Dio, Deep Purple and the Scorpions
Rock the Greek Theatre
By Revn Kevin
Everybody has a musical hero and it is with unabashed enthusiasm that I tell you that mine is the Scorpions. This beautiful summer evening show at the Greek Theatre had to be one of the best of all times with opening acts Dio and Deep Purple making it a monumental night of rocking. If you have never been to this venue you are truly missing out and should go to their website at
www.greektheatrela.com and see if there is an act coming that tickles your fancy.
Opening up the night was premier rock vocalist Ronnie James Dio whose voice was as strong as ever. With a new album out entitled "Killing the Dragon", the band set out on tour and what better bands to hit the road with. Once again he recruited guitarist Doug Aldrich who put on a smoking display as they blazed through hits like "Rainbow in the Dark", "Last in Line" and even "Heaven and Hell" from Dio's short stint as the vocalist for Black Sabbath. Some of the new tunes they played included "Push" (available on mp3) and the title track,which really rocked
Veteran rockers Deep Purple are well into their reunion tour with original members Ian Gillan/vocals and Roger Glover/bass. They have enlisted guitar virtuoso Steve Morse to play with them again and you can't do any better there. I'm not sure why, but the press was for the most part denied photos of the band, so I have no pics for you - Sorry. The set was a rocker for sure and the band played all the hits they are known for "Smoke on the Water", "My Woman From Tokyo" and one of my favorites "Highway Star".
Headlining the evening was the Scorpions who are touring in support of their new album "Bad For Good". It was a wonderful show and with so much fantastic material to choose from I don't know how they can even decide on the songs for their set list. I have seen them many times and tonight was the first time I had ever seen them play "We'll Burn the Sky" from the Tokyo Tapes CD. This band plays everything from shredding metal (Blackout) to love ballads (Still Loving You) and after 30+ years they still play with all the joy and excitement as they did when they first started out. The core of the group remains with Klaus Meine on vocals, Rudolph Schenker playing rhythm guitar and Mathias Jabs still shredding an awesome lead. A local resident, James Kottak, who resides in my stomping grounds of Quartz Hill, is smashing the drums for them these days. Inside info. has it that he is married to Tommy Lee's sister, Athena, drummer for the band Krunk. Newest addition to the band is bassist Ralph Rieckermann who holds down the bottom end admirably. There is so much information available about this band that you better go to their website at
www.the-scorpions.com. Better yet, go see them the next time they come to town and you too will become a follower. Then you can follow me over to my website at www.revnkevin.com and see what I've have cooking for the upcoming N.A.M.M. Show.
As Printed in Rock City News