Reminds me of at Masters Of Death last year, I was leaving the bathroom and the door was closing in front of somebody and I held it for them and they said "Thanks!"
I double-take and realize it was the singer of Warbringer.
TUPAC IS DEAD/THE LEGEND IS GONE/THEY SAYIN TUPAC'S BACK?/DEM NIGGAS WRONG
Yeah, that night my friend and me hung out with him for the whole night pretty much. After they played I took my profile pic with him.
It was awesome because since the Pearl Room closed, they switched the show to this tiny ass club (not a venue, an actual fucking club. with a bar and pool tables, the show area was carpeted) with no backstage, so the bands just walked around and hung out with everybody (aside from Vader, who I assume was at the bar lol.)
TUPAC IS DEAD/THE LEGEND IS GONE/THEY SAYIN TUPAC'S BACK?/DEM NIGGAS WRONG
Thats sick Brian i didnt even realize what your profile pic was.
Thats how this venue in Denver, The Gothic, is. There IS a backstage, but every time ive seen a show there ive met one or more of the bands just walking around/at the bar.
6-27-10 - DTE Energy Music Theatre - Clarkston, MI - Foreigner, Styx, and Kansas
I underestimated the turnout for this show. When I bought my tickets for this a few weeks ago, it looked like there were a lot of seats available. However, as soon as I hit bumper to bumper traffic about a mile from the venue, I knew the crowd was going to be bigger than I expected. As a result, what should have been a 20 minute trip turned into a 45 minute one as I arrived right at 7 pm, the time listed on the ticket. As we approached the venue, we could hear the first band start to play....
Kansas - Admittedly, I don't know this band nearly as well as do the other two. However, Kansas has enough staples in the essential classic rock catalog for me to feel like I needed to see them at least once. And this feeling was confirmed by their live performance. Nothing spectacular, but the band sounded very tight musically and played their instruments very well. It was pretty cool to see a violin implemented into classic rock so well, such as in the opener Point of Know Return. Rich Williams, the first one-eyed guitarist I've seen live so far, was stellar and nailed every part of their well-known closer, Carry On Wayward Son. Not much to offer in the way of stage presence, and Steve Walsh's vocals were borderline annoying at points, which diminished the quality of Fight Fire With Fire, but overall, I wouldn't mind seeing them again with a longer set. 8/10
Setlist:
Point Of Know Return Miracles Out Of Nowhere Hold On Dust in the Wind Icarus - Borne on the Wings of Steel Portrait (He Knew) Fight Fire with Fire Carry On Wayward Son
Styx - Just as impressive the second time as they were the first time two years ago, when they opened for Def Leppard and REO Speedwagon. From the very beginning, Styx displayed a great deal of energy and stage presence that Kansas lacked, opening with a medley that included Mr. Roboto. While I had hoped they would play that particular song in full, it was a pretty cool way to start their set. Lawrence Gowan, the keyboardist and lead vocalist, as well as the replacement for Dennis DeYoung, is definitely one of the best live keyboardists I've seen so far. While that doesn't say a whole lot, because I haven't seen many bands with prolific keyboardists yet, Gowan is the whole package, with great energy and a great voice to match his skill on keyboard. He sounds identical to DeYoung, most evidently on songs like Lady and, of course, Come Sail Away. Tommy Shaw, still with the band, still has the pipes to lead the band through classics such as Renegade and Too Much Time On My Hands. Even James Young lent his voice during this set in the performance of the lesser known hit Miss America. Together, the band sounds as tight as ever on their vocal harmonies. Age seems to have done nothing to affect their range either, which is impressive. As for the setlist, it was about double the length of the set they played when I saw them last time. It consisted of pretty much all their hits, minus The Best of Times, which wasn't much of a loss in my eyes. I was pretty happy to hear Lorelei and Suite Madame Blue, two of my favorite Styx songs that don't get as much attention as their bigger hits. They also managed to throw a pretty nice cover in the middle as well. Overall, another stellar performance from the classic rockers from Chicago. 9/10
Setlist:
Borrowed Time / Superstars / Mr. Roboto / Rockin' The Paradise / Pieces of Eight The Grand Illusion Too Much Time On My Hands Lady Lorelei High Enough (Damn Yankees cover) Suite Madame Blue Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man) Miss America Come Sail Away ----------------------------------------- Blue Collar Man (Long Nights) Renegade
Foreigner - The band I had been waiting for a long time to see, and they didn't disappoint. Just like Styx, they brought a great stage presence right from the start, especially Mick Jones, the lead guitar player, and Kelly Hansen, the vocalist. Hansen is another example of a singer whose voice sounds exactly like that of the man he replaced, in this case Lou Gramm. He had absolutely no trouble in singing every pitch correctly, which was especially impressive near the end of Juke Box Hero, the last song of the night, where he had to stretch his range a bit to hit the high notes. The main star of the band, however, was Mick Jones, the only original member still present. Many of the 12 songs Foreigner performed were extended by Mick performing a solo or the band jamming for a couple minutes. Either way, his sound was always at the front and very clear, even from the distance I was viewing the show. Not only did he play guitar, but also keyboard on I Want To Know Where Love Is and he took lead vocals on the Foreigner classic Starrider, an unusual sight for those casual fans who just know the hits. The diversity of the band's musicians didn't stop with Mick, however; Starrider also featured a prominent flute part by backing guitarist Thom Gimbel. Gimbel would also star again later in my favorite song of the night, when he played the saxophone solo in Urgent to perfection and continued on an extended solo that showcased some incredible range on the horn. That alone was enough to make their set for me. The band even brought up a local high school choir to help sing I Want To Know Where Love Is (Even though I couldn't hear them from where I was standing..). As for the set, it was the same length as that of Styx, with 9 of the 12 songs being hits and 2 others being completely new. Not surprisingly, the energy in the building definitely dropped when they brought out the new tunes, which is a shame, because they both sound like typical Foreigner hits that could become crowd pleasers in the future. Starrider definitely didn't get as much reception as it should have, either, but it was one of the best songs of the night and a treat for anyone more than a casual Foreigner fan. Combine all this with a modest but effective light show, mostly featuring a video screen in the background, and you have a great performance from one of classic rock's best bands. 9/10
Setlist:
Double Vision Head Games Cold as Ice Can't Slow Down Dirty White Boy In Pieces Starrider Feels Like the First Time Urgent I Want To Know What Love Is Hot Blooded ------------------------- Juke Box Hero
Overall, probably the best classic rock lineup I'll ever get to see. An awesome value and I would love to see all three of these bands again.
can i be the one to say 'no dennis de young=no sale when it comes to seeing Styx live? They did a club date at rams head a few months ago, but i didn't go for that reason
Styx is decent without Dennis DeYoung...Tommy Shaw and Lawrence Gowan handle the vocals nicely....but Foreigner is a big meh...one original member. They still sound decent...but most of the "band" has only been playing in Foreigner for like five years, so its more like Mick Jones and his solo band doing Foreigner tunes.
"Styx is decent without Dennis DeYoung...Tommy Shaw and Lawrence Gowan handle the vocals nicely....but Foreigner is a big meh...one original member. They still sound decent...but most of the "band" has only been playing in Foreigner for like five years, so its more like Mick Jones and his solo band doing Foreigner tunes."
True. However, Mick Jones has been the chief songwriter for the band ever since he created it. Foreigner has always been his band, always will be. It's like Dave Mustaine and Megadeth. No one will replace Lou Gramm in his prime, but he hasn't been the same vocalist in years...and Kelly Hansen is no slouch by any means. He sings more than well enough to cover all of Gramm's parts.
This show was waaaaay better than i expected. First of all, summerfest was running a promotion for $2 admission before 6:30 PM, and i had a free ticket, so me and my friend split the price of 1 ticket so we both got in for $1. Walked around summerfest for a few hours then went over to the stage and got a spot in the second row (but we were able to stand on the first row of bleachers so we had an amazing view. None of the support was anything special, just local rap. When cypress hill finally came out at 10 PM the place was fucking packed. They opened with get em up, which was an awesome opener. Im not really familiar with their songs, but i know they played insane in the brain, hits from the bong, and Dr, Greenthumb. It was pretty cool, there was a cloud of smoke coming up from the crowd, ive never seen that many people getting high at a show in my life. Seriously 99% of people were smoking. Overall it was an awesome show, and way better than i expected.
Comments
Yeah, it was weird...
I double-take and realize it was the singer of Warbringer.
It was awesome because since the Pearl Room closed, they switched the show to this tiny ass club (not a venue, an actual fucking club. with a bar and pool tables, the show area was carpeted) with no backstage, so the bands just walked around and hung out with everybody (aside from Vader, who I assume was at the bar lol.)
Thats how this venue in Denver, The Gothic, is. There IS a backstage, but every time ive seen a show there ive met one or more of the bands just walking around/at the bar.
also i saw all of Vader in the bar. happened to run across Piotr while he was on his way to the bar
I underestimated the turnout for this show. When I bought my tickets for this a few weeks ago, it looked like there were a lot of seats available. However, as soon as I hit bumper to bumper traffic about a mile from the venue, I knew the crowd was going to be bigger than I expected. As a result, what should have been a 20 minute trip turned into a 45 minute one as I arrived right at 7 pm, the time listed on the ticket. As we approached the venue, we could hear the first band start to play....
Kansas - Admittedly, I don't know this band nearly as well as do the other two. However, Kansas has enough staples in the essential classic rock catalog for me to feel like I needed to see them at least once. And this feeling was confirmed by their live performance. Nothing spectacular, but the band sounded very tight musically and played their instruments very well. It was pretty cool to see a violin implemented into classic rock so well, such as in the opener Point of Know Return. Rich Williams, the first one-eyed guitarist I've seen live so far, was stellar and nailed every part of their well-known closer, Carry On Wayward Son. Not much to offer in the way of stage presence, and Steve Walsh's vocals were borderline annoying at points, which diminished the quality of Fight Fire With Fire, but overall, I wouldn't mind seeing them again with a longer set. 8/10
Setlist:
Point Of Know Return
Miracles Out Of Nowhere
Hold On
Dust in the Wind
Icarus - Borne on the Wings of Steel
Portrait (He Knew)
Fight Fire with Fire
Carry On Wayward Son
Styx - Just as impressive the second time as they were the first time two years ago, when they opened for Def Leppard and REO Speedwagon. From the very beginning, Styx displayed a great deal of energy and stage presence that Kansas lacked, opening with a medley that included Mr. Roboto. While I had hoped they would play that particular song in full, it was a pretty cool way to start their set. Lawrence Gowan, the keyboardist and lead vocalist, as well as the replacement for Dennis DeYoung, is definitely one of the best live keyboardists I've seen so far. While that doesn't say a whole lot, because I haven't seen many bands with prolific keyboardists yet, Gowan is the whole package, with great energy and a great voice to match his skill on keyboard. He sounds identical to DeYoung, most evidently on songs like Lady and, of course, Come Sail Away. Tommy Shaw, still with the band, still has the pipes to lead the band through classics such as Renegade and Too Much Time On My Hands. Even James Young lent his voice during this set in the performance of the lesser known hit Miss America. Together, the band sounds as tight as ever on their vocal harmonies. Age seems to have done nothing to affect their range either, which is impressive. As for the setlist, it was about double the length of the set they played when I saw them last time. It consisted of pretty much all their hits, minus The Best of Times, which wasn't much of a loss in my eyes. I was pretty happy to hear Lorelei and Suite Madame Blue, two of my favorite Styx songs that don't get as much attention as their bigger hits. They also managed to throw a pretty nice cover in the middle as well. Overall, another stellar performance from the classic rockers from Chicago. 9/10
Setlist:
Borrowed Time / Superstars / Mr. Roboto / Rockin' The Paradise / Pieces of Eight
The Grand Illusion
Too Much Time On My Hands
Lady
Lorelei
High Enough (Damn Yankees cover)
Suite Madame Blue
Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)
Miss America
Come Sail Away
-----------------------------------------
Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)
Renegade
Foreigner - The band I had been waiting for a long time to see, and they didn't disappoint. Just like Styx, they brought a great stage presence right from the start, especially Mick Jones, the lead guitar player, and Kelly Hansen, the vocalist. Hansen is another example of a singer whose voice sounds exactly like that of the man he replaced, in this case Lou Gramm. He had absolutely no trouble in singing every pitch correctly, which was especially impressive near the end of Juke Box Hero, the last song of the night, where he had to stretch his range a bit to hit the high notes. The main star of the band, however, was Mick Jones, the only original member still present. Many of the 12 songs Foreigner performed were extended by Mick performing a solo or the band jamming for a couple minutes. Either way, his sound was always at the front and very clear, even from the distance I was viewing the show. Not only did he play guitar, but also keyboard on I Want To Know Where Love Is and he took lead vocals on the Foreigner classic Starrider, an unusual sight for those casual fans who just know the hits. The diversity of the band's musicians didn't stop with Mick, however; Starrider also featured a prominent flute part by backing guitarist Thom Gimbel. Gimbel would also star again later in my favorite song of the night, when he played the saxophone solo in Urgent to perfection and continued on an extended solo that showcased some incredible range on the horn. That alone was enough to make their set for me. The band even brought up a local high school choir to help sing I Want To Know Where Love Is (Even though I couldn't hear them from where I was standing..). As for the set, it was the same length as that of Styx, with 9 of the 12 songs being hits and 2 others being completely new. Not surprisingly, the energy in the building definitely dropped when they brought out the new tunes, which is a shame, because they both sound like typical Foreigner hits that could become crowd pleasers in the future. Starrider definitely didn't get as much reception as it should have, either, but it was one of the best songs of the night and a treat for anyone more than a casual Foreigner fan. Combine all this with a modest but effective light show, mostly featuring a video screen in the background, and you have a great performance from one of classic rock's best bands. 9/10
Setlist:
Double Vision
Head Games
Cold as Ice
Can't Slow Down
Dirty White Boy
In Pieces
Starrider
Feels Like the First Time
Urgent
I Want To Know What Love Is
Hot Blooded
-------------------------
Juke Box Hero
Overall, probably the best classic rock lineup I'll ever get to see. An awesome value and I would love to see all three of these bands again.
Lol you just now noticed?
True. However, Mick Jones has been the chief songwriter for the band ever since he created it. Foreigner has always been his band, always will be. It's like Dave Mustaine and Megadeth. No one will replace Lou Gramm in his prime, but he hasn't been the same vocalist in years...and Kelly Hansen is no slouch by any means. He sings more than well enough to cover all of Gramm's parts.
This show was waaaaay better than i expected. First of all, summerfest was running a promotion for $2 admission before 6:30 PM, and i had a free ticket, so me and my friend split the price of 1 ticket so we both got in for $1. Walked around summerfest for a few hours then went over to the stage and got a spot in the second row (but we were able to stand on the first row of bleachers so we had an amazing view. None of the support was anything special, just local rap. When cypress hill finally came out at 10 PM the place was fucking packed. They opened with get em up, which was an awesome opener. Im not really familiar with their songs, but i know they played insane in the brain, hits from the bong, and Dr, Greenthumb. It was pretty cool, there was a cloud of smoke coming up from the crowd, ive never seen that many people getting high at a show in my life. Seriously 99% of people were smoking. Overall it was an awesome show, and way better than i expected.
9/10