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February 26, 2001
- The Beaumont - Kansas City, MO
Report by Bruce
Rusk
Note from the author:
I apologize for the lack of pictures from the show. The
conditions (lighting and incredibly thick smoke) prohibited
taking any worthwhile pictures inside the venue. -BR
It was a cold night in Kansas City when we
arrived at the Beaumont for a night of metal mayhem at the
hands of Dio, Lynch Mob and Armored Saint. The faithful
metalheads were lined up outside, decked out in their best
black concert gear. A cloud of steam rose off the huddled
mass in the near freezing night. Not surprisingly, the majority
of the crowd were 30+ folks like myself who were there when
Metal made its mark on the world, with guys like Ronnie
James Dio leading the way.
We got our passes and waited out the pre-show
boredom by trying to locate the backstage area (there wasn't
one. The bands came straight off the their busses through
the kitchen and on to the stage. Thumbs down for that crappy
hospitality). Finally, the lights dimmed and Armored Saint
took the stage. Reunited following a long hiatus after the
loss to cancer of original member Dave Pritchard, the Saints
hadn't missed a beat (no pun intended). Consisting of all
original members with the exception of guitarist Jeff Duncan
who replaced Pritchard, they delivered a solid if somewhat
short set of serious thrash-metal. Jon Bush was in great
voice and he got the crowd revved up quickly with some Saints
classics as well as material from their latest release "Revelation".
A.S. plays solid, shred-infested "old school"
speed metal (remember Metallica back before they went soft?).
If you like your metal fast and lean, I highly recommend
picking up a copy of Revelation or better yet, catching
A.S. live.
Next up was Lynch Mob. Former Dokken guitar
maniac George Lynch and company continued the vibe started
by the Saints. Lynch's band sounded great. Singer Oni Logan
was in great voice and proved to be a focal point for the
Mobsters as Mr. Lynch seemed a little... well, "off,"
I guess. He played with his back to the crowd for a lot
of the show and didn't seem to be a happy camper. (I spoke
to members of all three bands and they all complained about
the heat on the stage. The light rack was very low and close
to the musicians. Lynch Mob also had some problems with
the sound that they battled with throughout their set).
George offered up some great solos but I don't think his
heart was in it. But, the crowd enjoyed it a lot and the
Mobsters deserve a lot of credit for coping with less than
favorable conditions.
Finally, the lights dimmed and eerie organ
music filled the room as Dio took that stage, ripping into
the classic "Sunset Superman" which kicked off
an opening set of classic Dio songs from the early albums
including "Invisible", "Gypsy", "One
Night in the City" and "All the Fools Sailed Away".
The crowd was obviously charged hearing some of these seldom-played
songs.
In my opinion, this Dio lineup is the best
ever. This is the 4th lineup I've seen and they have never
been better. Ronnie was in excellent voice. Amazingly, this
phenomenal singer has not lost a bit of his incredible voice
after more than 30 years in the business. Guitarist Craig
Goldy is a fantastic albeit unsung guitar hero. He plays
with great finesse and strength reminiscent of Ritchie Blackmore,
and his style complements Ronnie's voice perfectly. Drummer
Simon Wright is a master of heavy metal thunder. Back from
a long vacation is original Dio bassist Jimmy Bain delivering
that signature martial thump that Dio is known for. Rounding
out the band on keys is Scott Warren.
After 30 minutes or so of classics they shifted
into material from their latest release, Magica.
(Please check out the House of Shred review of Magica in
the reviews section.) The new material is very powerful,
telling of an epic battle between good and evil. The songs
from Magica are arguably their best work ever and they came
off great performed live. One of the pitfalls of playing
new material can be that a lot of the audience may not have
heard it. This may have been the case but you wouldn't have
known it by the crowd response. The fans loved the new songs.
They played most of the new album with the highlights being
the pounding "Feed My Head" and "Chalais".
I suspect these two songs will become staples in the Dio
setlist for years to come.
Following the Magica set they dove right into
"Holy Diver" and the crowd went nuts. For the
rest of the show they delivered the heavy metal goods with
"Heaven and Hell", "Rainbow in the Dark",
"Man on the Silver Mountain" and "Long Live
Rock & Roll". They closed the show with "Last
in Line".
The show was over, but not really. Outside
the Dio faithful waited in the cold for their hero to emerge.
When Ronnie came out over an hour later he spent well over
an hour and half out in the cold signing autographs and
talking with the fans. I was fortunate enough to have a
few minutes with him and was truly impressed at what a genuinely
sweet guy he is. He truly loves his fans and went out of
his way to talk to each one individually, signing dozens
of CDs and albums covers, and even writing the Lyrics to
"Rainbow in the Dark" on the back of a fans jacket.
Dio wraps up their US tour this month
and heads to South America March 30th, then on to Europe.
Be sure and catch them if you can, you won't be disappointed.
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