9/22/08: Great time hanging in the Twin Cities this past weekend. Hosted Warrant & Trixter at a great venue in St Paul called Myth. Really great place to see a show. Awesome sound and stage and lighting, really first class venue. Got into MN Friday afternoon and hit the Mall Of America, which if you don't know, is the biggest mall in the world. A little crazy to big to be honest, but cool to check out and the second time I was there. Very easy to actually get lost, no kidding! Then checked into the hotel right next to the venue. Lot's of rock folks hanging out and both bands were also staying there. Herricane Alice was the first band I introed. Its a new lineup with the singer as the only original member. Sounded good from the little I saw. My NJ buds Trixter were next up in what was the third show they have played since their reunion. Fun is the best way I can describe Trixter both on and off stage. The guys are obviously having a great time doing some shows again but are also realistic about how far this can go, proven by the fact that they all have other projects they continue to do. Clearly Trixter are not and never were a metal band, but they are a fun hard rock band with catchy songs. They play well and have all original members on board. They went down well and the biggest reaction was for the bands hit Give It To Me Good, which was the last song of the set. The one hour show had songs from the bands two studio albums and also featured One In A Million, Rockin Horse, Road Of A Thousand Dreams and Surrender. The toughest part for these guys in their reunion is that the success they had came so late in the 80's scene that they were not around long enough to have the same impact as other acts from the era. Hopefully the second time around will reconnect with the old crowd and get them some new fans. Great to see them as always and a blast to hang out with as always. Took me back to the days of Studio 1 in Newark when they were coming up!
Warrant headlined and were a total revelation. This was the second gig with new singer Robert Mason (also a NJ native) and I was very interested to see how they would do. Robert is a great singer I have known for many years. He was with Lynch Mob and Cry Of Love to name a few and it always amazed me nobody grabbed the guy for a major act. Well everyone else's loss is Warrant's gain. This band has never sounded better! The mood in the bands dressing room was so much more relaxed and you could sense the relief that they had having a singer they did not have to worry about on stage being sober. To say Mason nailed it would be an understatement. He looked like he had the gig forever, fronted the band perfectly, and sang like a bird hitting every note effortlessly. I have never heard Warrant sound this good. The band has a much harder edge live, and with Robert nailing it they were incredible. I've always liked some Warrant stuff but would never call myself a major fan, but this is really really good now. The set included all the hits as well as some of the heavy stuff from Dog Eat Dog like Hole In The Wall and Machine Gun. I am really looking forward to see what this band does with Robert on board. I encouraged them to do a live CD or DVD so people can hear this guy sing and how he handles this bands music. All due respect to Jani Lane. I hope he gets well and he wrote some great songs, but Mason is so much better for this band at this time. Obviously we all want the original bands whenever possible. There is a magic and chemistry often with original lineups that can never be replaced. But there are also times when a replacement member does it so well it takes things to a whole new level, and this is one of those times. I really hope people give this a chance and let's hope Jani gets the help he needs to turn his life around. I have a backstage shot coming to this site soon. Great time and I thank Warrant, Trixter, John, Tracy and ARM Entertainment, everyone at Myth, and all the listeners and viewers from the MN area for coming out. I was also interviewed by Izzy Pressley and I'll let you know when that will air on local TV. Hope to come to Myth again. Great place and a fun night.
Look forward to shooting episodes two and three of my new VH1 Classic show "That Metal Show" this Wednesday in NYC. Our premiere date for the first show on the channel is 11/15. Time TBA. Can not wait for you to see what me, Florentine & Jamieson have in store for you and to tell you about all the great guests. Please email on the home page link if you want to be in the audience for a taping.
Y&T have postponed their NYC date because it was the same night of AC/DC at MSG. It will be rescheduled. AC/DC tribute Overdose will play that night at 11:30 for a post show doing all Bon era stuff. So come by after MSG. Only $1 to get in. Speaking of AC/DC, I understand the shows are selling out very quickly and it is leading to speculation of some foul play with ticket sales. I have no idea about anything like this, but every band is doing everything they can to maximize income. The trend of VIP packages is really going to start pricing out the regular fan. Just like sports, music is going to a very dangerous place with the price of everything! Tickets, parking, shirts, beer. Not sure where it's going to end. Now with corporate sponsors, VIP packages, and deals with companies that are legal scalpers it is pricing out the regular fan and making it very hard to even buy a ticket. All I can say is if you feel you are getting a raw deal from an artist don't go! I'm NOT accusing AC/DC of anything here because I don't know the nature of their deal and tour packages. They are one of the biggest bands on the planet and this can simply be an issue of supply and demand, but in many cases it's not and it sucks that the days of having a chance to grab a decent ticket for a show is nearly impossible unless you have big cash to spend, and how many of us have that these days?
Giants 3-0!
ET
