All posts by Mark Greenawalt

Published works span the categories of concert, glamour, & architectural photography. Plays in the band Spark Jack Daddy & enjoys songwriting, but is perhaps best known for his bodypainting art.

Extreme Reemerge At The Top Of Their Game at The Van Buren (2-23-24)

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Phoenix, AZ — Living Colour could be described as a funk band infused with hard rock, and Extreme, a hard rock band infused with funk. The fusion of these two bands playing the intimate Van Buren venue was magical. The first couple of songs from each band solidified the notion that they were bands that comprised elite musicians with chemistry and executed every musical nuance with collaborative precision. This leg of the “Thicker Than Blood” world tour started with U.S. dates in January, and they’ve had night-after-night to perfect their performance before their arrival in Phoenix.

Both groups emerged on the scene in that bygone era known as the 80s, and their timing couldn’t be better for their resurgence among music lovers craving this nostalgia. It wasn’t just the classic songs that sparked interest in this show. Extreme is touring in support of their new album, SIX, released last June, which has been met with an unexpectedly warm reception. Even the band has been surprised at the response that has shot the album into the top ten in some countries (peaked at 67 in the U.S. so far), and given their music videos millions of views on YouTube. 

Extreme's SIX black LP
SIX double vinyl

The music industry may have turned its back on guitar heroes, but the people have spoken. This was a sold out show. They came out en masse to see two of the finest guitarists on earth (and beyond): Vernon Reid of Living Colour, who sets the pace, and the great Nuno Bettencourt, who exceeds all speed limits.

Living Colour

Corey Glover (Vocalist), Living Colour
Corey Glover (Vocalist), Living Colour
Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

Guitarist Vernon Reid was the first to grace the stage as he strolled out like a long-lost friend, greeting everyone with a smile and a wave, and wearing a Salvador Dali T-shirt and a scally cap hat. Next, singer Corey Glover sauntered onto the stage dressed to the nines, with colorful dreads for days. Next was bassist Doug Wimbish (also known for his Sugar Hill recordings), wearing his signature hat and primed to slap his signature Spector Euro 5-string bass. Noticeably absent was drummer Will Calhoun, but filling in for him was James ‘Biscuit’ Rouse, whose résumé includes stints with Usher, Pharrell, Chic, Stevie Wonder, and more. According to the Living Colour website, Calhoun had some previous commitments for a handful of dates, and this was one of them.

Corey Glover singing at The Van Buren
Corey Glover (Vocalist), Living Colour
Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

They opened their set with “Middle Man” from their 1988 debut Vivid, and “Leave It Alone” from their 1993 release Stain. Opening thoughts were that Glover’s voice was in top form and so very soulful, and that Reid can get a multitude of sounds from a pedal board that looks like the showroom of a music store. He then takes those sounds and turns them into sonic freight trains of blistering solos and iconic style.

Vernon Reid (Guitarist), Living Colour
Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

A couple of cover songs landed in the set: The first was “Kick Out The Jams” by MC5, and it improved on the original. Glover’s voice gives more melody to the verses, but keeps the growl as needed for the payoff lines. Then, they performed a medley of hip hop songs from the Wimbish-led Sugar Hill label, including Melle Mel’s “White Lines (Don’t Do It)”, Sugar Hill Gang’s “Jump On It”, and Grandmaster Flash’s “The Message.”

Doug Wimbish (Bassist), Living Colour
Doug Wimbish (Bassist), Living Colour
Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

Living Colour wrapped their set up with the Grammy Award-winning “Cult Of Personality,” their breakout hit from 1988 with the music video that introduced them to crossover audiences. It was fantastic to see them back on the stage, doing this song and the handful of other songs that defined their unique brand of fusion rock/funk. They’ve still got it.

Extreme

Gary Cherone (Vocalist), Extreme
Gary Cherone (Vocalist), Extreme
Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

This band hits the stage with all cylinders firing. Extreme’s high-energy music is amplified by the incomparable showmanship of frontman Gary Cherone, who left no area of the stage untouched. He even climbed the amplifier stacks for higher vantage points, commanding attention with exceptional charisma. His voice seems to have not aged and continues to possess the range for soft, low ballads to the primal screams that teeter on the verge of breaking.

As they opened with “It (‘s A Monster)” and “Decadence Dance” from their double platinum album Pornograffitti, Cherone was dressed in a black snake-skin-pattern sports coat, donning sunglasses with an ‘X’ over the right lens, and sporting his signature headband. His bold look and remarkable stage presence evoked elements of the great Motown performers, and he even mixed in a couple of lines from Sam Cooke’s “Cupid” somewhere in the night.

Gary Cherone (Vocalist), Extreme singing at The Van Buren
Gary Cherone (Vocalist), Extreme
Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

Fans were anxious to see if guitarist Nuno Bettencourt could pull off the scorching guitar riffs that he had perfected in the studio, and they were not disappointed. He had set the bar pretty high, yet made it look effortless as his left hand (the one with the black fingernail polish) blurred across the high frets of his Washburn N4 guitar. When “Rise” was released (the first single from SIX), the news spread like wildfire that ‘you have to check out Nuno’s new guitar solo!’ …Did he nail it live? It is a resounding yes, but we had to wait until the encore to hear it. It was worth the wait.

Rick Beato (Everything Music Channel) interviewed Bettencourt on his podcast about the massive response and it’s a great interview.

Nuno Bettencourt (Guitarist), Extreme
Nuno Bettencourt (Guitarist), Extreme
Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

Extreme was not resting on their laurels and playing all catalog hits. “#Rebel” was the first of six new songs to be sprinkled into the setlist. Cherone led the audience to sing-along with the angsty lyric “Hey, you got something to say? You talking to me as you’re walking away?” 

Pat Badger (Bassist), Extreme
Pat Badger (Bassist), Extreme
Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

Bassist Pat Badger and drummer Kevin Figueiredo may not have been the focal points of the limelight, but their contributions to the Extreme sound and their stellar musicianship did not go unnoticed. Plus, they both multitask with singing vocals while performing their instrumental duties and helping to build the wall of harmonies that elevate each chorus.

Kevin Figueiredo (Drummer), Extreme
Kevin Figueiredo (Drummer), Extreme
Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

The four-part harmonies were spotlighted on the intro to the second song released from the new album, “Banshee,” when they covered Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls.” So cool. It’s clear that Queen had some influence on their individual musical journeys. They also included a bit of “We Will Rock You” during their performance of “Play With Me” that goes way back to their debut album. Check out their 20-minute Queen medley from the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness on April 20, 1992.

Gary Cherone (Vocalist) and Pat Badger (Bassist) of Extreme
Gary Cherone (Vocalist) & Pat Badger (Bassist), Extreme
Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

Another musical reference that percolated throughout the evening was the mighty Van Halen. To some, Gary Cherone is just a footnote to the historic singers of Van Halen that comprised Diamond Dave and Red Rocker Sammy Hagar. However, his one ill-fated album with the band did go gold, and he had the opportunity to work with the incredible Edward Van Halen. Bettencourt paid homage to Van Halen with a rendition of “Eruption” before transitioning into “Am I Ever Gonna Change.” Later, during the encore, he played the intro to “Woman In Love” and reverently pointed to the heavens, put his fist to his heart, and said, “Happy Birthday, King Edward!

Gary Cherone (Vocalist), Extreme performing at The Van Buren
Gary Cherone (Vocalist), Extreme
Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

There were two acoustic moments during the performance. The first included the whole band doing renditions of the new “Other Side Of The Rainbow” and the classic “Hole Hearted.” Bettencourt put on his $7,000 cowboy hat and told the story about buying it in Nashville. Later in the evening, Bettencourt and Cherone did an even more stripped down acoustic montage that showcased their diverse songwriting skills.

As he took a seat with his acoustic guitar, Bettencourt gave a heartfelt thank you to Living Colour and praised the musicianship of guitarist Vernon Reid. He joked that when he realized that Reid would be going on before Extreme, he called Reid before the tour and asked him to ‘pull it back a little bit.’ He also spoke to all of the aspiring guitarists in the room with this motivational speech:

“Man, I just need to tell you one thing. Whether you’re doing this up here or in a fucking arena or a stadium or a club or whatever it is, that shit don’t mean anything. What matters is that you are playing this guitar. Whether it’s in your basement, whether it’s in a garage, whether it’s online, whether you’re a fucking great cover band… don’t worry about that shit if you’re doing it for the love of it. The success is playing this instrument right here! …This is like a super power, man. Nobody can fuck with you when you have this thing on, I’m telling you right now. And you can hit somebody hard with it if they do try to fuck with you. (smiles) Give it up for all the guitar players in the room keeping guitar alive, especially all you youngsters out there as well.” – Nuno Bettencourt

Then, he proceeded to give a master class on acoustic guitar prowess by playing the acoustic solo, “Midnight Express” from the Waiting For The Punchline album. Bettencourt then introduced the next song from the new album, called “Hurricane.” He discussed the universal experience of losing someone near and dear to us and mentioned that someone in the audience had lost their mother earlier that day. He dedicated the song to that audience member and anyone else trying to heal up from loss in their lives. The emotional lyrics culminate in the chorus, “My heart is in a hurricane, an eye of emptiness and pain, is this the storm before the calm?” 

Gary Cherone (Vocalist) & Nuno  Bettencourt (Guitarist) of Extreme
Gary Cherone (Vocalist) & Nuno Bettencourt (Guitarist), Extreme
Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

The mood subtly switched from somber to celebration as the familiar chords of “More Than Words” filled the room. This is the number 1 song that everyone knows, and everyone is singing along with their cell phones raised. Through these two songs, Cherone and Bettencourt traded lead vocal segments, but the magic was in their signature harmonies. Definitely a highlight of the show.

The high-velocity slingshot back into high gear with “Banshee” and the country-hoe-down-on-steroids, “Take Us Alive” that melted into yet another throwback to the Elvis hit “That’s Alright,” another song perfectly suited for Cherone’s persona. Guitar solos throughout the night satisfied the legions of Nuno followers, but the pinnacle show stopper was his blazing shredding on “Flight Of The Wounded Bumblebee” that seems like a million notes in just a minute and a half. This kid is ah-mazing!

Nuno Bettencourt performing at The Van Buren
Nuno Bettencourt (Guitarist), Extreme
Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

The night was seemingly coming to a close as they launched into their signature song from the 80s, “Get The Funk Out.” This was the one that first thrust them into the world stage and heavy rotation on MTV. It was fantastic and the harmonies were fun, with a few expletives added for good measure. The only thing missing was the horn section. As the song ended, the cheers went up and the lights went down as they left the stage. Many assumed that that was the end of the show since it was their obvious show closer… But the house lights did not come on. Some fans started to trickle out of the venue, but the die-hard fans just cheered louder till eventually the quartet returned to the stage.

It is almost unheard of for a band to do new material during their encore. It’s a ballsy move, but boy did it ever pay off. The encore started with the Eddie Van Halen tribute mentioned above, and then continued with “Small Town Beautiful” infused at the outro chorus with the anthemic “Song For Love” from the Pornograffitti album. Had people still carried lighters, the room would have been aglow with their flickering flames. Ultimately, the show closed with rocker “Rise,” featuring the extraordinary guitar solo and the fist-pumping “EXTREME” groove that is absolutely infectious. No one would disagree that this was the perfect choice of an anthem to end the deluge of great music.

Badger, Cherone, & Bettencourt of Extreme live at The Van Buren
Pat Badger (Bassist), Gary Cherone (Vocalist) & Nuno Bettencourt (Guitarist), Extreme
Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

Witnessing bands genuinely expressing their gratitude towards their fans at the end of the night is always heartwarming. Extreme spent several minutes thanking the crowd and tossing out picks, sticks, and setlists, before finally lying down on the stage to take a selfie with all of us fans. Well played, Extreme, well played.

EXTREME Setlist
| LIVING COLOUR setlist

Photo Gallery

Photographer: Mark Greenawalt

Extreme & Living Colour – The Van Buren 2-23-24

Photography © Mark Greenawalt.
All Rights Reserved

REVIEW: The Triumphant Return of Alter Bridge Brings “Pawns & Kings” To Marquee Theatre (3-29-23)

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Setlists

Tempe, AZ — It was 2017 when Alter Bridge last took the stage at the Marquee Theatre. As the pandemic subsided, they released new music with Pawns & Kings in October last year and set out on a North American Tour. On this night the stop in Arizona included opening sets by Wolfgang Van Halen’s Mammoth WVH and Pistols At Dawn. Although the popular music scene seems to have forgotten how to play guitars, rest assured that the great American guitar heroes are alive and well in the rock world. 

In fact, the night opened with a shredding solo from 22-year-old phenom, Will James, that brought the house down just minutes after the lights went down. The second act delivered the Van Halen 2.0 guitarist that wowed the world when he played his father’s solos at the tribute shows for the late Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters. And the icing on the cake was rock royalty, Mark Tremonti! Fans who love heavy guitar played by virtuosos were in their glory at this show and the decibels were sufficiently over 100dB as prescribed to make sure you heard and felt the music. The vocalists of the night were in top form for this show too as expected, but Myles Kennedy of Alter Bridge was beyond outstanding and proved that he is arguably one of the best singers…ever. Some of his melodies that soared into the stratosphere brought cheers from the audience that rose above the volume of the PA system.

Pistols At Dawn

Pistols at Dawn
| Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

Sometimes the opening band makes you scratch your head and wonder why they are there, but Pistols At Dawn complemented the essence of Alter Bridge perfectly.  They formed in Atlanta in 2015 and shuffled through several lineup changes while recording and releasing singles and a 7-song EP. Last year, the latest incarnation recorded their debut album Ascension on Megaforce Records with producer Sylvia Massy (Tool) and founding members Devin White (guitar) and Adam Jaffe (drums). The band was reinvented with additions of Cris Hodges (vocals), Sean Benham (bass), and the young Will James (guitar) mentioned above. 

Cris Hodges (Vocalist), Pistols at Dawn
| Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

Ascension has an epic big production sound, which is typical and possibly necessary to complement their contemporaries, but their short set of five songs sounded better live than on the recordings. Hodges, with his day-glo sneakers and open sided muscle shirt, entertained while delivering a flawless performance. Burning Hot Events spoke with him after their set about his upcoming tour with Ugly Kid Joe and Fozzy, and he mentioned that he’ll be back in town for U-Fest as a guest singer for Chester Bennington’s former band Grey Daze.

Cris Hodges (Vocalist), Pistols at Dawn
| Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

They confirmed it on Instagram saying, “After many requests to perform live, we finally said yes! We will honor our original intention while still paying homage to Chester, by bringing in guest vocalist Chris [sic] Hodges @hodgesofficial to perform with us.” Before joining Pistols At Dawn, Hodges fronted a Linkin Park tribute band called In The End and guitarist James was playing his signature green neon-light guitar in a Bon Jovi tribute band called Shot Thru The Heart. They advanced from tribute band to touring with Alter Bridge shows. Dreams do come true.

Mammoth WVH

Wolfgang Van Halen (Vocalist, Guitarist, Keyboardist), Mammoth WVH
Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

You’d have to admit that you had your doubts when his dad let him play bass in the mighty Van Halen, but Wolfgang has won over all of the naysayers. When we finally heard him play guitar and sing, and then found out that he also played everything including drums, bass, and keyboards on the debut Mammoth WVH album, we all realized there is something really special in this kid. He inherited that captivating smile from his mother, Valerie Bertinelli, and a broad appreciation and mastery of music from the late Eddie Van Halen. But now he is blazing his own trail and there were no Van Halen songs in the set (or technically we can say that they were all “Van Halen” songs since he wrote every one of them).

Frank Sidoris and Wolfgang Van Halen
Frank Sidoris (Guitarist) & Wolfgang Van Halen (Vocalist, Guitarist), Mammoth WVH
Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

In the music video for “Don’t Back Down”, they show four clones of Wolfgang playing all of the instruments, and while that would be awesome to see live, they had to get some hired guns to cover the parts that he didn’t play live. The guitarist on his right was Frank Sidoris who many in the audience recognized from Slash’s band with Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators. Ron Ficarro (I Am Ghost, Falling In Reverse) played bass, and Garrett Whitlock (who Wolfgang had played with in the band Tremonti) joined as the live drummer, and lastly the charismatic Jon Jourdan (To Whom It May)  joined as a third guitarist. So Wolfgang didn’t get to play drums or bass on any songs, but he did play a little bit of keyboards in addition to his guitars.

Wolfgang Van Halen (Vocalist, Guitarist, Keyboardist), Mammoth WVH
Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

The 8-song set flew by leaving the crowd wanting more, but they were at least able to include their first two singles which both went to number 1: “Distance” and “Don’t Back Down,” which closed their set. We were also treated to a new song that had just been released last week called “Another Celebration At The End Of The World” – a true crowd pleaser that drives hard and included a finger tapping speed solo that garnered a round of applause mid-song. 

Alter Bridge

This four-piece leviathan keeps building on their foundation of stellar musicianship and rock-solid songwriting. It’s a full-on blitzkrieg from the top of the setlist with “Silver Tongue,” from the latest Alter Bridge release, Pawns & Kings to the closer “Rise Today” from the Blackbird LP.

Had it really been 6 years since they last came to town? Their loyal fans showed up in droves to welcome them back from the silence of the pandemic, and it was great to see them back on stage where they belong! 

Myles Kennedy (Vocalist, Guitarist), Alter Bridge
| Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

It was a packed house and they may have actually outgrown this midsize theater, but it proved to be the perfect intimate setting to showcase highlights from their 7 studio albums (note that no songs made the setlist from The Last Hero or Walk The Sky). It’s not unusual for bands to tell every city that they are the best audience, but Kennedy seemed to genuinely appreciate the fan engagement on this night and gave a heartfelt thank you to the Phoenician crowd.

Mark Tremonti (Guitarist), Alter Bridge
| Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

Tremonti is the guitar hero and Kennedy is the vocal maestro, however they each showed their prowess at switching roles. Tremonti sang harmonies all night and then took center stage to sing the melancholy “Burn It Down” and did an incredible job. Most loyal followers were not surprised knowing that he sings lead in his self-titled band Tremonti and also on his incredible Mark Tremonti Sings Frank Sinatra solo album (seriously check this out if you haven’t heard about it). 

Myles Kennedy (Vocalist, Guitarist), Alter Bridge
| Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

And on the flip side, Kennedy is relegated to being “just” a phenomenal frontman singer when he is touring with Slash, but in Alter Bridge he contributes to the six-string shredding too.  These dual talents shone brightest on the song “Blackbird.” He started the song in silhouette against beams of amber lights emulating angelic wings. An homage of the familiar chords of The Beatles’ “Blackbird” ushered in the somber chords of the title track from the Alter Bridge 2007 album of the same name.

The song begins delicately but ultimately crescendos into a symphony of sound bathed in violet lights as Kennedy plays the most soulful guitar solo of the night and then tosses the reins to Tremonti who adds his stamp of originality for this rock anthem. Few songs are truly “moving.” This is one. The ending was so powerful that it felt like the final encore as the crowd shouted their approval.

The four new songs were heavy. “Silver Tongue” and “Holiday” carried the traditional flame of fast and furious, while “Sin After Sin” was best received and had that epic slow march of classic metal. The title track, “Pawns and Kings” is a great song with meticulously crafted lyrics, but for some reason it didn’t resonate live (possibly the newness needs to become more ingrained or maybe it was the strobe lights aimed at the audience throughout the song).

Myles Kennedy (Vocalist, Guitarist), Alter Bridge
| Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

There was a brief respite from the onslaught of loud guitars with a two-song acoustic set that was just stellar. For “Watch Over You,” Kennedy was alone on stage with his Taylor acoustic guitar and a microphone. With each lyric of the song he emoted the feelings of loss of a friend that is just beyond helping. You can’t “phone in” the vocals on a song like this, stripped down to just a guitar/vocal, you have to “feel” the emotions and Kennedy made us feel it too.

For the second acoustic song, Tremonti commandeered his Taylor acoustic guitar with the cutaway neck as they went back to their first album for the song “In Loving Memory.” Another beautiful song. Cheers arose as Kennedy held the soft falsetto note for 14 seconds effortlessly. Two guys in unassuming black T-shirts held the reverent gaze of everyone in attendance who came to rock-out, but communed in this peaceful moment.  All hell would soon break out again with the aggressive Alter Bridge rockers “Isolation” and “Metalingus.”

Alter Bridge
Alter Bridge
| Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

After a 15-song set, they bowed and expressed their heart-felt gratitude to the fans who came out on this night to cheer them on. They left the stage, but the house lights refused to come up and the people began to chant “AL – TER – BRIDGE!” They wasted no time getting back on stage and began some banter with the audience. They apologized to one guy that wanted to come up and play drums with them, but offered maybe next time. Then some guy named Al got the coolest birthday present as Alter Bridge and all of us sang “Happy Birthday” to him. 

To close the night they chose two iconic songs. First was “Open Your Eyes,” which is the first song that really put them on the map with heavy rotation on MTV (it was much later when most of us learned that Kennedy was that guy from the audience that got up and sang with Steel Dragon in the movie Rock Star). Kennedy let the audience chime in on the signature falsetto melody in the bridge and then proceeded to show everyone how it was really done…so impressive. The choice for the song to close the night was “Rise Today,” which most succinctly defined the Alter Bridge sound. The energy was still high and Tremonti banged his head all night (if not for his military haircut, his hair would have been flying all evening).

Brian Marshal (Bassist), Alter Bridge
| Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

One last shout out to the rhythm sections for all three bands that aren’t as much in the spotlight, but contribute so much to the sound and presence of the stars they support. Brian Marshal (bass) and Scott Phillips (drums) have been working with Tremonti since their commercial success with Creed and they were absolutely phenomenal all night. It’s funny how you just expect them to be perfect so you might only notice their passionate playing if there were mistakes…and there were no mistakes that I noticed. They deserve all of the recognition as key components of Alter Bridge!

Scott Phillips (Drummer), Alter Bridge
| Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

As the house lights came on and the recorded music came up, was that Frank Sinatra singing as the audience shuffled out? Or could it have been Tremonti? 

Alter Bridge - Marquee Theater
Alter Bridge
| Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

Setlists

Photo Galleries

Photographer: Rodrigo Izquierdo

View Separately:
Shaggy | TLC | En Vogue | Sean Kingston | Nyce Hitz

Alter Bridge | Mammoth WVH | Pistols at Dawn

Alter Bridge, Mammoth WVH, & Pistols at Dawn – Marquee Theatre 3-29-23

Photography © Reagle Photography
All Rights Reserved

REVIEW: The Who’s Icons Roger Daltrey & Pete Townshend Front a Symphony of Sound at Ak-Chin Pavilion (10-30-22)

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PHOENIX — The Who is a band with a pedigree worthy of selling out stadiums, but this night held the ambiance of a relatively intimate venue at Ak-Chin Pavilion. Opening the show was Mike Campbell and The Dirty Knobs. This same large stage that can look almost empty for a quartet was filled to the brim with a full orchestra and ten times as many musicians. The publicity for this concert seemed to ‘fly under the radar.’ Many long time fans were there to see the legendary singer Roger Daltrey and guitarist Pete Townshend, and it was like ‘tasty icing on the cake’ to get a symphony of sound to elevate the band that coined the phrase rock opera. The setlist took advantage of the cacophony of instruments with selections from Tommy and Quadrophenia.

Mike Campbell and The Dirty Knobs

Setlist

Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

Campbell may not be a household name to everyone, but he was the right-hand-man to world renown Tom Petty, and as part of the Heartbreakers, Campbell entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. He will forever be associated with and compared to Petty, and tonight was no exception. He looked the part, wearing a raggedy ‘Mad Hatter’ top hat and a frumpy pin-striped coat, and speaking the same register, timbre, and Florida dialect as Petty. 

Mike Campbell
Mike Campbell
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

They were only allotted a short 6-song set and a mere sliver of the stage, but they made the best of it and kicked the night off with two Dirty Knobs original songs from their 2020 release Wreckless Abandon. The rest of the set was like seeing the ultimate tribute band playing Tom Petty “covers.” Except, this was authentic. You’re hard pressed to call them ‘cover’ songs when Campbell co-wrote the biggest crowd pleasers “Refugee” and the closing anthem “Runnin’ Down A Dream”. It’s a safe bet that some of Campbell’s songwriting prowess will fill this venue again next week when Stevie Nicks sings “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.” 

The Who

Setlist

The stage was set and the multitude of supporting musicians were their places. Dim blue lighting washed over the many instruments that were foreign to most rock concerts and the crowd swelled with anticipation. The spotlights cut through the monochromatic background to reveal the colorful pair of superstars known as Daltrey and Townshend.

Roger Daltrey (Vocalist) & Pete Townshend (Guitarist), The Who
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

Daltrey was wearing an unassuming sage t-shirt and signature blue-tinted glasses. Townshend, ever the showman, was dressed in a black sports jacket with a crimson handkerchief in the pocket and sporting rockstar sunglasses. The night was divided into three acts, and the first act was a celebration of Tommy that included “Overture,” “1921,” “Amazing Journey,” “Sparks,” “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” and of course, “Pinball Wizard.”

Roger Daltrey (Vocalist), The Who
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

It did not take long for Daltrey to shift from wielding a pair of goatskin tambourines to commandeering the microphone and spinning it around like a giant lasso, like he has for decades. He has had some vocal issues to attend to in the past couple of years so the verdict was out as to how he would sound. It was a resounding yes, he was back to full throttle and sounded absolutely incredible. Full range, impeccable pitch, and that unique rasp that makes him a one-of-a-kind.

The Who with orchestra of touring &amp local musicians
Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

The sound that the orchestra added was so full and powerful and perfectly mixed. Apparently, there were technical things on stage that were a nuisance, from Daltrey saying that there were a bunch of “mice in his in-ear monitors” to Townshend having monitor issues, and a guitar that completely ambushed the start of one song. Townshend remarked in his humorous snarky way that this venue was “a shit hole, parking lot of a venue” and that they “deserve better.” Daltrey’s reaction was priceless as he looked down and grinned, assumingly amused at the guitarist’s outspoken candidness. They soldiered-through the sound issues and made sure that the fans knew how much they truly appreciated them.

Keith Levenson (Conductor)
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

The orchestra remained on stage for “Who Are You,” “Eminence Front,”, and “Ball and Chain” to round out the first act. The conductor, Keith Levenson and a core of four musicians tour with the band, while the remaining members of the up-to-48-piece orchestra are a specially handpicked group of players from each city.

Katie Jacoby (Violinist) & other orchestra members performing with The Who
Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

The touring members included Katie Jacoby, the violinist that stole the show for the “Baba O’Reily” solo, Audrey Snyder on cello, Randy Landau on contrabass, and Emily Marshall on symphonic keyboards. The local musicians are the best of the best from the Phoenix Symphony, Arizona Opera, and other chamber groups and recording session players.

Audrey Snyder & Melanie Yarger (Cellists), Randy Landau (Contrabassist)
Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

We spoke with cellist Melanie Yarger about being selected for the show:

This was by far one of the most epic experiences of my career,” she said. “Being onstage with an iconic band like The Who is mind blowing in itself, but their presentation with the thick orchestration is just next level. There is a reason why they are the benchmark for rock and roll.

Zak Starkey (Drummer), The Who
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

For the second act, the orchestra left the stage for the core band to perform “You Better You Bet,” “The Seeker,” “Naked Eye,” “Another Tricky Day,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” and “Behind Blue Eyes.” The influence of two members of the classic lineup of The Who were ever present throughout the night, but sadly they could only be there in spirit. Drummer Keith Moon passed away in 1978 and bassist John Entwistle passed away in 2002. These are very large shoes to fill, but drummer Zak Starkey (son of Ringo Starr) has toured with them since 1996 and bassist Jon Button since 2017 and, pardon the pun, but these kids are alright. 

Jon Button (Bassist), The Who
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

“Won’t Get Fooled Again” started with an explosion (and no audible count in) and then all eyes were on keyboardist Loren Gold for that groundbreaking sequenced keyboard exposition originally crafted by the mad scientist (Townshend). And, oh yes, Townshend is not too old to show off the windmill guitar attacks on this song. What a treat to see this live! There may only be one Pete Townshend, but there were two Townshends on stage. Pete’s little brother Simon has toured with them since 1996 as the second guitarist and backup vocalist.

Pete Townshend (Guitarist), The Who
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

Speaking of vocals, so many of The Who’s catalog has wonderful vocal harmonies supporting Daltrey’s melodies and they were able to replicate them live with the help of Billy Nicolls, who was dedicated to vocals, both keyboardists, and obviously both of the Townshend brothers. Pete Townshend’s reported issues of hearing loss might have made one question if he would be able to hear well enough to sing on key, but rest assured that he sounded as good as ever taking lead vocals on “Eminence Front” and “I’m One” from Quadrophenia.

Simon Townshend (Guitarist, Backup Vocalist), The Who
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

Act three was the ode to Quadrophenia and saw the return of the orchestra to the stage. I wish Entwistle could have been there to hear the horn section blasting out his arrangements on “The Real Me.” It was just a little too loud…exactly as it should be! Townshend composed Quadrophenia, The Who’s third rock opera, just shy of 50 years ago, and these songs are still getting airplay on classic rock stations today and reaching new fans. Songs “5:15” and “The Rock” fed the nostalgic thirst, but it was “Love, Reign O’er Me” that was more like an out-of-body experience… with a full symphony! It was an honor to be there and it is a memory that we collectively carried with us.

Pete Townshend (Guitarist), The Who
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

With such a deep discography, it is no surprise that quite a few fan favorites had to be left out. This tour decided to leave out the whole era of the early years. It seems almost criminal that they didn’t play “My Generation,” “I Can’t Explain,” “I Can See For Miles,” “Magic Bus,” and a personal favorite: “Squeeze Box.” The newest song that they played was “Ball And Chain” from the 2019 album Who. Luckily, though, they did not leave town before entertaining us with a serving of “Baba O’Riely.”

The Who
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

The windmills were grazing the candy apple red Stratocaster guitar and you could sense the pride Townshend still feels to perform this song after countless shows around the world. Katie Jacoby stole our hearts with her infectious smile during the violin solo (and we will probably never hear this song again without envisioning her playing that part). This ended a magical night of heartfelt musicianship and brilliant songwriting that has been our soundtrack since the British Invasion first filled our airwaves. Townshend ended the evening by introducing all of the touring members and bringing them out front for a wave goodbye.

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Photographer: Mark Greenawalt

The Who & Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs – Ak-Chin Pavilion 10-30-22

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REVIEW: Fierce Femme Fatales on Tour with Halestorm & The Pretty Reckless (8-5-22)

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PHOENIX — All in attendance at this rock & roll revival – Halestorm’s mega Summer 2022 tour – were there to bear witness to a concert fronted by some of the top women in rock music today! It was definitely ladies’ night on stage, co-commandeered by Lzzy Hale (with her flagship rock & roll machine known as Halestorm) and Taylor Momsen (with her nuclear destroyer blitzkrieg known as The Pretty Reckless).

Halestorm - Arizona Financial Theatre

Photography: Mark Greenawalt

But wait, there’s more! These two co-headliners brought an additional bevy of ladies to the shed with supporting acts Lilith Czar and The Warning. This entourage began this Summer Tour 2022 in Detroit in July and will wrap up the twenty-one stops in Portsmouth in August. This night’s “sermon” was held at Arizona Financial Theatre for the Phoenicians. And it was good… Correction – It was great!

Lilith Czar

Lilith Czar (Vocalist, Guitarist)
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

Lilith Czar had a short set and half empty arena to deliver it to. Despite that, she and her band played their asses off and established their reason for being on this stellar bill. Fans know her to be the artist formerly known as Juliet Simms, who CeeLo Green coached to the finals in the 2011 season of The Voice. In 2021 she re-tooled her look and her sound and changed her moniker to Lilith Czar, and this was the night her new persona touched down in Phoenix (note that in March ‘22 she played Mesa Amphitheater with Black Veil Brides).

Lilith Czar (Vocalist, Guitarist)
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

Her hair was raven black with bangs like Bettie Page. She was dressed in red leather short-shorts and a red lace shirt to match. Accessories included hoop earrings, a black leather choker, and a black leather vest that came off early in the show – a very evocative look. Her set began with “Feed My Chaos” and “100 Little Deaths,” a song carried over from her Juliet Simms days. Her voice is the same as when it won us over singing “Oh! Darling” by the Beatles on The Voice blind auditions, but the music has gotten much heavier. Between songs she armed herself with an Epiphone Les Paul Gold Top guitar and later an acoustic guitar.

Despite the low energy of the early crowd, her band put on a stellar performance and special shout out to drummer Lindsey Martin, who truly seemed thrilled to be behind the drum set. Crowd participation peaked when the band did a cover of “Edge of Seventeen” by Stevie Nicks and then rolled out the songs from her current music video suite for “Lola,” “King,” and “Anarchy.” Lilith Czar has developed a unique sound and a unique look and her loyal fanbase is coming around. We’re looking forward to seeing and hearing her future offerings. 

The Warning

The Warning - Alejandra Ale Villarreal Vélez
Alejandra Ale Villarreal Vélez (Bassist, Vocalist), The Warning
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

The convergence of these four particular acts may never happen again and it was a thrill to experience the “dark horse” performance of The Warning. I expected to be blown away by Halestorm and The Pretty Reckless, but The Warning was such a pleasant surprise of an up-and-coming act…that has arrived! Their story is documented in countless YouTube videos about these three sisters from the city of Monterrey, Mexico. They were just children when they did a video of themselves covering Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.” It went viral. The youngest, bassist Alejandra, is still just 17 and the oldest sister, guitarist Daniela, is just 22. The middle sister of the Villarreal family is drummer Paulina (age 20).

Paulina “Pau” Villarreal Vélez (Drummer), The Warning
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

Most of their original songs were from their third studio album, Error, however they did take a moment to show how much their musicianship has blossomed by doing a new cover of “Enter Sandman,” and it was very impressive. All three sisters sing and their stage presence is invigorating to watch. Although they may have been new to many attendees, there were quite a few die-hard fans singing along to every song.

Daniela “Dany” Villarreal Vélez (Guitarist, Vocalist), The Warning
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

Their YouTube reach has continued to grow with more seasoned music videos for songs “Choke” and “Disciple.” These videos show that those cute little children have grown into beautiful women, not to mention they have evolved as songwriters too. Their heavy sound has traces of the bands that have influenced them, but their musical style is uniquely their own. Crowd favorites tended to be their current single “Money” (which reverberated echoes of “Seven Nation Army”-meets-“Balls To The Wall”) and the closing song “Evolve,” which has prog rock elements. Keep your eyes peeled. We haven’t seen the last of this power trio from Mexico!

The Pretty Reckless

Taylor Momsen (Vocalist), The Pretty Reckless
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

In 2020, Taylor Momsen was ready to hit the road in support of Death By Rock & Roll. The title track had been pre-released and shot up to number 1, then the pandemic hit. The album release date kept getting pushed back until it finally was released in February of 2021, but touring was still not in the cards. Finally, 2022 is proving to be the year for The Pretty Reckless (TPR) to reconnect with that tangible live experience. The press for this show implied a dual headline of Halestorm and TPR, but it was soon clear that TPR were relegated to being an opening act with a fraction of the full stage, less lights, and about half as many songs. They handled it with grace and thanked Halestorm for bringing them on the tour, but it seems they may have been somewhat short changed for a band that sports 7 number one songs (one more than the headliner).

Taylor Momsen (Vocalist), The Pretty Reckless
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

The set opened with a cover of Soundgarden’s “Loud Love,” a song The Pretty Reckless recently recorded for Sirius XM with Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil on guitar and Matt Cameron on drums. Momsen has cited Soundgarden as a huge influence and she again recruited Thayil and Cameron to play a track on the new album, “Only Love Can Save Me Now.” This song, another number 1, also made it into the short set. The Pretty Reckless were on a career high when they had the pleasure of being the opening act for Soundgarden until the tour tragically ended with the passing of Chris Cornell.

Taylor Momsen (Vocalist, Guitarist), The Pretty Reckless
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

There was a mix of new songs like “Witches Burn,” a rocker with a nostalgic AC/DC feel, and back to their first single “Make Me Wanna Die.” You know it’s real live music when there is a bass malfunction and guitarist Ben Phillips stops the show and says, “Hold up. Stop. I don’t wanna play the song without bass.” The problem was fixed right away and Phillips continued, “Let me decide where we’re going to pick up. This is how live rock and roll could work. I can count this out where ever the fuck I want it to start.” He chose to start back at the first verse, the crowd cheered in agreement and just like that, they were back in the swing of things. No tracks to sync up to, just live music. Much appreciated.

Taylor Momsen (Vocalist, Guitarist), The Pretty Reckless
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

Momsen looked beautiful with the smoky eyes and glittering eye shadow and wore her platform biker boots and black silk camisole like a superhero costume. There was no doubt that she had reinvented herself when she started this band and left Cindy Lou Who and Gossip Girl behind in search of her own identity. It’s working. She exuded sexiness with a devil-may-care attitude and you could tell that her primary goal wasn’t to turn you on with her womanly wiles, but to draw you in with her voice, to deeply experience her music. Her voice was in top form as she emoted smoky smooth low notes in “Going To Hell” and then launched into raunchy, gravelly high notes in “Heaven Knows.”

Taylor Momsen (Vocalist), The Pretty Reckless
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

So many good songs had to be left on the cutting room floor like “Follow Me Down,” “25”, and “And So It Went”, but they did save a really good one for their final number. Momsen thanked the opening acts and Halestorm for bringing them on this tour. “I don’t know about everyone here, but all I wanna do with my life is fucking rock, and fucking roll, and play fucking music,” she said, “And thanks to all of you, I get to do that and that’s absolutely incredible. So thank you from the bottom of my heart, from all of us. We love you so much.

The song “Take Me Down” is an amalgamation of all the greatest hits of classic rock mixed with that signature sound of The Pretty Reckless. It’s a song about selling your soul for rock & roll. Momsen donned an electric six-string as the band played from their souls and she sang from her heart. Great show!

Halestorm

Lzzy Hale (Vocalist, Guitarist), Halestorm
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

Halestorm is no stranger to Phoenix. In fact, they were here in November 2021 with Evanescence in this same venue. Hale and company are back this time with a fresh set of monster tracks from Back From The Dead, just released in May. Last year’s show introduced the title track “Back From The Dead,” which was riding high at number 1 on the charts at the time. Tonight’s show took a deeper dive with half of their 16-song set being new material. Two of the new songs were more familiar due to radio airplay including “Wicked Ways” and the number 1 song that capped off the night, “The Steeple.”

The opening acts had the audience primed and ready for the Halestorm experience, which began as a black veil that dropped, revealing the band 8’ above the stage on platform risers leading to the drum cage. Two colors popped out of the scene under the blistering white lights: the cardinal red of Lizzy’s signature Gibson Explorerbird (with matching lips and sexy boots) and the neon green glow of drummer Arejay Hale’s hair, drumset, and modern-day zoot suit! Poised for attack, they left no doubt that their intention was to thoroughly entertain!

Halestorm
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

Praise be to Lzzy Hale, first for her songwriting prowess on every Halestorm song (including six number 1’s, by the way), second for her mastery of the guitar which earned her a coveted sponsorship last year from Gibson Guitars as the first female brand ambassador, and third…good Lord almighty, that voice! How she reaches those notes with such a growl and perfect intonation, night after night for months on end is truly one of the natural wonders of the world. Steve Whiteman (Kix) may have given her some tips to the secret sauce of belting, but there is something about her vocal anatomy that makes her a celebrated freak of nature.

Lzzy Hale (Vocalist, Guitarist), Halestorm
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

The rasp was on full display on songs like “I Am The Fire,” “Psycho Crazy,” and “I Miss The Misery,” but she proved that her voice is much more than controlled screaming when the show entered the proverbial eye of the hurricane for the ballad “Break In.” All the lights went down except for the spotlight on the piano at center stage. Oh yeah, did I mention that she’s also accomplished on piano? She played solo and had the audience in the palm of her hand during the new acoustic anthem “Raise Your Horns.” Janis Jopplin had to be looking down and smiling for this song. Touching.

Arejay Hale (Drummer), Halestorm
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

Although she is undoubtedly the focal point for most, the band is rock solid at every position. Brother Arejay Hale is a phenomenon to watch on the drums. He is technically precise, but exudes fun and antics while delivering a clinic on professional drum techniques. He did a drum solo which included some interesting oversized drumsticks (still smaller than the broom sticks he used when Halestorm played the Arizona State Fair in 2017). Although cool, the drum solo was unnecessary in the sense that his playing was so incredible throughout the show that there was nothing left to prove! Guitarist Joe Hottinger and bassist Josh Smith seemed to keep their nose to the grindstone and play to the masses while the brother/sister act basked in the spotlight. But make no mistake…they didn’t (make any mistakes, that is). The band was tight and obviously rehearsed after years on the road.

Joe Hottinger (Guitarist) & Lzzy Hale (Vocalist, Guitarist), Halestorm
Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

It’s a shame when really good songs have to be cut from the setlist to make way for the new, but ones that remain are the ones that bring the crowd to their feet. In the bottom of the ninth, it was time to bring out the closers: “I Miss The Misery,” “Freak Like Me,” and a personal favorite from the debut album, “I Get Off.” What a climax! And then an encore of thank yous, “Here’s To Us” and finally, America’s (dare I say the world’s) new rock anthem, “The Steeple.”

Lzzy Hale (Vocalist, Guitarist), Halestorm
| Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

Lzzy Hale closed the night with a song reminding everyone that this was her church and these were her people: A healthy mix of genders, races, and ages with a common passion for great music.

Phone flashlights raised for Halestorm at Arizona Financial Theatre
Phone flashlights raised for Halestorm at Arizona Financial Theatre
Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

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Halestorm, The Pretty Reckless, The Warning, & Lillith Czar – Arizona Financial Theatre 8-5-22

Photography © Mark Greenawalt.
All Rights Reserved

REVIEW: Nothing More Bring the Scorpion Back to the Desert at The Van Buren (6-16-22)

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PHOENIX — Jonny Hawkins’ vocal acrobatics were absolutely mesmerizing. It’s hard to believe the Nothing More frontman wasn’t even singing at age 21 as he sat just beyond the limelight as the band’s drummer. His voice evolved from gravel enriched screams as they opened with “Turn It Up”, to technically precise softness in the opening verse of “Go To War”. And, oh yes, he made his presence known early in the show as he rose up to ride The Scorpion Tail that not only looks dangerous but also contributes to the sound as Hawkins jammed the throttles that processed the guitar like a whammy bar.

Jonny Hawkins (Vocalist), Nothing More – on The Scorpion Tail
Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

The audience were the loyal followers in response to the shouts in “Christ Copyright” and the musicians were Hawkins’ disciples like in the last supper painting. Mark Vollelunga (guitar, vocals), Daniel Oliver (bass, vocals), and Ben Anderson (drums) were all superstars in their own right, but the focus seemed to always come back to center stage where the charismatic singer, with the muscle tone of an MMA fighter, held court.

Jonny Hawkins of Nothing More performing in Phoenix
Jonny Hawkins (Vocalist), Nothing More
| Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

For this show, Hawkins’ ever-morphing body paint design for the evening resembled a  red sash on a field of black that faded out asymmetrically across his torso. What it symbolized remained a mystery along with the question of how the paint stayed on all night through the sweat and stage antics.

Jonny Hawkins of Nothing More performing in Phoenix
Jonny Hawkins (Vocalist), Nothing More
| Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

The 13-song setlist included a balanced mix of selections from 2017’s Grammy nominated The Stories We Tell Ourselves and the previous release from 2013, simply entitled Nothing More. Fans were treated to two new songs from 2022, the opener “Turn It Up Like (Stand In Fire)” and the brilliant lyrical voyage of “Tired of Winning” with an embedded speech from Alan Watts on the eternal now.

Daniel Oliver of Nothing More performing in Phoenix
Daniel Oliver (Bassist), Nothing More
| Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

Phoenix was one of the last stops on this 27-gig tour before they head back to San Antonio where their origin story began and there was no sign of fatigue or phoned-in performances. The energy was at full tilt all night long. Even when the heavy sounds took a respite, heavy emotional lyrics filled in on “Fade In / Fade Out”, the perfect soundtrack for Father’s Day weekend.

Ben Anderson (Drummer), Nothing More
| Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

The sound was a little ‘boomy’ in the venue, but you could still tell that the orchestration was stellar.  There were tracks that they played along to, but they seemed incidental to provide storyboarding for intros and to provide expansive soundscapes.  Vollelunga’s contribution to the sound of Nothing More is a key to their originality. His showmanship was on full display, but not as a showy shredder, more as a song smith with attitude sporting a drop-tuned Aristide guitar through Marshall cabinets.

Mark Vollelunga (Guitarist, Vocalist), Nothing More
| Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

As the lights went down for the final song, a techno ambiance resonated as if from the rafters above. A haunting melody was being voiced with vocoder harmonies and the fans came alive knowing the lyrics to “This Is The Time”. The momentum was building as recollections of Hawkins carrying the stone in the music video came to mind and then the room exploded with excitement as the band kicked into high gear. Hands raised, the minions were jumping in time and responding with shouts when the mic was aimed their way. Eventually Hawkins mounted The Scorpion Tail as a bookend to the show and left the crowd wanting more when the house lights capped the performance.

Jonny Hawkins (Vocalist), Nothing More – on The Scorpion Tail
Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

Eva Under Fire

Labelmates at Better Noise Records, Eva Under Fire, opened up the night with a little sliver of the front of the stage. They brought the classic sound and lineup that brought arena rock to the forefront: dueling guitars (Rob Ryberg and Chris Slapnik) mixed with a thumping bass (Edward Joseph) and pounding drums (Corey Newsom) in support of a charismatic singer.

Eve Under Fire performing in Phoenix
Eva Under Fire
| Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

Eva (aka Amanda Lyberg) delivered the vocal goods with perfect intonation and high energy from start to finish. Their set included original grooves that felt instantly familiar. 

Amanda Lyberg of Eva Under Fire  performing in Phoenix
Amanda “Eva” Lyberg (Vocalist), Eva Under Fire
| Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

It will be interesting to see where their trajectory leads them with their formulaic songwriting that sounds like mainstream rock hits. This tour is giving them a platform to show the world that they are more than a bar band. Standout songs were “Heroin(e)” that Eva wrote about her father’s drug overdose and their latest release, “Unstoppable”, that has all the swagger of a Carrie Underwood hit in a metal multiverse. 

Edward Joseph of Eva Under Fire performing in Phoenix
Edward Joseph (Bassist), Eva Under Fire
| Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

Eva, with her blue mane, led the audience in synchronous bouncing to the infectious beat of “Blow” that they recorded with Spencer Charnas of Ice Nine Kills. They wrapped their 8-song stint on stage with a cover of Journey’s “Separate Ways”…BTW, their recording and video of this song is good, but it was fantastic live, sans keyboards and vocal harmonies. The band treated fans to a meet-and-greet after the show at the merch table.

Atreyu

Next up, Atreyu visited the valley again after the “day gig” in April at UFest. It was cool to see the lights in the speaker stacks this time that couldn’t be seen in daylight at Ak-Chin Pavilion. Story has it that their bus had caught fire earlier in the day and although nobody was injured, they did lose some material possessions up in smoke. That sure didn’t appear to dampen their spirits during the show. From the first note, the audience was in the palms of their hands.

Atreyu
| Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

Atreyu balances a heavy in-your-face metal aesthetic with a fun party atmosphere. Brandon Saller, another former drummer turned lead vocalist, is a class act entertainer and when he asked us to raise our fists, we obeyed. At one point he came off stage to mingle with fans and sing on top of the bar.

Brandon Saller
Brandon Saller (Vocalist), Atreyu
| Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

When asked, many of the attendees indicated that they were first timers, but when the catchy chorus rang out it seemed like everybody was a longtime fan as they screamed along with the lyrics. Speaking of screaming, Atreyu has another vocal secret weapon on the band with bassist Marc “Porter” McKnight who has mastered the art of unclean vocals! Long hair is typical in heavy metal, but McKnight’s long hair sprouts from his chin instead of his bald head and it suits him well.

Marc "Porter" McKnight
Marc “Porter” McKnight (Bassist), Atreyu
| Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

There was a scattering of harmony vocals throughout the set, but during a break in the song “Save Us”, Atreyu again raised the bar with some impressive three-part vocal harmonies, and then guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel carried forth the torch ignited by Hall of Fame inductees Judas Priest with harmony guitar solos too.

Dan Jacobs of Atreyu performing in Phoenix
Dan Jacobs (Guitarist), Atreyu
| Photography:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

It is difficult to define the musical style of Atreyu as they weave through fast heavy hitters like opener “Baptize” (the title track of their latest album release), to the anthemic “Warrior” that trudges forward, and then to the fun shuffle of the song “Falling Down” from 2008’s Lead Sails Paper Anchor.

Before ending the night, Saller had a Freddie Mercury “Ay-oh” moment with the crowd that started with simple melodies and ended up bringing smiles to faces as he sang Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and Salt-N-Peppa’s “Push It”.

There’s nothing better than a little cowbell to end a great set and Atreyu pulled another fun one from the archive with “Blow” that originally featured Josh Todd (Buckcherry). Saller had some sentimental last words: “We are more than just a band, we’re a family.” And with that we were welcomed into the family as they took their last bows.

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Photographer: Rodrigo Izquierdo

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Nothing More | Atreyu | Eva Under Fire

Nothing More, Atreyu, & Eva Under Fire – The Van Buren 6-16-22

Photography © Reagle Photography
All Rights Reserved

Setlists

Nothing More Setlist – Phoenix

  1. Turn It Up Like (Stand In Fire)
  2. Let ‘Em Burn
  3. Christ Copyright
  4. Mr. MTV
  5. Do You Really Want It
  6. Tunnels
  7. Jenny
  8. Don’t Stop
  9. Go To War
  10. I’ll Be OK
  11. Tired Of Winning
  12. Fadein/Fadeout
  13. This Is The Time (Ballast)
Nothing More setlist – Phoenix 6-16-22

Atreyu Setlist – Phoenix

  1. Strange Powers of Prophecy
  2. Baptize
  3. Becoming the Bull
  4. Right Side of the Bed
  5. The Time Is Now
  6. Ex’s and Oh’s
  7. Save Us
  8. Falling Down
  9. Battle Drums
  10. Warrior
  11. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Snippet)
  12. Blow

Eva Under Fire Setlist – Phoenix

  1. Comatose
  2. Blow
  3. Unstoppable
  4. Heroin(e)
  5. Another Shot
  6. The Strong
  7. Coming 4 Blood
  8. Separate Ways
Eva Under Fire setlist – Phoenix 6-16-22

July STAFF PICK: VELVET by Adam Lambert

Artist, Album

Adam Lambert, VELVET [Explicit]

VELVET is the fourth studio album by singer Adam Lambert. He had intended to promote the September 2019 release in 2020, starting with a five date residency in Las Vegas, followed by a European tour. The postponement of these performances resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Burning Hot Events earns from qualifying purchases.)

Praising Lambert’s work on VELVET, Variety’s A.D. Amorosi wrote, Perhaps tired of being Queen’s plus one, or smoothing over his rougher vocal edges, the 38-year-old out singer goes for something less glamorously amorously entertaining and more grimily soulful and sleekly funky than we’re used to hearing from him…” “…Adam Lambert has made “Velvet” a testament to finding his way, personally and professionally, in what is his most accomplished solo work to date.

Chosen by:

Mark Greenawalt

Senior Concert Photographer, Music Journalist

Mark Greenawalt - Concert Photographer, Music Journalist
Mark Greenawalt

Adam Lambert Online

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REVIEW: Dennis DeYoung Returns With New Music – 26 EAST: Volume 1

It’s been 45 years since the golden voice of a “kid from Chicago” hit the Top 10 with the song “Lady” and propelled the band Styx into the worldwide spotlight. Now, at age 73, crooner Dennis DeYoung shows no signs of slowing down with the release of his new solo CD entitled 26 East: Volume 1. The songs are refreshingly original and yet instantly familiar while the lyrics are peppered with some very poignant statements about the world today and the roles we each play.

Dennis DeYoung at Mesa Arts Center
| 2019 “The Grand Illusion Tour”
Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved
Click to Enlarge

There is some expectation for great songwriting from the man who penned such top 10 hits as “Mr. Roboto”, “Show Me The Way”, “Come Sail Away”, and reached Number 1 with the definitive rock ballad “Babe.” The odds doubled when DeYoung decided to collaborate with another Number 1 songwriter:  Jim Peterik, who’s known for chart-topping successes from “Vehicle” (#2 for Ides of March), “Caught Up In You” (#10 for 38 Special), and the rock anthem “Eye of the Tiger,” a number 1 hit for his former band Survivor. Although past success is no guarantee of future results, the DeYoung/Peterik team delivered five solid tracks that are textbook for well crafted songs. “We collaborated from the get go,” said DeYoung, “happily and seamlessly and at this time we have written nine songs together of which five will be on Volume 1. Just two Chicago guys doing what they do best, making music and having a laugh.

Out of the gate, 26 East begins with “East of Midnight,” a big production of melodic rock with the signature stacked harmonies, soaring synthesizers balanced with crunchy guitars, and that strong voice that keeps classic rock radio stations in business. There’s a hint of “Grand Illusion” here and a nod to “I’m OK”, but it’s definitely not a regurgitation of the past. The song is a reminiscent journey back in time to the humble beginnings of DeYoung’s music career when the nucleus of Styx began with him and the Panozzo twins, Chuck and John. The album’s title “26 East” was the address where DeYoung grew up in Roseland on the far south side of Chicago, and the cover artwork features three locomotives traveling through space, representing the original members leaving Chicago on their journey to the stars. 

There are two other guests on this album that add to allure. First is Julian Lennon, whose harmonies seamlessly blend with DeYoung’s on their collaboration “To The Good Old Days.” DeYoung indicated that he hadn’t met Julian before recording this song, but their words seem so sincere as they sing about raising a glass to toast all of the memories of their past together and all the good and bad times that they’ve survived.

August Zadra (Guitarist, Vocalist),
“The Grand Illusion Tour”
Photography:
Mark Greenawalt
© All Rights Reserved
Click to Enlarge

The second guest is guitarist/vocalist August Zadra, who may only be mentioned briefly in the liner notes, but presumably contributed significantly to the “band” sound of the record. Zadra is a dynamic force in the Dennis DeYoung live show where he takes on the lead and harmony vocals originally voiced by Tommy Shaw. His work shines on the rocker “Damn That Dream” that talks about the reality of a dream-come-true turning into a charade that leaves you “lost and torn apart.”

DeYoung’s music is diverse and culled from the “boom child” musical inspirations from his youth through to the songs of his modern contemporaries. The track “You My Love” feels like an homage to the love ballads of the 1950’s — so much so that you might believe that it is a cover of a song that might have been earmarked for the Grease soundtrack. Even the vocal styling is on point for this period of music.

From the Styx classic “Suite Madame Blue” to “Turn Off The CNN” from his last solo record, One Hundred Years From Now, DeYoung has never shied from making political points with his lyrics. 26 East boasts a trilogy of politically themed songs that starts with the campy “With All Due Respect.” It’s definitely a fun song about the incompetence of our bi-partisan government, but the chorus sports the childish jabs, “With all due respect, you are an asshole” and “With all due respect, plug up your pie holes” that are hard to take seriously. The following song, “A Kingdom Ablaze,” is a haunting melody with lyrics that foretell an end to our nation if we don’t correct our ways. The music is reminiscent of “Castle Walls” from the Grand Illusion album laced with a subtle shuffle, ominous Gregorian chants, and the foreboding message, “When our greed becomes our need, all will bleed.” “The Promise of This Land” is the third song in the trilogy that comes later in the track list. It is a song of hope, and DeYoung’s theatrical spirit shines as brightly on this song as it did on the wonderful collection of show tunes from his 1994 release, 10 On Broadway.  This song is full of references to our founding fathers and the dreams they had for this newly launched nation.

There are certain formulas for writing timeless “hit” songs and DeYoung and Peterik have their own recipes. The standout songs that have potential for chart topping success are “Run For The Roses” and “Unbroken.” Both start softly with the mood of a minor key and then soar to dramatic heights in major keys and layered harmonies spreading a positive message. Each song would be comfortable in any of the past five decades. Though the odds are stacked against DeYoung for chart success in the current climate of much younger artists, you never know when he might catch lightning in the bottle again (like the time “Show Me The Way” was spurred on as an anthem during Desert Storm). Who would have expected his recent rendition of “The Best of Times,” sung at his home during the COVID-19 pandemic, would go viral (no pun intended) and reach over a million views.

Speaking of “The Best of Times,” 26 East wraps up with yet another reprise of the “A.D. 1928”/”A.D. 1958” from the end of the Paradise Theater album. This time it is called “A.D. 2020” and features DeYoung playing an accordion, the instrument that got it all started for him. If you have been a fan of the music of Dennis DeYoung throughout the years, this short bookend to the album will tug at the heart strings as he seems to accept the notion that his music will last long beyond his years. He has shared his soul here in sonic form for you to listen to, relate to, and most importantly, to let it move you.

Dennis DeYoung & live band – Mesa Arts Center
| 2019 “The Grand Illusion Tour”
Photography:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved
Click to Enlarge

And so my friends I’ll say goodbye
For time has claimed its prize
But the music never dies
Just listen and close your eyes
And welcome to paradise

(Burning Hot Events earns from qualifying purchases.)

26 East: Volume 1 Track List

  1. East of Midnight (Dennis DeYoung, Jim Peterik, John R. Melnick)
  2. With All Due Respect (Dennis DeYoung, Jim Peterik)
  3. A Kingdom Ablaze (Dennis DeYoung)
  4. You My Love (Dennis DeYoung)
  5. Run For The Roses (Dennis DeYoung, Jim Peterik)
  6. Damn That Dream (Dennis DeYoung, Jim Peterik)
  7. Unbroken (Dennis DeYoung, Jim Peterik)
  8. The Promise of This Land (Dennis DeYoung)
  9. To The Good Old Days (Dennis DeYoung, Julian Lennon)
  10. A.D. 2020 (Dennis DeYoung)

26 East: Volume 1 Line-Up

  • Jim Peterik: Guitar, Bass, Keyboard, Vocals and Vuvuzela
  • August Zadra: Electric Guitars, vocals 
  • Jimmy Leahey: Acoustic and electric guitars 
  • Craig Carter: Bass, vocals and invocations 
  • Mighty Mike Morales: Drums and all day sound checker 
  • John Blasucci: Keyboard’s
  • Mike Aquino: Electric Guitars 
  • Kevin Chalfant: backing vocals 
  • Matthew DeYoung: Drums on “To The Good Old Days”
  • Ed Breckenfeld: Drums on “Unbroken”
  • Zoe and Austin Orchard for Ring Around The Rosie 
  • The Chicago Children’s Choir and conductor Josephine Lee
  • Dennis DeYoung: Keyboards, fake drums, fake bass, fake news and some vocals. Oh and Vuvuzela 

Mastered by Dave Collins, DaveCollins Mastering. L.A.

(Source)

Songwriter Mark Greenawalt Self-Makes “Don’t Cry Angel” Video While in Quarantine

PHOENIX — Singer-songwriter Mark Greenwalt took the opportunity to make a music video during the government mandated stay-at-home policy. With a crew of one, he propped his prosumer camera on a tripod to film himself at the piano and behind a guitar playing his original song, “Don’t Cry Angel.” The video was released on his YouTube channel on April 4th, Greenawalt’s 53rd birthday.

The Making of the Video

He co-wrote the song with songwriter Angel Pizzaro in 2011. Pizarro presented the heart-felt lyrics about a personal friend of his who had tragically passed away. The songwriting team crafted the story to discuss the relationship between a new angel and the grieving friends and family they have left behind. “It seemed to have a message,” he said, “for people to relate to who are suffering from losses during our current pandemic.

The chords and melody of the song were developed while Pizarro sat with Greenawalt at his piano nearly ten years ago. The opportunity to record the song came from a mutually beneficial relationship with the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences (CRAS) in Phoenix, who needs bands and musicians to help their students learn the ropes of professional recording techniques. The core players in the session were Pizarro on drums, Webb Pickersgill on bass, and Greenawalt on keyboards, guitars, and vocals. Student engineer, Daniel Armijo, later stated that he ended up getting a grade of 97 on the project and a song was born.

While in the studio, Greenawalt had shot some video of Pizarro playing drums. “It wasn’t the greatest of quality,” he said, “but it seemed to be a good way to get started on the music video.” There wasn’t any usable footage of Greenawalt and Pickersgill from the studio, and at this point Pickersgill had moved to Colorado to be a game director with Deck Nine (Life Is Strange). Pickersgill, however, was very interested when asked if he would be willing to film himself playing the song. “I’ll bring my bass to work”, he said, “and just ‘Milli-Vanilli’ a few takes on video for you.

When it was time for Greenawalt to perform his sequences, he envisioned singing in front of a stained glass window. At a loss for where to find one that he could record in front of, he went to YouTube to find a DIY way to make his own. After a trip to the hobby shop to get glass paint and faux leading, he created a mosaic image of angel wings with sun rays reminiscent of the Arizona state flag.

Watch Mark Greenawalt’s Time-Lapse Video

Another project behind the scenes was getting the overhead shots of the piano. For this, Greenawalt build an iPhone carrier and hung it from fishing string over a raised backdrop stand. The raising and lowering was accomplished by reeling the string around a rotating electric drill bit. “It seemed to be a good idea,” said Greenawalt, “but most of the footage was shaky and unusable. It was worth a try and a few clips actually made it into the video.

Overhead shot of Mark Greenawalt playing the piano

I wanted to include an aerialist in the video who would be spinning up high in hoop,” he said, “And I envisioned filming them over water and wearing angel wings. With the quarantine if full swing, it didn’t seem like I was going to have the opportunity to get that footage.” The eureka moment came when he found a video on a friend’s page on Facebook that was as beautiful as he had envisioned. I wasn’t over water and aerialist Dakoa O’Kane wasn’t wearing angel wings, but the imagery was stunning. He reached out to videographer Glen Goldblatt for permission to use the footage was thrilled when it was granted. This footage ended up being the bookends of the fade in and fade out of the video.

Aerialist Dakoa O’Kane footage by Videographer Glen Goldblatt

Greenawalt had a guest vocalist come to his home studio to record some harmony vocals on the song after the initial recordings at CRAS. She also “sang” some angelic whispers saying, “Goodbye, I’ll be waiting for you.” This was such a feature in the song that it seemed important to have it performed in the video. Keeping social distancing to a minimum, Greenawalt reached out to his daughter-in-law Savannah Greenawalt to play the part of the angel in the video. There were just a few short takes of her behind the stained glass and some extreme closeups of her singing the harmonies and it was a wrap for Savannah on the home “set.”

Savannah Greenawalt behind Mark Greenawalt’s handmade stained glass window

The rest of the shots were self performed and filmed by Greenawalt in his living room including a “martini shot” of him playing a “keytar” in the recently renovated tile bathroom. He culled on his knowledge from his day job as a lighting designer to successfully illuminate the sets and his brief education from film classes at The Film School at Scottsdale Community College for the editing process.

The video was completed in time for a premiere on the evening of his 53rd birthday where friends and family joined in on the chat to speak with songwriters Greenawalt and Pizarro.

“Don’t Cry Angel”

  • Written by Mark Greenawalt and Angel L. Pizarro Jr.
  • Future-Class X Publishing, ASCAP
  • Faded Periwinkle Publishing, ASCAP

Mark Greenawalt is both a Senior Concert Photographer and part-time Music Journalist for Burning Hot Events! See his concert photography here, and writing here.

Mark Greenawalt Online

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REVIEW: Styx Continues Their Mission To Rock The World at Celebrity Theatre (1-10-20)

PHOENIX— This day had a solemn beginning as the news announced that the legendary drummer for Rush, Neil Peart, had passed away. Styx keyboardist Lawrence Gowan took the opportunity to pay tribute to his fellow Canadian musician by singing and playing a beautiful acoustic piano cover of “Limelight”. The lyrics pulled at the heartstrings and the chords and melody were hauntingly mesmerizing. As the song faded and commiserating fans’ cheers resounded, Gowan declared, “Thank you for one of the greatest drummers and certainly one of the all-time greatest lyricists, Neil Peart.” This was a highlight of the evening and made this particular show very special. 

Drummer Todd Sucherman provided a link to a fan’s video on Facebook and wrote:

The show kicked off on a high note as the song “Gone, Gone, Gone” electrified the theater-in-the-round. This song also opens the latest Styx studio album, The Mission, which was released two and a half years ago and put Styx back on the radio as it rose to 45 on the Billboard 200. There was no opening act, so Styx had time to unleash all of the “classics” and still sprinkle in a few more songs from The Mission: “Radio Silence”, “Red Storm”, “The Outpost”, and the classically influenced “Khedive” piano piece. Veteran guitarist James “JY” Young hinted at the fact that there may be new Styx music coming our way in 2020. The die-hard Styx fans were thrilled to hear this, but everyone went wild when they launched into the evening of hits, beginning with that classic Hammond organ intro to “Blue Collar Man (Long Nights).”

Styx
| Photographer:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

Most bands have a “lead” singer, but at a Styx show, the lead vocals (and bantering duties) are shared between the three frontmen in the band: guitarist Young (original member since the inception of the band in 1972), guitarist Tommy Shaw (who replaced John “J.C.” Curulewski in 1975), and keyboardist Gowan (who replaced Dennis DeYoung in 1999). Replacing DeYoung meant filling some big shoes, since his iconic voice and hit songwriting abilities were equally as important as his talent on the keys. But for the past twenty years, Gowan has held his own with studio albums and touring worldwide. Gowan’s keyboard and vocal skills were put to the test with the next pair of songs penned by DeYoung: “The Grand Illusion” and “Lady.” The keyboards were spot-on. The vocals were noticeably different from DeYoung’s, but very strong, confident, and blended wonderfully with signature Styx harmonies.

Lawrence Gowan (Vocals, Keyboard), Styx
| Photographer:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

The original rhythm section of Styx was comprised of twin brothers Chuck and John Panozzo on bass and drums respectively. Tonight, Chuck would make several guest appearances, but it was Ricky Phillips on the Imola 5-string bass for most of the evening. Phillips was was best known as the bassist for The Babys and later a founding member of Bad English, but then joined the band in 2003. Chuck is still a current member of Styx, but he has limited his playing time due health issues related to HIV. Sucherman has held the drum throne since 1995, taking over for John Panozzo, who was battling cirrhosis of the liver and subsequently passed away in 1996. Gowan introduced Sucherman and mentioned that his mother was in the audience that night, and also dropped a bit of trivia that last year, Modern Drummer Magazine listed him as the number one Classic Rock Drummer in the World.

Todd Sucherman (Drums), Styx
| Photographer:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

Danny Zelisko had Styx here at the Celebrity Theatre exactly one year ago for a two-night stand and welcomed them back tonight and tomorrow night to do it again. Last year, both nights appeared to be sold out; tonight, there were only a handful of seats that seemed to be open. It is such an intimate venue for seeing a band, and the sound is always crisp and clear. The rotating stage allows more people to feel closer to the front of the stage. The novelty wears off at times when the stage is facing away during a favorite song, but Styx did a pretty good job of running around the stage when they weren’t stationed to a microphone. One notable exception was on the song “Red Storm”, when the stage stopped rotating for the whole song, presumably because Phillips was perched up high on a riser behind the drum set (author’s note – of course, they were facing the other direction from me for this whole song).

As the stage got its groove back, JY stepped up to the mic to introduce the next song. He reminisced about the old days of lighting lighters for certain songs, but conceded that there were dangers. “We can approximate that with the cell phone camera light…” he said, “…Let’s approximate the way those stars might look and LIGHT IT UP EVERYBODY!” It was exhilarating to be immersed in a sea of LED lights throughout the entire theater as the band broke into “Light Up,” one of only two songs played from the Equinox album from 1975 (the other one was “Suite Madame Blue” to top off the first set).

James “JY” Young (Guitar, Vocals, Keys), Styx
| Photographer:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

Chuck Panozzo made his first appearance on stage during “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man).” He had played the powerful yet simple quarter notes on this Tommy Shaw anthem from The Grand Illusion Album released on 7-7-77. The crowd gave a very warm welcome as Shaw introduced him as “Our original bass player, Mr. Charles Panozzo,” and he stepped into the stage lights looking dapper in a navy blue sports jacket and wielding a black Rickenbacker bass. Instead of leaving the stage, Phillips picked up a double-necked guitar with a 12-string and a 6-string neck and joined in on the massive sound.

Ricky Phillips (Bass, Guitar, Vocals), Styx
| Photographer:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

There was a brief 20-minute break before the second set. There was a fundraiser with a giveaway guitar benefiting Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Foundation that was introduced by Tim and NeanderPaul from KSLX radio station.

The second set contained some of the usual suspects from the vault of hit songs, including “Come Sail Away,” “Too Much Time On My Hands,” “Miss America,” and the definitive power ballad “Crystal Ball.” There were also brief reminders to pick up the newest album, which featured “The Outpost” and “Khedive,” but the song that was a pleasant surprise for the evening was the title track from Pieces of Eight. This song is a fan favorite, but was overshadowed by “Renegade” and “Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)” from that album and was not released as a single. Noticeably absent from the setlist was anything from the Cornerstone album, including their only number one single, “Babe” nor anything from Edge of the Century (“Love is the Ritual” nor “Show Me The Way”, which charted at number three).

Tommy Shaw (Guitar, Vocals), Styx
| Photographer:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

The song “Mr. Roboto” had been absent from the setlist for many years although it also charted at number 3. This wasn’t surprising since it may be the defining song that put a rift in the band dynamic. More importantly, it polarized fans into either the rocker camp that thought of Styx in terms of “Renegade” and “Miss America,” or the pop music camp that thought of Styx in terms of “Babe” and “Best of Times.” Fortunately, there is a lot of crossover (or at least no hostilities that lead to disowning the band). What caused more controversy was when the song returned to the setlist a little over a year ago, even though DeYoung wasn’t there to petition for it. The live version is a little amped up, and the good news is that it was well received by fans, finding its way into the coveted encore position.

However, there was still one song left that even “Mr. Roboto” couldn’t upstage and that was the aforementioned “Renegade.” This is the song that starts with soft and haunting vocal by Shaw: “Oh mama, I’m in fear for my life from the long arm of the law.” At this point, everyone’s hand raised to their chest as they mimicked the heart beats that still echo to this day from John Panozzo’s kick drum. There was even a wash of red light over the massive drum set that kept time with these beats. Another line. More heartbeats. Silky three-part harmony for the next line. More heart beats as more of the crowd joined in. More harmonies. One beastial scream and the crowd was in the proverbial palm of their hands as the hardest rocking song of the Styx catalog closed the show.

Styx was flawless. The talent in the band is simply overwhelming. It is so hard for a band that is branded a “classic” rock band to be relevant in a world where “classic rock” stations won’t play anything new from their “classic rock” artist roster. Meanwhile, new rock stations tend to ignore new music from bands that are considered classics. Yet Styx has maintained a growing fan base by continuing to be road warriors and taking the music to every corner of the planet, continuing to write and record music that is true to their roots and diverse style. 

Check out The Mission to form your own opinion if you haven’t heard it yet. Here’s to great new music from them in 2020, and hopefully yet another return trip to the Valley of the Sun to see them again.

Photo Gallery

Photographer: Mark Greenawalt

Styx – Celebrity Theatre 1-10-20

    Setlist

    Set 1

  • Gone, Gone, Gone
  • Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)
  • The Grand Illusion
  • Lady
  • Radio Silence
  • Snowblind
  • Red Storm
  • Light Up
  • Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)
  • Rockin’ the Paradise
  • Suite Madame Blue
  • Set 2

  • Miss America
  • Crystal Ball
  • Pieces of Eight
  • The Outpost
  • Too Much Time On My Hands
  • Khedive
  • Limelight (Piano/Vocal Tribute To Neil Peart)
  • Come Sail Away
  • Encore:

  • Mr. Roboto
  • Renegade

Photography © Mark Greenawalt
All Rights Reserved

REVIEW: Game of Thrones Is Reanimated In An Immersive Live Concert Experience at Comerica Theatre (10-1-19)

PHOENIX —  Whether you are on team Stark, Lannister, Targaryen, or that one guy that is on team Bolton, this show transported you to world of Westeros through the songs and scenes of the characters we’ve grown to love and hate. This was the third tour that graced the stages of Arizona for the Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience. This time the immersive journey through the show’s music, eloquently crafted by composer Ramin Djawadi, would include the songs from the eighth and final season. The majesty of the show was slightly scaled down for this round and Djawadi was noticeably absent for the Comerica show in downtown Phoenix. Conductor Michael Sobie took the reigns for this stop of the tour and did a fantastic job coraling the myriad of instruments, but anyone expecting to see Ramin Djawadi at the helm were sadly disappointed. (See tour dates)

Michael Sobie (Conductor) with orchestra,
Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience
Photographer:
Mark Greenawalt © All Rights Reserved

As the crowd shuffled in, the anticipation was high. The room felt a little cold; maybe winter was coming. A rotation of slides featured Dragonstone, Old Town, Winterfell, The Sept (before the wildfire), and other locales developed by producers David Benioff and DB Weiss. The amplified speakers droned an ominously disturbing symphonic ambiance that was void of melody or cadence. 

The house lights dimmed. It was time. The stage was bathed in blood red light except for the iron throne in the midst of the empty orchestra seats, which was the target of a beam of light as blue as the glint off Valyrian steel in “stark” contrast to the red. Unlike the shows that hide the orchestra in the “pit”, this show revered the musicians as the protagonists as they staked claim to center stage. Yes, they were supposed to be the stars of the show, but the inanimate giant screen still upstaged them and it’s almost sad to admit that our collective eyes would be spending more time focused on the GOT scenes than on the live “band” that was breathing life into the video. That screen was now engulfed with the face of Drogon, the alpha male of Danery’s three dragons (or could it have been Viserion, they’re hard to tell apart sometimes). Fireflies of brimstone danced around his menacing stare as the musicians took their seats and tested their instruments.

Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience
Photographer:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

Finally the undeniable voice of Queen Cersei (actress Lena Heady) filled the room with the ground rules for the show:

“Lords and ladies, eh, peasants, thank you for joining us tonight. I know some of you have come a long way to see your queen and your obedience touches me deeply. (pause) Silence your phones. Those who violate these rules will be boiled alive in the blood of their children. I do hope you enjoy the show and if you should see me afterwards do not approach. I find contact with my subjects extremely distasteful.”

And so it began. This show kicked off with the theme song that kicks off every episode HBO series. It’s less than two minutes long and affectionately known as “Main Title,” but it is the melody that everyone could hum along to. We were warned that there would obviously be spoilers ahead and I’ll relay that sentiment that there may be spoilers coming up in this article.  Though I doubt you would have read this far if you didn’t already know that Ned Stark didn’t make it past season one. Sobie polled the audience to ask who has never seen an episode of the show and there were dozens in the audience that responded. They would be treated to a first class “Cliff Notes” introduction to the entire show.

It was obvious that the majority of the audience were on the other extreme, hadn’t missed an episode of the show, and had probably read all of the books and watched all of the behind-the-scenes footage they could find on YouTube. As the orchestra played through a medley of the house themes, there were varying intensities of cheers as the sigils on each banner crossed the screen. The montage of each house was edited to seemingly reveal all of the characters from the entire series.

Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience
Photographer:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

The musicians on stage were comprised of a team of seven soloists who were part of the touring cast and the rest of the orchestra and choir seats were filled by local talent in each city of the tour. There were about three dozen Phoenicians in the orchestra and fifteen in the choir. The cello that is dominantly featured throughout Djawadi’s scores was played by Cameron Stone who dressed for the part in a sleeveless robe revealing pauldron armor and a necklace reminiscent of a maester’s chain.

Cameron Stone (Cellist) with orchestra & choir,
Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience
Photographer:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

Rock shows often feature dueling virtuoso guitarists and this experience mirrored that element with Stone on cello and his counterpart, Molly Rogers, on violin. Rogers has played with many of the top names in the music business and rose to prominence in this show suspended on wires several stories high above the stage while playing the gentle melody of “Goodbye Brother”. The video screen played season one scenes of Winterfell while Roger’s dress extended from stage to proscenium in the guise of a weirwood tree with red leaves snowing from the gridiron.

Molly Rogers (Violinist) with orchestra & choir,
Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience
Photographer:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

The next soloists to be featured were the percussion team of Alan Mark Lightner and Davey Chegwidden. While the cello cried out a phrygian melody, a scale that the ancient Egyptians may have borrowed from the Dothraki, Lightner and Chegwidden provided the cadence on taiko and djembe for “Love In The Eyes.” Lightner was spotlighted later too as he played the hammer dulcimer for the theme dedicated to Arya Stark, “Needle.”

Nayanna Holley (Vocalist) with orchestra,
Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience
Photographer:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

Vocalist Nayanna Holley earned her spot on center stage from a diverse resume of performances on tours and television (see her link below). Dressed in a flowing red gown, Holley delivered the second famous song of the series entitled “The Rains of Castamere,” accompanied by Hsin Huang on keys.  The lyrics for this song were actually written by Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin in the book A Storm of Swords and then Djawadi later set it to a haunting melody in the key of D minor.

And who, are you, the proud Lord said,
That I must bow so low?
Only a cat of a different coat,
That’s all the truth I know.
In a coat of gold or a coat of red,
A lion still has claws,
And mine are long and sharp, my lord,
As long and sharp as yours.
And so he spoke and so he spoke.
That lord of Castamere,
But now the rains weep o’er his hall,
With no one there to hear. 
Yes now the rains weep o’er his hall,
And not a soul to hear.

The song packs an emotional impact to fans of the show who remember hearing the song sprinkled throughout the series, most notable at the Red Wedding. This was arguably one of the most shocking scenes of the series and we went back in time to relive it again while the orchestra intensified the already intense scenes with “The Lanisters Send Their Regards.”

Michael Sobie (Conductor), Nayanna Holley (Vocalist) with orchestra & choir,
Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience
Photographer:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

Shifting from Westeros to Essos, we left the Lanister-Stark rift and rejoined the Daenerys Targaryens story arc for the songs “Dracarys” and “Mhysa.” The audience revealed their love of the character and Emilia Clarke, the actress who played her, as she gave the command “Dracarys” that gave Drogo the permission to burn slaver Kraznys mo Nakloz to a crisp. This song was the heavy metal segment of the setlist and the distortion on the cello sounded like a mix between a Les Paul through a Marshall stack and the spine-chilling roar of a dragon.  Pyrotechnic flame cannons erupted on stage. Exciting!

Act one continued with John Snow dying and being resurrected, the Battle of the Bastards, and then wrapped up with the first song of the series to feature piano, “The Light of the Seven.” Conductor Michael Sobie proved his skills as a pianist which is his main task when Djawadi is conducting. The video played out the entire scene of Cersei’s trial that never comes to pass. The quiet piano passages evolved into organ chord progressions inspired by the horror of The Phantom of the Opera while the Phoenix choir was voicing chilling Gregorian chants…I guess they’re actually Valyrian chants. The act ends with the green wildfire imploding the Sept and the stage filled with smoke cannons immersed in lime green illumination.

Choir, Michael Sobie (Conductor), orchestra,
Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience
Photographer:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

Even for those who had seen the previous tours, Act Two was new. It was all carved from the episodes of season eight. There was a lot of controversy about how the series wrapped up in the final season, but there was no controversy regarding the music that was unanimously praised. The songs culled up the scenes of the reunions at Winterfell, battles on the Narrow Sea, live dragons above the clouds and undead dragons below the ice, Arya’s dagger plunge to end the war, and of course the unbridled rage of another mad Targaryan.

Djawadi captured the spirit and the tempo of this myriad of emotions in the confines of the same twelve notes used by his childhood hero Elmer Bernstein. In an HBO behind the scenes featurette, Djawadi shows the humble beginnings of this larger than life music forming in his relatively small studio. He shares his process of finding the right tones and instruments, recording them in the computer until the filming is locked, and then, he says, “I go in and record it with real musicians and I feel that’s the most rewarding thing. I still get goosebumps when I hear them play the music.”  So did we.

Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience
Photographer:
Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

One highlight for the second act was yet another song for which George R.R. Martin started the lyrics in the book A Storm of Swords, called “Jenny of Oldstones.” The song was featured on the series as Podrick Payne sang it before the massive “dark” battle and Florence and the Machine version sounded in the closing credits. The thirteen song set ended with a reprise of the main theme and the soloists lining up at the front of the stage for a final bow. As all of the musicians ghosted off the stage, the screen once again grabbed everyone’s attention and played a slide show of all of the major and minor characters from the Game of Thrones series. Finally the epic night of music and visual stimulation moved on to become additional audio-visions that will ever enhance our memories of A Song of Ice and Fire.

Photo Gallery

Photographer: Rodrigo Izquierdo

Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience – Comerica Theatre 10-1-19

Cast for the Evening

  • Michael Sobie – Conductor, Piano
  • Nayanna Holley – Vocals
  • Cameron Stone – Cello
  • Molly Rogers – Violin
  • Alan Mark Lightner – Percussion
  • Davey Chegwidden – Percussion
  • Hsin Huang – Keyboards
  • Plus the touring cast was supported by the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra

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2019 North American Tour Dates

  • 9/6 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
  • 9/8 – Chicago, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheater
  • 9/10 – Boston, MA – Xfinity Center
  • 9/12 – Philadelphia, PA – The Mann
  • 9/14 – New York, NY* – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater*
  • 9/15 – Washington, DC – Jiffy Lube Live
  • 9/20 – Jacksonville, FL – Daily’s Place
  • 9/21 – West Palm Beach, FL – Coral Sky Amphitheater
  • 9/22 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
  • 9/24 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
  • 9/26 – Dallas, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
  • 9/27 – Houston, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
  • 9/30 – Santa Fe, NM* – Santa Fe Opera
  • 10/1 – Phoenix, AZ – Comerica Theatre
  • 10/3 – San Francisco, CA – Shoreline Amphitheater
  • 10/4 – Irvine, CA* – FivePoint Amphitheater
  • 10/5 – Los Angeles, CA* – Hollywood Bowl
  • * indicates shows where Ramin Djawadi will join the traveling cast

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Photography © Reagle Photography
All Rights Reserved