Anarchy in the U.K. - The Story of Two Canadians at Firefest: The Final Fling (Photography by Shawn Irwin) Part 3 of 3

On this third and final day of concerts at 2014's Firefest: The Final Fling here in Nottingham, England we were still quite energized and were up and attacking the Hilton buffet once again at a reasonable hour.  Shawn, proudly sporting his newly acquired Black 'N Blue shirt, was ahead of me

Marty/Meister/Shawn ready to rock

 in the line as I noticed the gentleman ahead of him was wearing the same shirt.  He also had similar dark rimmed glasses and a shaved head. My quip of  “Hey, you two must shop at the same store!” served as the opening to meet Marty who pointed out that all three of us must use the same barber!  Turns out that this gentleman is none other than the roommate that Decibel Geek Podcast writer Derik Novak will be partnered with when he embarks on his first Monsters of Rock Cruise in 2015!  When Derik told me that he wanted to set sail I introduced him (via Facebook) to my good cruise friend Tony as I knew Tony was searching for another roommate for his cabin.  It turns out that Marty will be Derik's roomate on the ship, facilitated by Tony, awesome to randomly meet here!  The connections of my rock family never cease to astound me.

With that Shawn and I were off in search of a chocolate store, of which we’d seen many during late night wanderings but had trouble finding this morning, so that he could bring some chocolate home for his wife.  During our chocolate void stroll we happened across Geert from Belgium, a friend met on the MORC cruises.  He joined us as we searched and came across a couple of places that were not 

The scene of our coffee substitute - photo by Geert Fieuw

yet open for business on this Sunday morning.  We decided that a coffee was in order and after more aimless wandering, not finding anywhere that was overly appealing for our coffee we somehow ended up entering The Ned Ludd which was not so much of a coffee shop but a pub.  Strange to find a pub open at this hour for us Canadians.  I substituted my coffee with a beer, a local brew of some sort that was quite delicious and a fitting start to the day.  Geert enjoyed a pricey brew from Belgium while Shawn had tea as we chatted about Firefest, MORC, bands in general and Geert’s band, Beyond the Labyrinth, which I’m anxious to hear.  Parting ways we secured the precious chocolate package and dropped it off at the hotel, not wanting to carry it into Rock City of course. 

Once inside Nottingham Rock City we again made a strict beeline for the merchandise room to see what the wares of the day would include.  While there were several top choices, as there have been each day (no Pretty Maids merchandise yesterday was a disappointment, however), we both quickly settled on the personalized to Firefest Coney Hatch t-shirts.  They depicted the cover art of the 1982 debut Coney Hatch album and on the back had “Firefest 2014: The Final Fling, Rock City-Nottingham, October 26, 2014” with “Sold-Out” stamped across it at an angle.

Shawn was ready to enter the photo pit again and I told him that he would like this first band of the day for sure.  He was unfamiliar with them, but I had several of their releases and had caught a portion of their performance at Sweden Rock 2013.  I took up residence in basically the same spot that we had started every day so far, hey why break tradition?  Axxis from Germany blasted onto 

Bernhard Weiss - photo by Shawn Irwin

the stage and ripped through an awesome opener with “Kingdom of the Night II”.  Vocalist, Bernhard Weiss, immediately captivated the early crowd with his staggeringly powerful voice and the tightness of the band backed him up with vigor.  “Little War” was their next choice and I was astounded at the amazing stage presence of these guys.  Weiss paused ever so quickly to inform us that they were now faced with the challenge of giving us 25 years of Axxis in about 40 minutes, so he had to talk very fast.  This short chat was very humorous and showed the engaging charisma of Bernhard Weiss.  They incited the crowd extremely quickly with a couple of “hey, hey” follow alongs but stayed true to their word and got underway again rapidly with “Heavy Rain” , a new cut for me which sounded awesome.  “Hall of Fame” nipped closely at "Heavy Rain"’s heels and "Heaven in Black" from the 2000 Back to the Kingdom album right behind that presentation.  “Little Look Back”, the incredible “Living in a World” and the original “Kingdom of the Night” served to bring their stage time to an end.  I was fortunate enough to have rather quick reflexes and good hand eye coordination so far this morning as I snatched a guitar pic out of the air as it was poised to fly over my head (well I hadn't been drinking much yet).  Shawn was also impressed by Axxis and I suspect he will be asking me to borrow a few CD’s.
(Axxis Website) (Axxis Facebook)

One thing for certain is that every band brought their "A" game and had a loyal legion of fans cheering them on, but unfortunately not everything appeals to everyone and not every band today personally appealed to me.

Guild of Ages - photo by Shawn Irwin

C.I.T.A./Guild of Ages were the next band to grace the Firefest stage on this last day and I was completely in the dark about them.  What I believe was titled “Stand or Fall” was the first selection followed by “From Now On”, some investigating of setlist.fm later educated me.  They struck me as a little modern sounding, which is not usually my taste.  “Say a Prayer” came prior to “Heat of Emotion” which we were told was the title track to their second CD.  I began talking with Mike, a sure sign that the band is having troubles maintaining my attention.  My ears did perk up at what I thought may have been called “Axe” but that doesn't seem to match up.  In any case it was their best sounding yet I thought.  Mike, who was more familiar told me that they were now playing a medley of songs, but it was too late for me.  It was definitely a difficult task to follow what Axxis had just laid down on the Rock City stage, but personally, I couldn't catch the buzz from these guys at all and I completely stopped paying attention, beginning to scope the audience for girls and drinking a few beers. 

(Guild of Ages Facebook)

There were many countries' flags clinging to the railing banister of the upper balcony and after Guild of Ages' set we quickly ran down and set up with Shawn to grab a photo of Mike, Angela and I on the upper balcony hanging over the Canadian Flag.  What a cool (and totally geeky) tourist thing to do, but I love every minute of it!  I headed back down to see Shawn and ran across a surprising sight along the way.  In Toronto it’s, naturally, extremely common to spot people of all ages and walks of life supporting their local baseball team, the Toronto Blue Jays, but to see a Blue Jays jersey at Nottingham Rock City?  I hesitated only a few seconds as I blinked the surprise away from my eyes and yep, there was still a Jays jersey.  I descended on the young lady with an outstretched arm, finger pointing, “You’re from Toronto?” almost more of a statement than a question.
“No.” came the response.  “Well definitely Canada then?”.  Again, “No”.  “What?”, I was confused (perhaps the early affects of beverage consumption).  It turns out that this lovely couple from the UK are huge Toronto Blue Jays baseball fans and went to a whopping 10-12 games this past season at the Rogers Centre in Toronto!  Now, I’m a Jays fan as well, I have a friend with season tickets and if I don't accompany him to the game he often passes the tickets along to me at no cost.  I live approximately 45 minutes from the ball park stadium and I didn't go to as many games as that this year, maybe only about 8 total for me!  Awesome to meet David and Suzanne who also are familiar with my local concert haunt, The Rockpile Bar & Nightclub and often try to catch a rock show while they’re here for the ball games.  Keep in touch and we’ll definitely catch up with you next season at a game or show, cheers.

Tommy Denander - by Shawn Irwin

Touch was our next band , again an unknown to me.  Picking up some history on them before, during and after the show, I learned that Touch was original keyboard player Mark Mangold, with the help of four Swedes.  Tommy Denander was the guitarist and always a pleasure to watch, but while he was awesome my interest began to wane after about the fourth track.  A few more songs and I was really fading fast and not just because Touch were failing to entertain me.  I was suddenly so very, very sleepy as I moved back a bit and stood towards the rear of the crowd near the fruit fly infested loos.  I had to fight to keep from falling asleep standing up right then and there, the weekend catching up with me perhaps as the adrenaline wore off or am I just getting old?  Overall I was able to grab titles (with a little help from setlist.fm) like “Listen (Can You Feel It)”, “Take it Back”, “When the Spirit Moves You”, “So High”, “Don't You Know What Love Is” and “The Fire Never Dies”.  Unfortunately Touch became a casualty of my mood and therefore failed to captivate me.  But, there were many on the floor, once again, that disagreed with me as evidenced by way of their cheers and clapping.  That’s one of the beauties of Firefest is that every band has fans and a good number of them!

(Touch Facebook)

The much hyped (to me anyway) Brother Firetribe appeared next, led onto the stage with the assistance of a recorded intro.  I had been hearing the praises of these guys sung to me by Decibel Geek Photographer Brian back home and by Kimmo at RockUnited.com.  I had done some pre-Firefest listening via YouTube to familiarize myself with the Finnish born Brother Firetribe's catalog in preparation for this event.  I have to be honest, nothing that I had heard particularly grabbed me, but often seeing a band live will make me an instant fan, so I wasn't too worried.  “One Single

Pekka Heino - photo by Shawn Irwin

Breath” opened their set, “Runaways” following closely on it’s heels.  By the time of their third song, “Love Is Not Enough”, the crowd was in a frenzy, applauding, cheering and singing along enthusiastically.  What am I missing here?  I just am not catching Brother Firetribe’s buzz at all.  Is there something wrong with me?  To be frank, I find it all to be mostly generic, basically each track sounding indistinguishable from the next.  The False Metal album, also released under the different name of Break Out, supplied "Midnite Queen" next.  “Trail of Tears” (the best yet for me),  and “I’m on Fire” were played as I fought, unsuccessfully, to stay awake once again.  I had a perch in the far corner of the upper balcony and I felt myself going down, catching and snapping awake before I actually stumbled.  The security guard was right next to me patrolling the gated entrance to the VIP and I thought for sure he would kick me out, but thankfully he either didn't notice or perhaps didn't care.  To try and jolt myself alive I videoed the next one, giving myself something tangible to concentrate on, which seemed to help.  A couple of songs later and “For Better or Worse”, "Heart Full of Fire” and “I Am Rock” wrapped things up as I spotted Scott’s friends close by on the railing.  Once again the Firetribe fans were loving the whole set and I may have even been the lone person in Rock City not moved by their presentation.
(Brother Firetribe Website) (Brother Firetribe Facebook)

After passing the seemingly short time between set changes (the crew still standing to the impressive 20 min change arounds) chatting with a couple of friends of Decibel Geek listener and shirt wearer from yesterday, Scott.  Unfortunately Scott was only able to be in attendance for the Saturday's events making it even more remarkable that I came across him proudly displaying his DBG

Carl Dixon - photo by Shawn Irwin

 shirt!  Both these other gents were looking forward to Coney Hatch's set, up next.  As was so eloquently put by one, "No one sounds quite like Coney Hatch".  The Canuck band led off with the first single, "Blown Away", from their latest CD, aptly titled Four.  For any of those that don't know this story, "Blown Away" perhaps almost never came to be.  The band debuted the song at a show in Toronto and while the music had been down for sometime vocalist, Carl Dixon, had just completed the lyrics the night previous to the show.  As a result he hadn't yet committed them to his memory and had three pieces of lined paper taped to a stage monitor to guide him through the song.  The day after the event, Carl sent out a distress signal via Facebook, the lyrics were gone!  He'd forgotten to retrieve them from the stage after the show and they had been the only copy in existence!  Some bonehead fan had pilfered them from the stage while others were grabbing setlists and discarded guitar picks.  Once word of the distress call reached me, the bonehead, I immediately scanned the three sheets and sent them via email back to Carl.  I just thought they were an awesome stage souvenir like a setlist for a fan such as myself!  The Andy Curran (bassist) sung "Stand Up" from Coney Hatch's 1982 debut album was next followed by "Don't Say Make Me" from 1983's Outa Hand.  The 1985 Friction album was represented next with "This Ain't Love" and "She's Gone" before bassist Andy Curran took the mike and led the audience in singing "Happy Birthday" to his daughter, who was in attendance.  The Coney set was heavy on the 2013 Four album with "Marseilles", "Boys Club", "Down and Dirty" and "Connected"

Michael Borkosky/Andy Curran - photo by Shawn Irwin

all being served up in succession next.  After "Marseilles" the boys took a moment to thank Kieran Dargan.  The last time that Coney Hatch played at Firefest (in 2011) had been their first time playing in the U.K. and when they got home there were some record deal offers born out of their Firefest performance.  If it hadn't been for Firefest there wouldn't have been a Four record, so once again thanks Firefest!  Back to the debut now for "Hey Operator" as I remarked how much I love Andy Curran's stage manner and his sometimes goofy and aloof moves.  "Fallen Angel" saw a snippet of the Golden Earring classic "Radar Love" sandwiched in the middle of the song, but also saw Carl break a guitar string as roadies scrambled to replace his guitar.  "Girl From Last Night's Dream" containing a lot of emotion and connection, as did their whole performance, came before the "two punch to the gut" closer of "Monkey Bars" and "Devil's Deck".  Great job boys, a sentiment echoed by my balcony partners.
(Coney Hatch Website) (Coney Hatch Facebook)

In a similar experience as Babylon A.D. had shown yesterday, Autograph blasted onto the stage, hard and heavy with "Deep End".  Prior to departing Canada I had been singing the praises of the 2014 Autograph over Facebook to some friends that would be in attendance at Firefest.  They

Steve Lynch/Randy Rand - photo by Shawn Irwin

 were concerned with the absence of original vocalist Steve Plunkett and the lack of keyboards.  Having seen these guys four times already this year I knew that there was nothing to worry about.  Originals, bassist Randy Rand and guitarist Steve Lynch (read my Lynch interview here) have been joined by drummer Marc Wieland and vocalist/guitarist Simon Daniels.  Wieland is an animal pounding the skins behind the kit and Daniels handles the material with ease and charisma while thickening up the mix with the addition of his rhythm guitar.  All this fits incredibly well with the talents of criminally underrated guitarist Steve Lynch and super cool bassist Randy Rand.  I knew they would be turning some heads here in Nottingham.  A triple shot off their third release, Loud and Clear was expertly delivered in "Dance All Night", "Loud and Clear" and "Bad Boy".  Autograph was effectively winning over the crowd from what I could see and judging by the remark I heard uttered nearby me of "Punkett who?".  "Blondes in Black Cars" led us into "When the Sun Goes Down" which included a short display of Lynch's guitar talents.  The 1984 Sign in Please

Simon Daniels - photo by Shawn Irwin

debut album (the first record I ever bought with my own money) was well represented next with "All I'm Gonna Take" (can't help singing along for this one, apologies on my tone deafness to those within earshot), "Send Her To Me" and "Cloud 10".  Mr. Lynch took a few moments next to showcase his talents for a short, tasteful guitar solo.  I'm normally not too much of a solo fan especially if they drone on, but this one worked well for me before the song about a loser, "My Girlfriend's Boyfriend Isn't Me".  Such a classic line that one and as Daniels often quips, the following song, "She Never Looked That Good For Me", must also be about the same dude.  "Crazy World" was next in line, but the smash hit and signature song of "Turn Up the Radio" closed the set with every attendee singing right along with the band.  Autograph turned it up and brought the house down!  Are you ready to turn it up?  Hell Yeah!
(Autograph Website) (Autograph Facebook)

Ted Poley - photo by Shawn Irwin

I have to be totally honest, I've never been a huge Danger Danger fan aside from "Naughty Naughty" of course.  Yes, I have all the albums, but I just find that the fare contained is a little light and poppy for me.  That being said over the last three years between Monsters of Rock Cruises, a Toronto performance and Sweden Rock Festival I've seen Ted Poley either acoustic, electric or with Danger Danger a total of nine times!  The first time I saw Poley was on 2013's Monsters of Rock Cruise, during which I was in a terribly hungover daze and fog.  That show made me a fan, such a charismatic performer, and I even knew the material better than I thought and found myself singing along.  Feeling that I knew what to expect, or so I thought, from this closing performance on the last ever Firefest: The Final Fling I was looking forward to Danger Danger.  The whole original band reunited for this special event, Danger Danger featured Ted Poley on vocals, Bruno Ravel on bass, Steve West on drums, Andy Timmons on guitar and Kasey Smith on keys.

Andy Timmons/Ted Poley - photo by Shawn Irwin

"Crazy Nites" led the set and immediately Ted Poley was all over the stage, on fire with presence and energy.  "Rock America" had me singing away and "Turn It On" saw a red plastic construction streamer reading "Danger" threading it's way, unwinding from it's origin on the right side of the venue, throughout the crowd as it was passed along from hand to hand.  The red streamer even made it's way around and up to the upper balcony.  After "Beat the Bullet" Ted announced that it was tradition for him to take a walk even on the world's stickiest floors!  So, during "Don't Walk Away" he toured the crowd, singing away all the while.  Ted circled around a good portion of the packed lower floor, sometimes pausing to sing to a young lady in front of him.  The momentum was running high, but was quickly brought down a notch with another yawner solo that went on just a little too long, this time keyboards.  Ted and Kasey performed "One Step From Paradise" by them selves and the rest of the band rejoined the stage for "Boys Will Be Boys".  "Feels Like Love" was

Bruno Ravel - photo by Shawn Irwin

 next but I started to lose interest fast after that.  What setlist.fm shows as "Theme For An Imaginary Western" (an instrumental Mountain cover) followed by "Groove or Die" seemed little more than another noodling solo snoozefest to me.  You guys see the Firehouse show yesterday by chance?  Thankfully from there on out it was a firecracker of a performance starting with "Goin', Goin' Gone" a song originally showing up on the Cockroach album.  This would be the first time this song was played live with this roster we were informed as now a yellow plastic construction streamer began to thread through the crowd prompting the statement "We are Caution Caution" from the stage.  The conclusion of "Don't Blame It On Love" brought some lighthearted banter from Bruno Ravel as he thanked the crew, every band in the world and also Whitesnake for not playing Firefest as a lead in for "Bang Bang".  "I Still Think About You" brought Mr. Poley out into the crowd again, this time making it up the stairs to the upper level, but not actually onto the balcony.  I'm pretty sure he didn't miss a note during this foray, what a consummate frontman!

Ted Poley - photo by Shawn Irwin

"Monkey Business" took us to the sleaze rock national anthem and official end of the show with the signature song, "Naughty Naughty".  Every single person in the crowd was singing along on "Naughty Naughty" and even though it was officially the end they wanted to play one more.  They chose "the biggest melodic rock song in history, something that everyone would know the words to.  We have never rehearsed this song or played it before so let's see how it goes."  Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" definitely had everyone singing along and I could see many of the crew hugging each other at the side of the stage, bringing a tear to my eye, something happening again now as I write this.  Members of some of the other bands flooded the stage along side members of the Firefest crew and just kept coming until the entire stage was totally packed, everyone singing.  It was hard to fight back a tear, a fight that much of the assemblage was losing, as the crowd chanting of "Kieran" prompted a heartfelt speech.  The presentation of a book with the signatures of many fans presented to Kieran Dargan pretty much dissolved the last stand of those not yet shedding tears.  As the stage began to empty out the crowd continued to sing in a little a cappella led by Denander and crew member/In Faith guitarist Tony Marshall.

Firefest: The Final Fling- the final moments on stage "Don't Stop Believin'" - photo by Shawn Irwin

(Danger Danger Website) (Danger Danger Facebook)

And so closed Firefest: The Final Fling.  After ten years and eleven events the crew has decided to retire.  While I'm thankful to have been able to be a part of this momentous occasion, I'm tinged with regrets and self ass kickings for not venturing over here sooner to partake in some of the previous events.  I met many new friends and right from the get go at the CD listening party knew that I was becoming part of something very special.  The family atmosphere was thick throughout the entire weekend from the fans to the crew to the bands, something that I felt included in immediately even though we were new to the game.  Certainly one of the best festivals that I have ever attended in all respects, my hats off to absolutely everyone in the crew, the bands and the attendees.  Thank you so very much for an awesome weekend packed with great music and new friends.  Please don't let this be the end.

Top bands of the day-Shawn:                      Top bands of the day-Meister:
#3-Coney Hatch                                              #3-Axxis/Danger Danger
#2-Autograph                                                   #2-Coney Hatch
#1-Danger Danger                                           #1-Autograph

Gallery of Shawn Irwin's Photography: Firefest, October 26, 2014 (Arranged by order of play)



Look for videos from the whole event coming soon to Decibel Geek's YouTube Channel

Cheers,
The Meister

(The Meister on Facebook) (Meister on Twitter)

PHOTO CREDIT: SHAWN IRWIN 2014

(Firefest Website) (Firefest Facebook)

(Fireworks/Rocktopia Website) (Fireworks Magazine Facebook)

(Blackstar Amps Website) (Blackstar Amps Facebook)

To Hell And Back: Hellion in Toronto (with a photo gallery by Brian Ronald)

Photo Gallery by Brian Ronald

"Queen of Scream", Ann Boleyn brought her 2014 version of Sunset strip icons Hellion into Toronto on October 17, 2014.  The Rockpile West was the scene of the crime so to speak and
Hellion blew the roof off the place despite the weaker attendance.  Hellion dates back to Los Angeles, California in 1982 when they formed with the original line up of vocalist Ann Boleyn, guitarist Ray Schenck, drummer Sean Kelley and bassist Peyton Tuthill.  After years of struggles with line up changes, record companies basically ignoring Hellion, Ronnie James Dio taking them under his wing, internal disputes and Ann Boleyn receiving threats from stalkers, among other woes, Boleyn has reformed Hellion once again.  This 2014 version consists of a veritable roster of "A list musicians" with drummer Simon Wright (AC/DC, Dio, UFO), keyboardist Scott Warren (Dio/Dio Disciples), Bjorn Englen (Dio Disciples) and guitarist Maxxxwell Carlisle.  A new EP was recorded, titled Karma's A Bitch and released on October 7, 2014.

The tour, which saw Hellion stopping in many cities in the US and also her first ever appearance in

Hellion and Fireball - photo by Brian Ronald

Canada with the October 17 performance in Toronto, featured Greg Smith (Ted Nugent/Ted Poley/Alice Cooper) stepping in for Bjorn Englen and the addition of rhythm guitarist Georg Dolivo (Rhino Bucket).  Fireball whiskey was on hand issuing samples in conjunction with their backing of the Hellion tour, but I was disappointed with the support that Toronto was giving Hellion as I looked around at the weaker attendance and saw only one person sporting a Hellion shirt (me).  There were, however, several other shows going on in the area as well on this same night, the curse of a growing metal community and Hellion is not as well known as some.

Hellion (Georg Dolivo/Ann Boleyn/Maxxxwell Carlisle) Toronto - photo by Brian Ronald

Hellion took to The Rockpile stage beginning with the "Resurrection" intro and straight through into "Will Not Go Quietly".  They sounded extremely tight as should be with the quality behind Boleyn and she herself had a voice that obviously had not aged one iota. "Hell Has No Fury" off the new Karma's a Bitch EP was next followed by "Betrayer" and "Karma's A Bitch" both off the same EP.  During Simon Wright's drum solo I realized that Boleyn was standing on a circle carpet

Ann Boleyn - photo by Brian Ronald

that had been placed on the Rockpile stage and adorned with white duct tape to look like a pentagram.  Throughout the set, dry ice billowed from side stage adding to the eerie setting created along with the cobwebs draped over the drums, keys and amps, not to mention the pentagram mat.  The Black Book release was represented next with a double shot consisting of "Storm Rider" and "Living In Hell".  Preceding Maxxxwell Carlisle's guitar solo was "Run For Your Life" and although the band was awesome and talented, I personally am not a fan of solos (unless incorporated into a song).  Not being a musician myself I just find them to be basically noise that I don't understand, especially in a set that only has twelve songs listed.  "Bad Attitude" (probably my favorite Hellion song) was followed by "Watch the City Burn" and "Rockin' 'Til the End" to completely cover everything from Karma's A Bitch.  After a brief respite the band returned for the encore.  Sadly they chose to skip "Break the Spell", which I could see on the setlist and only play a cover of "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown)", which went off extremely well.

Ann Boleyn & The Meister

The entire band hung out after the set, signing autographs, taking photos and having beverages.  I had a couple of brief moments to get them all to sign the setlist that I had pilfered from the stage and even a photo with Ann Boleyn.  It was great to finally see Hellion live, especially after Ann's cameo on MORC singing "East Meets West" with Doro.  I do hope that this is not the end of Hellion in Toronto.

Look for videos from the show coming soon to Decibel Geek's YouTube Channel

Cheers,
The Meister

(The Meister on Facebook) (Meister on Twitter)

PHOTO CREDIT: BRIAN RONALD 2014

(Hellion Website) (Hellion Facebook)

Revin' It Up in Toronto!

In continuing a what has become a well-established tradition, Toronto’s Rockpile Clubs have
succeeded in outdoing themselves once again.  I've had comments from the US and around the world saying how much they wish they had a Rockpile in their own town because of all the great shows they present.  Joining the long listed ranks of incredible rock acts such as UFO, Stryper, Tom Keifer and more that have graced the stages at one or both of Toronto’s two Rockpile locations is now the all female membership of Vixen.  Thanksgiving weekend here in the Great White North, Vixen appeared on back to back nights (Friday and Saturday) once at each Rockpile location (West & East).  Vixen’s shows had been originally scheduled for May but suffering the effects of a severe allergic reaction to a medication mimicking that of food allergy, vocalist Janet Gardner was unable to perform and they were forced to postpone the trip up here.

Vixen were sensations in the late 80’s, the only all female hard rock band of the era to produce six #1 MTV videos, have four songs in "Billboard's Top 100" and sell more than a million albums.  In many circles the ladies, bassist Share Pedersen (now Ross), drummer Roxy Petrucci, vocalist Janet Gardner and guitarist Jan Kuehnemund were dubbed the "female Bon Jovi" and issuing two albums, Vixen 1988 and Rev It Up 1990 before disbanding.  In 2012 a reunion of the classic line-up was decided and planned but before the announcement Jan was stricken with cancer.  Following a nine month battle she succumbed to the illness and we lost her on October 10, 2013.  The surviving members, along with guitarist Gina Stile, are now continuing under the Vixen moniker in honor of their founding member and friend Jan Kuehnemund.

The Friday October 10, 2014 show at Rockpile West was nothing short of pure magic.  That's the only way to describe it!  My Facebook status after the show read: "I have seen many bands so far this year from all over the world. I've traveled to Sweden Rock Festival, Monsters of Rock Cruise and M3 Festival. There have been many contenders for concert of the year, but I have to say that Vixen tonight at Rockpile West is definitely in the top 5, and the top half of that even! Roxy Petrucci, Share Ross, Gina Stile and Janet Gardner are incredible together on stage........if you can make sure you catch their second Toronto show Saturday at Rockpile East!".  I had seen these ladies previously as they were performing at the pre-party for 2013’s Monsters of Rock Cruise under the moniker JSRG (Janet/Share/Roxy/Gina) at the time.  I had the CD’s, I knew the songs, but I must admit that I was by no means a rabid fan, probably only catching their show as I attended the party mainly to mingle with friends, fellow cruisers and artists the night prior to sailing.  It was that very performance that made me a fan!  I had obviously done these four ladies an injustice with my pre-disposed notion of what they were like.  They absolutely blew me away and thoroughly rocked the whole place.  Their show aboard the ship was exactly the same as were their performances during 2014’s excursion.  There was no way I would be missing either Toronto experience! 

Gina Stile at Rockpile West, October 2014-by Brian Ronald

With my position secured at stage front on Gina Stile’s side and Jimi Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady” on the P.A. (co-incidence?) the ladies charged into “Rev It Up!”, my fist in the air and singing in all my totally tone deaf glory!  Always one of my favorite songs, “Rev It Up!” was a perfect opener and the whole band sounded so tight and near flawless, see below for a video of “Rev It Up!” that I took during the following night’s event.  Next on the roster was “How Much Love”, another video hit for which Janet Gardner continued submitting the rhythm guitar as she had for the opener.  Janet regaled us with a comedic little story about driving up last night and crossing the border into Canada before the girls served up "Cruisin'".  During “Bad Reputation” Roxy stood from behind the kit, pointed at me with both barrels/sticks, perhaps recognizing me from my Facebook profile pic taken 

Roxy Petrucci at Rockpile West, Oct 2014-by Brian Ronald

on the 2014 Cruise by Decibel Geek photographer Brian Ronald of her and I.  Or perhaps simply acknowledging me for rockin’ out and singing to every song, but I like to think the former.  I pointed back at her with both arms fully outstretched and she easily tossed/floated me one of her drumsticks, what an absolute thrill for a fan, something I never get tired of!  I’m sure even a toddler could have caught the stick, but unfortunately not dumbass ole me!  It bounced off my hand, off Brian Ronald, off another friend and to her friend standing behind her, idiot I am!  Every once in awhile between songs we were treated to some of the Share Ross comedy routine as she told some jokes.  This was a new segment than I’d not seen previously and although I did laugh along with the extremely corny punchlines I shan’t be purchasing tickets if she goes out on a standup tour,

Janet Gardner @ Rockpile West Oct 2014

sorry Share!  What did also make me smile and chuckle with laughter was the gentleman on the other side of the stage and the large bouquet of flowers that he wanted to present to the band, a grand gesture indeed.  ”I Want You to Rock Me” contained a little crowd participation in the middle as Janet would sing a line from some big 80’s songs and we were to follow up with the next line.  Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me”, Slaughter’s “Up All Night”, Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock n Roll” and Poison’s “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn” were all included as we enthusiastically responded.  "Not a Minute Too Soon" and "Streets in Paradise" kept the momentum rolling and the fists high in the air.  We got some more Share bad but good comedy before Janet handed over the mike to her and her vocal stylings for a cover of Neil Young’s “Keep On Rockin’ In The Free World” at which she did an excellent job.  An emotional Janet then introduced “Love Is A Killer” with a few words for founding guitarist Jan Kuehnemund, saying thanks to her for giving them Vixen.  Tonight was the very one year anniversary of Kuehnemund’s passing and Janet visibly struggled to get through the song, choking up myself and several in the crowd as well.  Admitting afterwards how difficult that had been for her they barged right through into “Hell Raisers”.  Throughout the show I couldn’t help but marvel at the guitar prowess of Gina Stile, thinking that she has to be one of the

Share Ross @ Rockpile West Oct 2014

most underrated guitarists.  Stile simply, absolutely wails and the rest of the band is not short on talent either!  Roxy Petrucci’s thunderous drums resonated around the club as she hit hard with every note.  Share Ross’ thumping bass lines and Janet Gardner’s amazingly strong voice all meshed together in a perfect sound mix, something that The Rockpile West is also known for thanks to resident soundman Jake Disman.  Janet attempted to cut Share off as punchlines for more jokes were poised for delivery, but there was no stopping her.  "Love Made Me" followed before “Wrecking Ball” began with a short pounding solo from Roxy and closed down the regular set.  Considering that the crowd was not super full, given that this is our thanksgiving weekend, we sure were a loud bunch and Vixen was soon back on stage to serve us the Richard Marx penned “Edge of A Broken Heart” to wrap up the evening.  The ladies quickly went back stage to freshen up before coming out to their merchandise table to meet fans, sign autographs and take photos. Even though I had to run quickly to catch my bus home (or force being stranded sleeping at the airport) and couldn’t chat with them I’ve met these ladies before (on the cruise) and I can say they are very down to earth, friendly, humble, open and generally some of the nicest rockstars I’ve ever met!

Saturday’s show was held at The Rockpile East and went much as the Friday version, but I was again front row singing in all my tone deaf glory, fist high in the air.  I could see a Vixen show every day and it would never get old!  I was able to quickly join the line of fans waiting to meet the ladies, getting my Friday night edition setlist autographed and some album covers signed including Contraband on which Share Ross appeared.  I was so tired from working Friday, rocking Friday night sleeping for just two hours, working Saturday and then rocking Saturday night that I was only able to mumble some quick short incoherency at them!  I wish I’d had the foresight to print the pics below and bring them for autographs.  Thank-you so very much for coming to Toronto ladies, I can’t wait to see you again whenever or wherever that may be, but speaking on behalf of Toronto, please come back asap!

The Meister & Roxy-MORC 2014-by Brian Ronald

Share Ross-MORC 2013-by The Meister

Vixen & Meister-MORC 2014

"Rev It Up!" @ Rockpile East, October 11, 2014 Live Concert Video

 Cheers,
The Meister

(The Meister on Facebook) (Meister on Twitter)

PHOTO CREDIT: BRIAN RONALD 2014

(Vixen Website) (Vixen Facebook)

(Rockpile Website) (Rockpile Facebook)

Tom Keifer (The Way Life Goes)

 40 Tom Keifer Photos by Rebekka Brennan

Anyone having read many of my previous concert reviews will know that a good portion of the awesome concerts that I have been able to catch are thanks to a club in Toronto called the Rockpile.  Actually there's now two of them, one at each end of the east/west subway line and I've received comments from all around the world saying how they wish they had a Rockpile in their hometown.  Dom and Steve (Owner and promoter respectively) have done an incredible job of luring some high quality rock groups from Canada and around the world into one or both of their Rockpile Clubs.  Just to name drop a few of the acts hitting the stages in these two awesome venues over the last little while ....UFO, Michael Schenker, Autograph, Helix, Brighton Rock, KiLLeR DWaRfS, Slaughter, Red Dragon Cartel, Y&T, Stryper, Jack Russell's Great White, and coming soon London Quireboys, Vixen and Hellion.

Tom Keifer's The Way Life Goes Album

On Saturday July 26, 2014 they added another name to the long list in that of Cinderella frontman Tom Keifer.  Tom Keifer issued his first solo album, The Way Life Goes, in April of 2013 and while the album received favorable reviews from friends and on line sources it did not particularly appeal to me.  The album showed the bluesy acoustic side of Tom Keifer's musical journey and while a few of the songs were catchy I feel they could have benefited from a full on metal band.  Bearing this in mind I headed out to his show at Rockpile East that night expecting to hear the odd Cinderella tune, but thinking it would mainly be comprised from The Way Life Goes.  Holy Crap was I wrong!  Keifer and his band put on what I'm going on record right now as saying was the best concert so far this year and I've seen a lot of shows!

Tom Keifer-photo by Rebekka Brennan

After three opening acts warmed up the crowd Keifer's band hit the stage with Keifer trailing them out to take the mic.  The setlist was sort of split up into three sections, the first containing five songs leading off with Cinderella's "Night Songs".  I forgot just how great that song really is, especially live with a band like this that was spot on.  Keifer displayed no loss of vocal prowess in any way and before long had me wondering if he'd discovered some fountain of youth.  Two songs from The Way Life Goes solo album followed with "It's Not Enough" and "A Different Light".  I was certainly getting a different light on these songs as while I didn't take to them particularly on the album, they were absolutely incredible and of course way

Tom Keifer-photo by Rebekka Brennan

 heavier live.  Tom was even sporting a thin leather jacket saying "It's Not Enough" constructed with duct tape across the back of the jacket.  One thing was strikingly evident already (aside from this band was about to level The Rockpile East before this night was over!) and that was that Tom Keifer seemed like a rejuvenated and different man on this stage.  I have never seen him so engaging with the audience, so energetic, so interactive with his audience as he was this night.  Two more debut album Cinderella tunes, "Somebody Save Me" and "Shake Me" brought this first "section" to a close with me singing away at the top of my lungs, fist in the air.  Not bad for a guy who didn't even feel like coming out tonight!  I was not the only one caught up in the engaging performance, but in particular I noticed the woman stage right who had been putting on a truly embarrassing display, hurling herself on her back on stage, pulling and grabbing at Tom's pant legs and so forth, but I suspect she was more enamored with Keifer himself than the music.

Savannah and Tom Keifer-photo by Rebekka Brennan

As Tom and the band all took seats on some wooden bar stools they treated us to the first verse of "Heartbreak Station", Tom encouraging us all to sing along, before continuing into "The Flower Song".  Tom introduced his wife Savannah to us as she took up a stool next to him, singing duet for "Ask Me Yesterday" and "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)", the latter of which awesomely finished full electric.  "Nobody's Fool" was the end of this sort of section and for those keeping score that's a fair amount of Cinderella compositions so far.

Tom Keifer gave us a short little guitar solo before "Solid Ground" which saw Savannah and another young lady taking up mics to the rear of the stage and providing background vocals.  The harmonica

Tom Keifer-photo by Rebekka Brennan

came out for "Cold Day In Hell" before it was back to Cinderella with "Coming Home" and "Shelter Me".  Tom was all over the stage, escalating the intensity and emotion in his performance, singing in crowd member's faces as the show came to an end and the band left the stage.  The Rockpile would have none of that nonsense and I personally felt my voice "go" as I screamed, applauded and cheered along with everyone else for the encore.

An encore indeed we did get that was absolutely mind blowing.  They ripped through a truly awesome version of The Beatles track also made famous by Joe Cocker, "With a Little Help From My Friends".  Tom enticed us (which wasn't hard at all) to sing along with "Gypsy Road", which sadly would be the final song for the night.  Tom Keifer took the time to slap and shake hands with as many of the crowd near the stage as he could reach and you could see the intensity of his performance tired had him out as he took the mic to deliver a truly heartfelt thanks to us all for helping keep these songs alive. 

That my friends was a wrap on what is quite possibly the best show I've seen so far this year (no disrespect intended to any bands I've previously seen this year) and many around me were echoing the same sentiment.  As we milled around, finishing beers, chatting and meandering towards the door I noticed two awesome vocalists had also been in attendance as I saw Priya Panda (Diemonds) and Nick Walsh (Slik Toxik/Famous Underground) in the club.  Nick Walsh even posted a comment under a Facebook photo from the evening commenting something to the effect of "best show I've seen at Rockpile East!".  If you get the chance make sure you get to Tom Keifer's next show in your town, trust me you won't regret it!

Decibel Geek Photographer Brian Ronald was in London, Ontario the night before where Tom Keifer and others performed at Rock The Park 2014.  Here's a link to his photos from that event including Tom Keifer's set: Rock The Park July 25, 2014

Cheers,
The Meister

(The Meister on Facebook) (Meister on Twitter)

(Tom Keifer Website) (Tom Keifer Facebook) (Tom Keifer Twitter)

(Rockpile Website) (Rockpile Facebook) (Rockpile Twitter) (Rockpile You-Tube)

PHOTOS: Courtesy of REBEKKA BRENNAN 2014