Sound Off!

LIVE REVIEWS (IN BRIEF) 2005
by George Dionne

Okay, so you weren't diggin' the extra-long, detailed, and drawn out live reviews. I get it, I can take a hint. This time around I'm going to share my live show experiences this year in a brief but 'to the point' manner. These are the shows I was able to attend thus far (rating maximum is 5):

STYX
Cape Cod Melody Tent - Hyannis, MA
August 21, 2005

Styx isn't exactly one of the top bands on my list of favorites. I'm a casual fan at best. This was my first Styx show ever, and it was simply awesome! The group hit the stage with such a vast amount of energy, and kept it up throughout their 90 minute set. They covered the hits (except for "Babe") and even found a way to throw in an 18 song medley. I liked how each member contributed vocals on different songs. The best way to describe the atmosphere was that it was as if Styx were bringing down the house of a 50,000 seat arena. The whole show encompassed my interest so much that by the time it was over, I couldn't believe it was only 90 minutes. If you have the chance, and even only know a few Styx songs, I highly recommend them. The best concert I've seen all year (and the previous).

JOURNEY
Bank of America Pavillion - Boston, MA
August 20, 2005

Okay you die-hard Journey fans, let me get this out of the way now. The new singer (Steve Augeri) sounds just like Steve Perry, so get over it. Now, on to the show. Billed as "An Evening With Journey", the sequence of events was announced over the load speaker before the show. The first set would be early-Journey to include instrumentals and pre-Perry material. The second set would cover the hits of the 80's & 90's and the new material.

The first set was a snooze-fest, at least for me. The songs they were playing were quite obscure for someone like me who wasn't around during the 70's stuff. The crowd behind me wasn't really digging it either. The music just doesn't have the punch their later material had. Jonathan Cain handled most of the vocal duties for this set, while Steve played guitar or was off stage. Neal of course commanded the stage with his fiery solos. Throughout the whole show, other band members got to sing a song or two.

The second set started off with a bang, and finally got the crowd out of their seats. Everyone loves to hear their favorite song and Journey failed to disappoint here. Unless your favorite song was on Trial By Fire. The new songs sounded great, and thankfully they didn't perform too many of them. Everyone was in good voice and tune. As a bonus, anyone that had purchased a ticket was entitled to a copy of their new CD Generations.

All in all, I'd have to say the show was fairy average. Journey was trying to build the night around this idea of three generations of Journey fans. I think that by doing it chronologically was probably a mistake. Nobody wants to wait to hear a song they know or love. You had to wait at least an hour for that. The band redeemed themselves for the rest of the three hour set though. I think a little sprinkling of hits throughout the set would have made for a more enjoyable evening.

TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS
Tweeter Center - Mansfield, MA
June 18, 2005

Petty and company broke out all of their hits past and present (and there's a lot more than you think). They even did a few lost tracks that they hadn't played in years. Tom dug deep for a Traveling Wilbury's song too. Each performance was just great and the sold out crowd ate it up.

JUDAS PRIEST
Tweeter Center - Mansfield, MA
June 12, 2005

The metal Gods are back and in full force. They had the old school set-up, Halford had the leather and metal gear on, and the twin guitar attack was back. Halford was phenomenal with his vocals, too bad he was looking down most of the time to read them from the monitors spread around the stage. He had to be dying in his outfits, it was 80 degrees out in the crowd. Lots of favorites and a few new songs. An awesome show!

QUEENSRYCHE
Tweeter Center - Mansfield, MA
June 12, 2005

When they guitarist with the mohawk and tattoos, and the long haired guitarist with the skulls guitar took the stage I thought I had the wrong show. When Eddie Jackson came out on bass with long hair and a cowboy hat, I barely recognized him. Same for the drummer with the drum kit that had Predator on it. It wasn't until Jeff Tate took the stage (in a flak jacket) that you knew it was Queensryche. It looks like they got a makeover to go with their new fondness of their more metal material. Lots of songs from the early days. No "Jet City Woman", no "Silent Lucidity". They played a new song from their upcoming album and a bunch from their last. Overall, it was quite boring. Then again, so was the two hour headliner I saw a year ago.

NIGHT RANGER
Mohegan Sun Casino - Uncasville, CT
April 22, 2005

I have to admit that I didn't even realize they were back together. This was a free show in the middle of the casino floor. It was a problem getting in and getting a good view. You would have a better chance if you won big at the casino. For the most part Night Ranger was great. There were a few flubbed lines, a few off notes, and a few missed cues, but I would chalk that up to lack of repetition. They played for two hours of their best, plus a couple Damn Yankees songs, a Great White song, and a Beatles cover. Great crowd interaction and delivery.

SOUL SIRKUS
Somerville Theater - Somerville, MA
April 10, 2005

Excellent musicians & top-notch songwriting made for an excellent show. They played their entire album, hits from Journey, hits from Jeff Scott Soto, and some great covers. They deserved a better venue and a bigger crowd.

THE DONNAS
Agganis Arena - Boston, MA
April 2, 2005

Don't let anyone tell you that women and rock don't mix. The Donnas gave a high-energy performance from beginning to end. Torry Castellano was a mad woman on the drums and so was Alison Robertson on the guitar. It took a lot of poking and prodding to get the crowd into it, but let's face it, the 12-15 year old dominant crowd just wanted to see Maroon 5. The best part about The Donnas is they keep it simple and keep it rockin'.

STEVE VAI
Avalon Ballroom - Boston, MA
March 31, 2005

Vai is probably one of the best guitarists out there. It's amazing that he can pull off all his tricks in a live setting. It helps to have a backing band of such great talent (Billy Sheehan, Dave Werner, and Tony McAlpine). Steve played a lot from The Audience is Listening which was cool, and a lot of his newer material as well. It was two hours packed with guitar mastery that at times was a little boring, but overall rocked out. A fan was used to blow Steve's flowing locks about while he played; that was a little cheesy.

MOTLEY CRUE
Fleet Center - Boston, MA
March 5, 2005

Vince still loses his breath during the big songs, Mick looks like death warmed over, Tommy's flying techno drum solos were lame, and Nikki's bass solo was bizarre. Other than that, The Crue belted out hit after hit to a more than receptive crowd at the sold out Fleet Center. It was fitting that the stage set-up was a circus tent because the performance was quite the spectacle; motorcycles, acrobats, pyro, fire...you name it.

TESLA
PPAC - Providence, RI
February 25, 2005

Tesla brought the house down. It's like they never missed a day on the road. Keith was in perfect voice and the rest of the gang was damn near perfect. Hits, hits, and nothing but hits. A good time was had by all. It looked like they were coming back for an encore, but then the lights when up.

SHINEDOWN
PPAC - Providence, RI
February 25, 2005

At this point I had already seen Shinedown. Unfortunately they only got to play six songs or so. They're just as jarring live as they are on record. I don't think they should have opened with their three singles and end on songs only fans would know.

PAT TRAVERS & CARMINE APPICE
PPAC - Providence, RI
February 25, 2005

This performance was part of a benefit show, so they didn't really get a lot of time. I must say they were much better than expected. Both men have been in the business a long time, but that didn't;t seem to slow them down. They played a few song from their latest collaboration, some of Travers hits, and Carmine's claim to fame; Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy". They called it the vampire version. It's the perfect name...guess why?

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