Fall 2010 Show Reviews

Moondance Jam XIX
July 2010
Walker, MN
by Robert Tuozzo

 

   
If you were at the Moondance Jam this year, well then you are now part of history as the attendance was the highest ever in it's 19th consecutive year. The weather for the most part was beautiful but the intermittent  rain on Saturday didn't seem to matter much to anyone.

This year was an eclectic mix of music with the opening day having Tonic, Hoobastank, Collective Soul, Buckcherry and then Sammy Hagar brought in a slightly different mix of people, whom may or may have not stayed the entire weekend. There has to be an entrance and an exit strategy that not only brings in the crowds but makes them want to stay all day and all night. The 2 Jacks nailed it on the head this year.

Turning the clock back one day to Wednesday, the MDJ had their annual pre-party at the saloon. I remember about 5 years ago, the campers were not allowed to come onto the property until the official jam day began, this only caused hours of gridlocked traffic. I had spoken with Bill Bieloh that year of maybe cutting in another road onto his property or better yet, allow the campers to come and set up camp a day earlier. With that plan implemented, not only has the traffic nightmare come to a screeching halt but the pre jam party has grown bigger as well.

Having Mark kirchhoff not only running production and back of house, Mark is also well known for his guitar playing in Mountain Ash. Again, if you were there you are now part of another historical event. Mountain Ash, proclaimed by Bill Bieloh himself is the band that has played the Jam for the most consecutive years. An honor in itself just to play at the MDJ but to have that bestowed upon you, it's amazing! Great job guys.

The pre jam night ended with an amazing display of talent, pyro and just a really great show. Hairball took the crowd over to the main stage and lit up the night. Featuring frontmen Bobby Jensen and  Kris Voxx, the band takes you through the 1980's from Alice Cooper to Kiss and everyone in between. Not only sounding like, they look like our Hair Band friends and bring back many memories and leave us with new ones.

Working in the pit alongside my collogues Richard Marquardt, Steve Loftness & Jeb Wright (to name a few) has become a tradition. I being the shortest of the lot, Richard always seems to "have my back covered." This year was no exception and he's a man with many a trick up his sleeve as this year he pulls out a step stool and makes sure there is an even height distribution amongst us. Thank you Sir Richard. I must mention as well Denny Relf of DDR Video productions, it's because of him and his sons and great camera crew that anywhere on the festival site you can see the bands on the giant JumboTron. Thanks again Denny for another great show...

As day 2 begins, so do the aches in the muscles in my legs I didn't even know I had. Seeing old friends and making new ones as well is my favorite part of the jam. The "fence people" have gone away and new fence people have taken their place. This year I was happy to see Yvonne and Ken Doust and I also saw one of the people who caught a 22nd Century Rock Magazine jacket I tossed off stage last year. This year I became business partners in a record label named Alexus Records and our artist Pat Travers kicked off Friday and this year I got to say hello to the crowd on Saturday (thanks Kevin) and toss out some magazines and Pat Travers CD's.

 Now onto the bands of day 2...Pat Travers takes the stage in support of his new CD 'FIDELIS' The bluesy rocker has returned to his classic roots and the 18,000 plus fans enjoyed his set immensely. Part One, more to come.

Ted Nugent                                 
Toad’s Place
New Haven, Connecticut
Tony Pijar / Fall 2010

            Setting aside Ted Nugent’s unwaveringly extreme right-wing politics, his penchant for hunting, killing and eating basically any animal that moves, and his over the top opinions on…well…just about everything, the man continues to be an exemplary showman and musician. Toad’s Place was a sweltering, heaving mass of sweaty, beer-soaked humanity. I’ve never seen it so packed, and all were there to see the Nuge on his appropriately titled “Trample the Weak; Hurdle the Dead” tour! Given this, the stage looked like an artillery bunker with two large machine guns perched high above on large tripods – both equipped with lengthy bullet belts; several machine guns were placed on the amps and drum riser; grenades were strategically placed about the stage, steer heads were strung up by the amps, and of course two American Flags flanked either sides of the drum riser as well.
            Nugent appeared from the dark with his ‘American Flag’ guitar slung over his shoulder and burst into the “Star Spangled Banner” while his band mates, ‘Wild’ Mick Brown on drums and Greg Smith on bass, watched on enthusiastically with declared admiration.Their cohesion as a band and as friends really radiates from the stage. You can imagine them hanging out plenty, not just at rehearsal or gigs.

Their cohesion as a band and as friends really radiates from the stage. You can imagine them hanging out plenty, not just at rehearsal or gigs. You can picture them having a barbeque together, playing sports, going on a road trip, playing games and placing bets (www.partybets.com) together, just chilling. On stage they are unstoppable.

The band then ripped into “Stormtroopin” and followed, surprisingly, with “Wango Tango” where the man launched into one of his patented mid-song diatribes. “Free for All” and “Wang Dang Sweet Poontang”, both legendary songs, ripped into the masses face first; since I’ve never seen Uncle Ted live, hearing these gems was immense! Ditto for “Need you Bad” from “Weekend Warriors.” “Love Grenade”, the title track from Nugent’s last studio album, was killer live as was “Hey Baby.” This Motown-ish shake up would’ve benefited from Derek St. Holmes’ soulful voice, but alas Ted doesn’t like to keep band members around that long. An absolute scorching version of Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” followed, and then two classics from Nugent’s debut followed with “Just what the Doctor Ordered” and “Snakeskin Cowboys.” “Fred Bear”, from the highly underrated “Spirit of the Wild” was aired, before the band closed with “Cat Scratch Fever”, “Stranglehold” and “Great White Buffalo.” Nuge donned his well-familiar Indian headdress as he ripped through this Amboy Dukes’ classic.
            Two hours of face-melting, guitar-oriented classic rock is…just what the doctor ordered!

Set List: Star Spangled Banner, Stormtroopin’, Free for All, Wang Dang Sweet Poontang, Rawdogs and Warhogs, Need you Bad, Love Grenade, Klstrphkme, Trample the Weak, Soul Man, Hey Baby, Johnny B Goode, Just what the Doctor Ordered, Snakeskin Cowboys, Fred Bear, Cat Scratch Fever, Stranglehold, Great White Buffalo.
          

 

Ratt                                       
Irving Plaza
New York City, New York
Tony Pijar / Fall 2010

            Ratt rolled into New York City on a pleasant Monday evening. As people bustled around outside the venue, the final preparations were upon completion inside as the final strains of the opening band’s sound check filled the air. Finally, people were aloud to filter in and prepare for a night of Ratt ‘N’ Roll. For a Monday evening the crowd was of respectable size and the band, as they hit the stage, seemed in good spirits.
            They opened with three of their more impacting numbers in “You’re in Love”, the Van Halen-esque “Lay it Down”, and to me the best song they’ve ever penned in “Lack of Communication” with its insistently catchy riff. The first of four new songs from the excellent “Infestation” album was aired - “Take a Big Bite”, which is a slice of L.A. metal at its best; again, very concise and catchy. The average, “I want a Woman” and “Slip of the Lip” demonstrated the band’s more banal, clichéd moments. The monster track of the new release is “Eat me up Alive” which is over the top metal – more metal than anything else the band has ever done – simply superb, especially when belted out in the live setting. “Lovin’ you’ is a Dirty Job” and another new composition, “Last Call”, too, hit the spot.
            While Stephen Pearcy seemed a bit lackluster, Warren DiMartini was, as always, class personified with the requisite chops, but ex-Quiet Riot man Carlos Cavazo, a superb axeman in his own right, was relegated to the background for much of the show. He stayed tucked away stage left and only stepped out to center stage with infrequency to play a paucity of leads. They really should push Cavazo’s talents more to the forefront. “Best of Me and “A Little too Much” from “Infestation”, along with set stables “Way Cool Junior”, “Wanted Man”, You Think you’re Tough, and “Round and Round” concluded an all to brief set. With a vast back catalogue, surely the band could have thrown in a few more numbers; could’ve made a good evening a great one.

 

Pat Benatar                                
REO Speedwagon
Mohegan Sun
Tony Pijar / Fall 2010

            The REO/Benatar-titled “Love on the Run Tour” commenced at the Mohegan Sun. REO opened the show with, basically, a greatest hits package. We got “Don’t let Him Go”, “Keep on Lovin’ you”, “Take it on the Run”, “Roll with the Changes”, and,” I can’t Fight this Feeling” which brought the band a zillion dollars all throughout the 80s. The more in-your-face-rockers such as “Keep Pushin”, “Flying Turkey Trot”, “Ridin’ the Storm Out”, and “Back on the Road Again” were more preferable to me and, apparently, many others as well. The band has such a rich and diverse back catalogue. You’ve got to remember that in the 70s REO was a raw rock band that melded 50s rock N roll with outlaw country rock. And “Nine Lives” is one of the best slices of polished hard rock you’ll ever hear. Kevin Cronin remains a wonderfully engaging and comical front man who is backed by a very capable band, but they should spread out a bit and dust off some of those obscure rockers from the old days.
            Pat Benatar and husband Neil Geraldo are back on the road after a bit of a reprieve and I must say that she still possesses a great voice and does not look her 57 years of age – simply beautiful!  Like REO, Benatar delivered a set of hits which included “Fire and Ice”, “Promises in the Dark”, “Sex as a Weapon”, “Love is a Battlefield”, “I Need a Lover”, “Hell is for Children”, and the crushing “Heartbreaker” which got the ball rolling for her in 1980. It was great to see her out there rockin’. She, along with The Runaways and Girlschool, was at the forefront of a movement which shed a spotlight on and lifted up females who had talent and could rock, and further exemplified the fact that girls should no longer be seen merely as sex symbols, but fully fledged members in the male-dominated world of hard rock.

Cheap Trick                                   
Irving Plaza
New York City, New York
Tony Pijar / Fall 2010

                    After touring incessantly in the past couple years opening for the likes of Poison, Def Leppard, Heart and Journey, (a true travesty for long time fans of the band), the mighty Cheap Trick are back on the road as headliners.
                    Riding a renewed wave of heightened significance with “The Latest”, the band seemed rejuvenated and replenished. The sold out Irving Plaza (with the likes of Little Steven Van Vandt and other musicians of note in the audience) welcomed their Chicagoan heroes back with extended arms. They opened with “Way of the World” and “Come on Come on” and these songs pretty much exemplify the band’s enduring strength; three to four minute songs of pop metal with choruses to die for. The hits kept coming in waves including the bouncy “I want you to want me” and the broodingly intimate “Heaven Tonight” which can best be described as frilly velour wrapped in barbed wire – sultry and menacing at the same time. Two gems from the still heavily underrated album “All Shock Up” were unraveled: the rock n roll rave up that is “Baby Loves to Rock” and the Bun E. Carlos driven “Just got back”; both simply killed. “Surrender” closed the set as Rick Nielsen showered the masses with hundreds of designer picks. “Dream Police”, “Auf Wiedersehen”, “He’s a Whore” and “Goodnight Now” closed the show properly. Of course, throughout the evening we received a generous helping of songs from “The Latest” with “Sick Man of Europe” positively blowing up the place in a manner akin to the late great Ramones – two minutes and eight seconds of punk metal bliss!
                    Let’s hope Cheap Trick continue to tour as headliners and not relegate themselves as openers for those who simply aren’t worthy of changing Nielsen’s guitar strings!

10 out of 10 Powerpoints      

MORE FALL 2010 SHOW REVIEWS COMING