America Rocks Tour 2012 -- Live Review
Monday, June 18, 2012 at 12:02AM Reader and regular commenter "Him" shot me an email, offering up this awesome review of the first night of the America Rocks Tour. This review is amazing and I think you will agree. Many thanks to Him for thinking of us and sharing his thoughts on the tour. -- Allyson
America Rocks Tour 2012, June 15, 2012, Avalon Nightclub, Santa Clara, Calif.
The first stop of the America Rocks Tour 2012—featuring Lillian Axe, Pretty Boy Floyd, Bulletboys, Faster Pussycat, and Jack Russell’s Great White—rolled into Santa Clara on Friday night. If this show was any indication of what fans can expect for $25, there are reasons to be pleased . . . and worried.
The brutal truth is that all of these bands are now anchored by one member from their glory days. The less disconcerting fact is that several of the bands demonstrated an ability to provide a tight ride down memory lane. The reality is that Friday’s show was a rough introduction of the tour to the fans, filled with technical problems, prima donna behavior, and signs that several of these bands don’t get along all that well.
The doors opened at 8:00. By the time we arrived at a little past 8:30, Lillian Axe was already well into their set and only a couple of songs away from closing with “Show A Little Love,” one of the bands more well-known songs. Original member Steven Blaze looked every bit the metal elder while shredding away on guitar and relatively new singer Brian Jones capably handled vocal duties.
After a twenty minute break, Pretty Boy Floyd—featuring original member Steve Summers on vocals—took to the stage with an initially energetic version of “Leather Boys with Electric Toys.” But things quickly took a turn towards the confusing. Whether it was problems with the amps, or the drums, or the band, the set ended . . . before the first song was finished. No explanation. No return to the stage. Nothing.
Another short break followed. Then things took a turn for the better. The Bulletboys, featuring Marq Torien, launched into the second best set of the evening. Say what you will about Torien’s purported personality issues, the New Year’s Eve reunion show, or the hired hands that now fill out the rest of the band. The fact remains that Torien is a showman and his mates knows how to hit their marks. He prances and dances around like he is playing to thousands even when there are barely a few hundred in front of him. Fans got a sleazy “Hard as a Rock,” a spirited romp through the O’Jays’ “For the Love of Money,” and a suitably over-the-top set ending “Smooth Up in Ya’.” In contrast with Floyd, a technical glitch with one of the amps didn’t stop Torien. He segued into an impromptu solo song and then right back into the set. With theatrical guitar playing and a decent set of pipes, Torien proved he isn’t just going through the motions. The fans reciprocated the energy, acting like they were also part of a far larger crowd at a much larger venue.
A slightly longer break occurred. Then Faster Pussycat, featuring original member Taime Downe, took the stage. Downe--dressed in black, assuming a persona both aloof and raunchy--hit most of the songs fans wanted: "Bathroom Wall," "Slip of the Tongue," "House of Pain," and so on. And it was the best set of the evening. With a tight backing band anchored by the propulsive drumming of Chad Stewart and bassist Danny Nordahl, Downe avoided the flights of rage or techno that marred earlier revamped versions of the band. He even yielded the stage to Nordahl, who led the rest of the crew in an animated cover of the Supersucker’s “Pretty ****** Up.” Granted, this isn’t the Pussycat of old or even the one that Muscat trucked out several years ago. This is Downe’s baby. And he proved that Pussycat are still, at base, a punk/glam/50s monster capable of delivering fans a set to be remembered. The concert seemed to be hitting its stride, with two great sets in a row and high expectations for the headlining act.
Then there was a wait. And still more of a wait. Then, wait for it, more waiting. After nearly an hour, Jack Russell’s Great White took the stage. From the start it was clear that this wasn’t going to be a set to remember. Russell’s pipes sounded decent when you could hear them. He even kept the crowd singing to a minimum (when compared to some of his peers). But he was placed way too low in the mix for the majority of the set. This led him to engage in a back and forth (and occasionally angry) routine with the sound guy, cutting out of songs to go get the level adjusted. It was also coupled with several long parts where fans were treated to his backing band playing and singing without him. Don’t get me wrong. Guitarist Matthew Johnson is amazing to watch, letting his playing do the talking whereas fellow guitarist Robby Lochner seems more intent to get the crowd going with flash and facial contortions. But fans aren't there to see the backing band no matter how gifted or flashy they might be. They are there to see Russell. Which leads me to bassist Dario Seixas. Coming from the Rudy Sarzo school of playing, Seixas caresses, throws, swings, and toys with his bass almost as much as he actually plays it! He also does something that has popped up in previous clips of the band online: he takes pictures and texts with his phone in the middle of the set. For the life of me, I can’t understand why he does it or why he has been allowed to do it. It is a distraction and, in my opinion, unprofessional.
During one of Seixas’ rounds of texting, members of the Bulletboys and Faster Pussycat were standing in front of me. They were openly mocking the band, even going so far as to take a picture of the texting which they then passed around to each other, laughing. This wasn’t off to the side of the stage, and there weren’t that many people crowding the stage (at best, the crowd was a very light three deep during any of the sets and never more than a few hundred in total). So they were out in the open and clearly none too worried about how their behavior would be interpreted. And to be quite honest: why should they be worried? Their bands pulled off headlining sets as opening acts. It might be as unclassy as Seixas’ behavior. But their bands left the audience wanting more. By the end of Russell’s set, and at nearly 2:00 in the morning, not even “Rock Me” managed to get its customary reaction from the crowd that had stayed to watch.
In terms of value, the America Rocks Tour 2012 makes sense in theory. With some of the technical kinks resolved, it might also work in practice. But there are clear signs that some of the bands still think it is the 80s, others haven’t yet hit their stride, and still others see this as a paycheck. With the tour having only just begun, these are troubling signs indeed. I hate to say it: caveat emptor.
Reader Comments (47)
I will ruin it for y'all in an hour or two when I come back from the store to get eyeliner, hahaha!!! BTW, just so everyone knows, the only time I've ever worn eyeliner in my entire life was when I marched in The Annual Halloween Parade in New Yok City in 1990 dressed as Nikki Sixx.
Man, ya shoulda seen all the hot blondes (mostly dressed as either dominatrix, prostitutes or nurses or a combination of the latter two) my brunette girlfriend (dressed as the chick from RATT's "Round And Round" video) had to fend offa me at Scrap Bar after the parade. and my chick had to apply my eyeliner because I'm clueless about any of that sh*t.
Cool detail -- she knew someone with a Thunderbird bass so I could walk around with a good prop that night, which freaked me out cuz I was worried either someone was gonna steal it or I was gonna leave it somewhere!
They did use their soundguys for a few of the sets. It sounded good in the front of house, but I don't think a couple of the bands got the best they could have via the monitors. Shit happens and we got things on track with in a few minutes and the bands really didn't miss a beat. We got some fans a cooled the equipment down. By the time Jack got on things were running smooth.
***Lillian Axe...WHOA surprised a LOT of people that weren't familiar. Steve Blaze krushed and the singer did a kick ass job.
**Pretty Boy Floyd was ON FIRE! The crowd was way into them. They're playing tonight at our place again (NO cover charge tonight!). I brought them back out for a final song.
**BulletBoys rocked. You could tell that Marq was focused and as usual gave 100%. HE didn't take the hiccups well though LOL. They went into a blues jam while we took care of his vocal input. That mic he uses is one I tried to use before. It looks cool, but runs so hot. That being said you have to pull down the monitors more to keep the feed back at bay. He wasn't happy, but the crowd LOVED em. Probably would have helped if the BB's and Lillian got there on time, but the trailer on the back of the bus blew a tire. They got to the club about an hour before hitting the stage. So we didn't get to check their equipment and probably could have made sure the vocal mic was set to where it needed.
**Faster Pussycat-from all of the comments I read on my page just absolutely KILLED. Their set was packed with the hits and tunes everyone came to hear. Taime looked and sounded amazing. Looked the "Glory Hole" era FP of course, but sounded and played em like the late 80's recordings...
**Jack Russell's Great White-what can be said. The vocals were spot on. His guy had him mixed a little low and you could see Jack wasn't getting the monitor feed he needed. To me, he sounded like he was never gone. Vocals weren't weak in the least. His band was pretty tight and hit those songs note for note.
They ALL went out and met the fans. They were extremely gracious and sincere with anyone that approached. There wasn't a sign of any ego bullshit as The Insider said. I would say on a scale of 1 to 10, the fans would give it a 9, and the bands would probably have put the experience at a 9 as well. A 10 is a fluke for anyone to get. I doubt anyband would give an overall perfect score to any gig, they always think it should have been better and THAT isn't a bad thing.
Good to see MetalBoy! back and anyone get that dildo out of The Insider so he can type back? LMAO
PS: And I know that Pittsburgh feeling having lived there for a few years awhile back. Nothing a Yuengling or an 'Arn City couldn't cure!
PBF came out and played a pretty short set, maybe 2/3 of LBWET and that was it, but all of the sets were pretty short, 30 minutes at most it seemed. The crowd dug them and they looked like they were having a good time. I've always been a fan so it was fun to see them again.
Bulletboys did well enough. I agree with the one review earlier. They walked onto the stage and started playing while most people were still hit the bathroom or getting more drinks. Marq did a great job though.
FP was terrific, it seemed they slowed down a couple of the songs slighly for more of a groove, like Cathouse (or Whorehouse as it was) and Slip of the Tongue. I would like to see them do a headline set to get into the catalogue a bit more. Bathroom Wall is always fun, what an awesome song.
Great White, I don't know. Some of the people on here seemed to think they are doing a good job. I headed home about midway through the set. The mic was not on for the whole first song, I felt back for Jack about that. The band looks like what it is, Jack and bunch of hired hands. They played well enough, but none of the bluesy feel of Great White is there. They seemed like a cover band with the real lead singer. Jack sounded ok, but nothing like himself. Time and his health issues have definitely taken a tool unfortunately.
I didn't see any of the between band issues in Columbus. A lot of the bands came out and hung with the fans for a while. Oh, and man, did they switch sets fast, maybe 15 minutes in between each band. It helped they were all using the same drumkit. For $25, it was quite a deal, I can't complain one bit.
Definitely recommend going for anyone that may be on the fence.
PBF started with their best known song, LBWET; a cheesy song for sure, but one man's cheese is another man's brie. Plus, who doesn't enjoy ooey, gooey cheese dripping off of a nice slice of Brooklyn Pizza. The momentum kept building and sweat kept dripping as they kept playng their songs as though they wanted to show us who was in charge and who was going to lead this fight. Their setlist included (not in this order): R$R/Fire, 48 hours, R&R outlaws, Your mama won't know, Good Girl gone bad and I wanna be with you (the last 3 are personal favorites for quite a few reasons), but unfortunately, their set was pretty short and they left out a few hidden gems including Summer Luve.
But Steve owned the stage like the qunitessentail rock star he has always aspired to be and still trying to attain. He cajoled, danced, swayed, channeled Elvis Presley with some pelvic thrusts and even jumped into the audience to have a group sing-a-long with the crowd of fans huddled against the stage barrier. In all of Steve's glam glory, it would not have been possible to produce this show without the help of his very entertaining and quite competent band. As I often say, "you're only as good as those around you." [which, btw, when I say that line, I am usually thinking of David Lee Roth post Van Halen. Sure, he had great musicians in his fold, but he didn't have Van Halen in his fold].
When Kristy Majors first walked onto the stage, it was prior to PBF start time. He simply and humbly went to his guitar and started to tune it in a hum-drum, going-through-the motions sort of way. I thought briefly that there might be some trouble in paradise, but a few minutes later when the show started, Kristy attacked that guitar as though he was channelling a combined mix of Randy Rhoades, CC Deville and the legendary Frank Zappa. (yes, I know CC is not deceased, but when do I play by the traditional rules?)
Kristy kept the rythem, the tempo and went into wild fever-driven solos when needed or when he just wanted to say, "I'm Mr Kristy Krash Majors MF, who the hell are you! Ah rock-n-roll attitude at it's cheese-metal finest.
After the set, The band thanked the audience profusely and told us to meet them over at the merchandise counter for autograpohs and pictures. This is when things got really interesting...
I waited my turn and then got some face time with Steve Summers. I told him that I loved the show and that I will blog about it on BBG.com. He thought I was the original reviewer to this thread (aka "HIM"). I told him that I wasn't "HIM" and said that he probably "knows" me by my alias. Steve asked me what moniker I use on BBG and (being in a jokey mood), I said, "I post under the title Metalboy!
Some guy standing next to me turned and said, "NO WAY...YOU'RE METALBOY???" Then we got into a brief wayne and garth exchange:
"Way"...I said
Noooo...he said
Yeeeesss...I said
Nah, uh...He said
Yep, uh huh...I said
Then, I said to this guy and to Steve, "No, I am not Metalboy, but I do know her. I post under the name "fletch". This guy then lured me in to another wayne and garth exchange..."No way, you're fletch?" "Yes, I'm fletch". No way!!! and so our intelligent conversation continued...
In any event, Steve had better things to do and needed to sign more autographs and take more pictures, so he reached over the counter to shake my hand and stated genuinely, "I don't care what name you use, thanks for coming to the show and supporting our band. Rock on!" A quick handshake and a flash of the devil horns and I moved on to the bar awaiting the next band. meanwhile, "garth" still wanted me to prove myself, so I told him to read this blog on Monday. here you are...proof positive. It was me..."in the fletch". (hardy har har)
Overall, it was a good night enjoyed by most. I reccomend seeing this show for PBF and staying for the others. You won't be disappointed.
Coming soon (possibly) a few words for Jack Russell, but I want to run it by some people first.