stage was now open as Adelita’s Way kicked off things. Rick DeJesus and the boys had the shortest time on the main stage, but still had to make as big as an impact as the headliners. It was tight set that was heavy on selections from their sophomore album Home School Valedictorian. “Invincible”, “Hurt” and their latest hit “Criticize” all went over well with the crowd. It would have been nice to see their set time expanded to be able to include a couple of more song as they were well deserving of more stage time.

Staind were up next as Aaron Lewis and his band mates took the stage to a near packed amphitheater. Staind has that unique ability to deliver a very emotional power ballad and then press the pedal to the floor and crank out a hard rocker. “Right here”, “Something to Remind me”, “Now” and “It’s Been Awhile” were all present and accounted for. As always, the band sounded great, but I just wish they would chug an energy drink before hitting the stage. Rockstar was the tour sponsor, so there were plenty of drinks to be found. I just find their stage show to be a little boring at times.

Godsmack was up next and I was curious to see the reaction that they would receive. The house lights went down and a pre-recorded video began to air of various Godsmack footage accompanied by AC/DC’s “For Those About to Rock”. This certainly got the crowd fired up and the band hit the stage hungry and ready to deliver. The band sounded tight and cranked out the hits one after another. “”Whatever”, “Voodoo” and “I Walk Alone” were all included. I was a little surprised that their cover of “Rocky Mountain Way” off of their latest album wasn’t included.

The drum war between Sully Erna and drummer Shannon Larkin was included this time around which the crowd approved with their horns raised high in approval. I saw Godsmack on Mayhem last year and comparing the two shows, it seems that they were more of an Uproar band. They definitely received a more favorable reception from this crowd and the audience participation seemed to favor the Uproar crowd as well.

Only one band was left to close the day and that was Shinedown. Brent Smith and his band of musicians have been touring like madmen since the release of their latest and highly successful album Amaryllis. The boys have added a ton of pyro to the show and for the most part, it works for them. Shinedown have definitely had their share of radio hits and just about all of them were featured in their set. “Second Chance”, “If You Only Knew”, “Bully” and “Unity” were all on-board as well as “The Sound of Madness” and “45”.

One surprise, depending on how much you read on-line, in their set was when they brought out Maria Brink of In This Moment to perform “Devour” with them. It was a great performance and watching Brent and Maria together it was very apparent they were having a blast. Another great point was when Brent, along with guitarist Zach Myers, went out into the audience and performed “Simple Man” acoustically. This was a great touch to the already powerful performance delivered by these two guys. Shinedown proved to all in attendance why they were headlining this tour.

Overall, the 2012 Uproar show was a great event, even though it ended the same way it started: with pouring rain. You take that chance with an outdoor show as the weather is an element that none of us can control. It was full day of great music, free Slurpees and free Rockstar Energy Drinks. There many happy fans who got the chance to meet their favorite band and get their autograph too. Even though Papa Roach had to pull out due to Jacoby’s throat problems, it still gets a major two thumbs up this year. Here’s to an even bigger and better 2013 show!

Lamb Of God Are Back With A Vengence

I know that it’s only the first month of the New Year, but the bar has been set and it has been set very high. Lamb of God is back and in a huge way. Their new album Resolution was already on just about every “Most Anticipated Albums of 2012” list out there. We last heard from the Richmond, VA natives in 2009 with their album Wrath. The Virginia Commonwealth University alumnus has again delivered a product to make all other metal bands stand up and take note.

The album opens with “Straight For the Sun” and after an intake of a deep breath, the assault begins with a scream of attack by lead singer Randy Blythe. The riff is slow and churning and is like Black Sabbath on steroids. It’s dark and brooding and ends the same way it starts with that throat blistering scream from Randy. The next track “Desolation” really punches the gas to the floor and takes off into familiar territory of LOG fans. It’s intense, fast, brutal and in your face.

“Ghost Walking” will make you do a double take. Wait, did I just hear an acoustic guitar intro? A very cool, short, blues type intro is quickly plugged in and amped up with the volume cranked high. The solo in this song is blistering to the ears and fingertips both. Speaking of ears, “Guilty” will be reminiscent to fans of the earlier LOG sound of just pure intense assault on your senses. The “no intro” approach on this one is like going from 0 to 90 in a second as Randy launches this one out of the park.

Next up is one of my favorite tracks on the album, “The Undertow”. A bit on the thrash side, but still maintaining the elements that make LOG who they are. The solo is also pretty insane on this stellar track also. “Barbarossa” is a change of pace and a 1:40ish chance to catch your breath from the assault that you just went through. It’s an instrumental and sounds unlike anything else on the album. It’s short, but it solidifies the fact that these guys are great musicians not just a one trick pony.

“Invictus” quickly floors the gas pedal and gets us back into the trademark, aggressive territory with a heavy groove and a blistering solo. “Insurrection” is one of the more complex and rewarding tracks on the album and it has several layers to it. Randy’s vocal delivery is a crazy mix of spoken work, throat blistering screams and at times almost clean vocals. There is another awesome solo provided mid-way through. There’s also a killer riff that chugs along throughout the song carrying it to the melodic chorus and then picks right back up again.

The album closes with “King Me” and the guys may have saved the best for last. The intro to the song should be an indicator with how this song is about to build into an epic masterpiece. The guitars are dark and eerie when combined with the somewhat operatic vocals in the background and Randy’s clean, spoken lines. Then, the song bursts into the rawness that we expect from LOG but with a huge twist. The guys have gone way out on a limb on this track and push the envelope by including an orchestra/string section on this track. I think it works in an epic way and it will certainly be interesting to hear the fans reaction to this track that shows the guys really branching out.

So, is this a perfect album? Well, it’s not 100% perfection, but it comes pretty close. The second half of the album may not be as uniformly strong as the first half, but it certainly is far from being weak my most standards. Randy Blythe will truly astound you on here. If you have been following LOG, then you may think that you have already heard all the range that he had to offer. Well, he takes his epic screams to an even lower level of intensity that you thought was unimaginable. His almost clean delivery and spoken verse on a few tracks will definitely shock you.

The two guitar assault of Mark Morton and Willie Adler has raised the bar as well for their intensity and rawness that they deliver. Yes, there are plenty of blistering solos and insane shredding to the point that you wonder if these guys have any fingertips left. Chris Adler’s drumming is very underrated and his playing has gotten even more aggressive ob this album. I wish that John Campbell’s bass would be brought more to the forefront as it seems to get overshadowed at times by all that is going on around him.

Resolution has everything that Lamb of God fans have come to know and love over the years. The guys have certainly set the bar high for other releases coming out this year. Could the album of the year for 2012 have already been released so early into the year? Well, I think it may just have, but the next 11 months will prove interesting.

Elliott Yamin Wows Roanoke,Virginia

“Play That Funky Music White boy” was a huge hit for Wild Cherry back in the seventies and still gets major airplay today. Little did we know how appropriate of a song it would turn out to be for Richmond’s Elliott Yamin. Most of you know Elliott from American Idol Season Five where he came in third place. He recently released his sophomore CD, not counting his holiday CDs, entitled “Fight For Love”.

Elliott was in Roanoke,VA on July 17 to perform a special concert at the opening ceremonies for the Coventry Commonwealth Games of Virginia. The games are for male and female athletes of all ages and is similar to an Olympics type competition. I was fortunate to sit down with Elliott backstage before the show to ask him a few questions.

“It’s been a lot of fun so far. I love coming back to Virginia to perform. I have met a lot of great kids here too. I’m a diabetic and I met several kids who are also. It was great to share stories with them since we have that in common. Exercise definitely helps out with your diabetes. I love playing basketball myself,” said Elliott.

I asked him how the reaction has been to his new CD “Fight For Love”? “We’ve been very happy so far, given the landscape of the whole industry and the economy itself from the release of my first CD, we have been very pleased. It’s harder in the market being an independent artist, but I’m very satisfied with the response from radio and the fans.”

It has to be tough figuring out what songs to release to radio. How do you determine which ones? “We do a lot of testing at radio and we also listen to what the fans have to say on the websites. In Japan we released “You Say” as the first single because it tested so well, where here in the states we released “Fight for Love” as the first. I think we’re going to release “Can’t Keep on Loving You” as the next single here. We’ll send it to AC (adult contemporary) radio and see how it does,” responded Elliott.

Speaking of singles, I asked Elliott what happened to a song that I viewed on YouTube of he and Jermaine Dupree called “When I’m Gone”? “That is actually on the Japanese version of my new CD as a bonus track. I loved working with Jermaine. We got along great and the chemistry was awesome. To me, it’s an honor to be able to say that I actually got to work with him.
You know, Jermaine and I actually started working on a second song together but we never finished it. So, I can’t wait to get be able to work with him again.”

Elliott is a very busy man these days promoting his new CD. He had a gig in Modesto, California the day after his appearance in Virginia. He will be singing the national anthem at the WNBA All Star game. He also told me that he will be heading out on tour the day after Labor Day for six weeks with the band Thriving Ivory. “Their lead singer Clayton has the most amazing voice. It’s so unique. I’m looking forward to going out on the road with them,” said Elliott.

I always like to ask two questions of all artists that I interview to give a little insight to their fans. I asked Elliott if he had any “guilty pleasures”, if printable, that would surprise his fans? “Well, I don’t get a lot of down time, but when I do I just like to lay around and do nothing. I have a Shitzu named Buster and I like to spoon with him on the couch.” My other question was if you were trapped on a desert island with only one store bought CD, what would you want to have there with you? “Only one? Oh, without a doubt, it would have to be “These Songs For You Live” by Donnie Hathaway. I have worn that one out so many times. I love it!”

Elliott’s show that night was an acoustic set with his keyboardist Joonie and Russell Ali on guitar. He played a mixture off of his two CDs. Newer songs such as Can’t Keep on Loving You” and “You” and “You Say” translated so well acoustically. Elliott also mentioned that that show was the first time that they had performed “You Say” here. The stripped down arrangement combined with Elliott’s emotional vocals actually gave me goose bumps several times. An artist who is willing to play acoustically is very brave for it exposing one’s vulnerability. Elliott pulled it off flawlessly in Roanoke that night.

For those wanting to know, the set list consisted of : “Free”, “Know Better”, “Find a Way”, “One Word”, “Can’t Keep on Loving You”, “You”, “You Say”, “Fight for Love”, “Wait For You” and “Movin’ On”.

Elliott hung around after the show and signed autographs and posed for pictures with his fans. Being accessible like this really has a big impact on his fans. He’s such an amazing performer and human being. He listens to his fans and loves communicating with them. He is genuine and sincere and it shows. Elliott may play the N Club in Greensboro, NC on his tour. He is definitely worth the short drive down to check out. My thanks go out to all of his people who were so nice to me and the people involved with the games. A special thanks to all of the Etrain members that have contacted me and shown so much love and support. Thank you for welcoming me to you family. Thanks Covie for the amazing clip that I included on here from Roanoke.