by darrell p. finley
Red Voodoo, Vixen, L.A. Guns, Steelheart, Slaughter & DeMartini/Pearcy formerly of Ratt
Red Voodoo:
Red Voodoo, is a new band of young musicians out of Northern California. Let me start off with, Red Voodoo are headed in the right direction to become one of America’s top Heavy Metal/Hard Rock up and coming bands. To start of the sound guitar player has a nice crunchy metal sound I’m pretty sure he was using a charvel I might be mistaken but I think he was using active pickups at least that’s the sound that I was getting , also he is very talented his sound kind of reminds me of the early 90s metal guitar .
Andy did an amazing job with the drum lines of the songs live. The drum fills sounded amazing live!! He did a lot of great drum fills don’t get me wrong this guy was very good the only thing that I think he needs in my opinion is more volume on his kick drum . But like I said he did an awesome job. He wasn’t just back there you could tell that he was really into playing live shows.
The bass line Andrew wrote and played on this track was with his playing his volume was really equal to the guitar he really complimented the crunch of the guitar.
Last but not least by no means the lead singer this guy was there to party and have a good time. I really enjoyed his vocals ,to me he did not seem to be struggling to hit his notes he was all over the small stage that they were on .he is a true showman he interacted with the crowed and made you feel that he was there to show you a good time cant wait to hear more from him
To round this out this band is on their way to the top , got to meet them after the show and got them to sign my small 4 song CD , very nice guys and really wanted to know how I liked the show the singer is full of energy. I got to talk to the singer a little and he said they are working on there EP and the song they played will be on the cd , this reviewer can not wait . If you get a chance to see red voodoo GO there worth the money a damn good rocking show . if you like a mix of today’s metal and early 90s metal you going to like these guys. if there ep is anything like what I heard at rock the dam its going to be in my collection. this is a band to be on the lookout for this is most definitely a must get album when it comes out.
Vixen:
When it came to vixen unfortunately I was waiting in back of the stage area for the steelheart meet and greet but I did get to hear them , and as usual Roxy pertucci was kicking it 80s , she still has it and didn’t disappoint, from the back stage area I could tell that she was beating the hell out of them drums , I could also tell that the crowed was going nuts who, wouldn’t you had all these beautiful lady’s on the stage in front of you rockin’ out with the best of the guys . That guitar player Britt lightning was spot on with the late great Jan Keuhmunds classic work, from best I can remember her solos were spot on pretty much note for note, and the bass player Julia Lange also did an awesome job with Share Rosses classic playing .these two lady’s made this show their own like they were meant to have been the ones to create this music. They are terrific players in their own right. Now to Rosasa Laricchiuta I have to be truthful when I herd the band play I thought these lady’s are great they truly have vixen down to an art , but I was skeptical when it came to Rossa , I thought there is no way you’re going to be able to capture the magic that Janet Gardner brought to vixen . I must admit I was dead wrong. I was in the back stage area and I was just in awe at what I was hearing, If I didn’t know better I would have truly thought I was listening to Janet Gardner on that stage, there was just a few key points that i could tell that it wasn’t Janet , but she took me back to my teens .ROXY is truly keeping the vixen legacy and name alive and at the same time keeping JANS work alive , keep ROCKIN lady’s.
Slaughter:
By the time the third act hit the stage at rock the dam 8 (Slaughter) it was dark still steaming hot but No one cared . I wish I could remember the set list but im getting to old to remember that much but I do remember when Dana Strum hit the stage the excitement started building. After a few minutes of an instrumental Mark Slaughter hit the stage , at this point the crown from the pit to the top of the hill went nuts , I looked behind me at one point to the hill side and there was lady’s out of their seats dancing and also people at the tables dance . It was total cause in the pit, you could feel the energy, the happiness in the pit . There was people turning to each other singing along with the band at the top of their lungs and you could tell they didnt know each other just having a great time .when the band started (up all night) the place just went nuts , it reminds me of seeing the at Mesker Park Amphitheater (Evansville, In) back in the 80s the magic was still there Mark Slaughter was doing an awesome job with his vocals , towards the end of the set Mark said he was turning the mic over to Dana Strum he began by saying (for all of us rock fans what a shitty week it has been) referring to the passing of the legend the god father of heavy metal the great Ozzy Osbourne he told the story of being friends with OZZY and how he turned OZZY onto the legend Randy Rhoades , he said, “we play this song every single night we play ,your going to see the first time we’ve ever done this , we going to dedicate this very special song to our friend that took use on tour , to a friend that let me into his life and to all friend that affected every single one of you with his music” .Mr Ozzy Osbourne, the crowd went nuts .fly high to the angels was the song dedicated to OZZY .I witnessed alot of people crying grown men included , there was a man with an OZZY shirt on next to me just tore up over it , at a point in the song they slowed down Dana came back to the mic and said he wanted all the lights turned off and wanted everyone to get out there phone and light the place up with there flashlight. I turned my camera on the crowed panned around and it was beautiful , a sea of lights .at the end of the set they broke into a WHO cover (“We Won’t get Fooled Again” ) Mark leans back and just let’s out a scream that would have made Roger Daltrey proud, he walked away from the mic and the guitar player sang the song . Another awesome show thank you slaughter for a remember able night and thank you Dana Strum for honoring the late great God father of heavy metal Ozzy Osbourne, that is something that this fan and all the fans of rock the dam are proud and honored to witness.
L.A. Guns: The fourth band to hit the stage at Rock The Dam 8 was L.A. GUNS this fan has been waiting a long time to see LA GUNS . They were great by the time they came to the stage it was plum crazy in the pit , the sleeze rock kings were bringing it hard and in your face the great Tracii Guns was bringing it hard and fast , the rhythm guitar player Ace Von Johnson is also a true bad ass , this guy was having a blast on that stage he was climbing the tall monitor speakers and jumping off , at one point these crazy sounds were blasting out of the speakers Tracii Guns was at his amps and he was using a Theremin that was crazy loved it , when they did “Ballad Of Jane” the place erupted, they busted into “Sex Action” and this pretty blond came out and started do a striptess dance ( no nudity) I got noticing she looked familiar and I realized she was the one at there merch table and sold me one of the shirts . The bass player was all over the stage also they all put on a good show the drummer was kicking it hard. Phil Louis still has the voice it was amazing to see this band after all these years.
Steven Pearcy/DeMartini:
The fifth and final act of the night on the main stage was Pearcy and D. Martini performing RATT. The energy in the pit hit level 10 when this band hit the stage. To start off it was pleasure to witness the greatness of Warren D Martini a true legend on the guitar he play like he was in the 80s again. the great Carlos Cavazo of Quiet Riot was on rhythm guitar and doing an awesome job and the late Robbin Crosby’s parts Blas Elias was on drums and as usual Blas was putting on a great show , not sure who the bass player was but he did a great job the only issue i have with him is that he hardly ever moved just a couple of feet , the heat could have gotten to him pretty bad . They were there doing most of the songs from the second album ‘Invasion Of Your Privacy’, its the 40 anniversary for this album ,they also did alot of song from the other albums , “Wanted Man’ , “Back For More” and many more Steven Pearcy was doing a great job but there was a problem for some reason his vocals were lower than the band at times , someone at the sound board screwed up .the last song of the night was “Round and Round”, it was late in the night it was still miserable hot , but at the point the pit just exploded people were jumping up and down all through the song the singing in the pit was so loud you almost couldn’t hear Pearcy. The guitars were blaring the bass wathunmping and the drums were beating you brains in I swear I think they ruined the volume up on this song , you could feel the happiness and joy for the music in the pit .when the set was over I also had meet and greet pass for Pearcy , I went into the air conditioned room where Pearcy would meet with you one on one , he signed my CDs I brought , that I will keep until the day I die. I got a pic of him a Ratt tote bag and RATT laminated pass, he told me he wanted to sign everything I had. He thanked me for coming to the show and sporting the band for all these years, and I told him no thank you for being a big part of the sound track of my generation he was very nice and he truly enjoys hearing stories of how the RATT music affected your life .thank you Steven Pearcy for an awesome experience, RATT is one of those bands that have stood the test of time , rock on RATT.
