Cinderella - June 19, 2010

Other than Kix (http://rockandrollguru.blogspot.com/2010/07/kix-june-19-2010.html), Cinderella was the best band at this year’s M3 Festival. It had been a long time since I had seen Cinderella live in concert, and I was excited about the prospect of them going on the main stage right before the Scorpions (with Warrant playing the second stage in between). Tom Keifer had been battling throat issues, which caused Cinderella to stop touring for the past couple of years. After surgery and recovery time, the band was back and in full form.

From the opening lines of Second Wind, I could tell that Cinderella was happy to be back on stage. They sounded superb. The music was excellent and Keifer’s voice was in exceptional form. Their performance sounded so great that I broke out in chills during the second song of their set, Push, Push.

Being limited to only an hour, Cinderella must have had a very tough choice in deciding the setlist. Some of the fan favorites were unfortunately left out due to time constraints. What’s a Cinderella concert without The Last Mile? Unfortunately, I had to find out. I understand though, it’s hard to please all the fans. However, I may have left Second Wind out and kept The Last Mile in, but the band didn’t ask me.

The songs that were played were incredible. Although Cinderella didn’t run around the stage like it was the 80s again, they still produced an intense set. Their focus was on execution of the music, and not so much on the stage show, which was all right by me. It’s the music that counts the most, and after years of not being able to hear Cinderella live, their time at M3 more than made up for the lost days.

The ballads of Heartbreak Station and Don’t Know What You’ve Got (Till It’s Gone) were well received by the fans and just plain fun to sing along with. The bigger hits in Nobody’s Fool and Gypsy Road went over extremely well. The fan favorite of Night Songs was an amazing experience. Basically, Cinderella was on that night! For Heartbreak Station, Tom introduced it as a song about a girl, a train, and some love gone bad. He then led us in a sing-along of Heartbreak Station – magnificent to all involved.




When Tom Keifer came out with a saxophone in his hand during Shelter Me, the crowd went wild. Keifer wailed on that sax like a long lost friend and played the solo note perfect. I was amazed at his ability on the wind instrument and thoroughly impressed with the band’s performance of Shelter Me. It was like hearing from a long lost friend and learning that he’s very successful.




There really was not one bad song (or filler) played during Cinderella’s condensed set. From the opening of Second Wind to the closing notes of Shake Me, Cinderella was a rock and roll band with class. They knew what they were doing on stage and their professionalism and grace made them one of the best acts at M3.

It’s great to see the band back together after having an uncertain future for so long (with Tom Keifer’s vocal surgery). I’m hopeful that Cinderella will tour on their own (as headliners) once their current tour with The Scorpions is over, but I understand that Keifer may need to take some time off to rest his vocal chords. Perhaps he can use that time to finally release his solo album that was finished 5 years ago.

Setlist
Second Wind
Push, Push
Somebody Save Me
Night Songs
Falling Apart At The Seams
Heartbreak Station
Coming Home
Shelter Me
Nobody’s Fool
Gypsy Road
Don’t Know What You Got (Til It’s Gone)
Shake Me

Kix - June 19, 2010

Kix had to be the best band I saw at M3. Cinderella comes close, but Steve Whiteman’s personality and Kix’s performance was better than even that of the mighty Cinderella. I will admit that prior to this night I wasn’t a huge Kix fan. I owned the album Blow My Fuse and that was about it. I liked the album a lot, but I didn’t really know much else about the band. When people would get all excited that Kix was coming to town, I didn’t quite understand it. I kept thinking, they only have one hit, why is everyone so juiced for them? Very naïve of me, I know, especially for someone who loves Guster, a band that may have had ½ of a hit.

Kix’s performance was right after Winger’s main stage set and immediately followed Bang Tango’s performance on the second stage. They came out to Hot Wire and I remember thinking to myself how much that song sounded like The Cult’s American Horse. So much so that I thought Kix was opening with a cover tune. They weren’t. As I would later learn, they were opening with Hot Wire a song from their 1991 follow up to Blow My Fuse. It was an excellent song and a heck of an opener. Kix immediately grabbed my attention and would have me riveted for the rest of the night.

Steve Whiteman was amazing on stage. He’s an incredible frontman with charisma to win anyone over. Add in the fact that he must live at the gym, judging by his abs and his energy, and you have the makings of a fine band leader. The rest of the group sounded exceptional and together they made a stupendous team.




Whiteman spent a lot of time addressing the crowd in between songs, which was a good thing. Being form the Maryland area, Kix was a fan favorite, and they loved Stevie. Whiteman was amusing during his talks with the crowd. He mentioned that, yes, he knows he talks with a lisp. A rock star with a lisp, kind of funny, wasn’t it? He talked about how it was good to be performing for this crowd and discussed how happy Kix was to be at M3 again. Prior to performing Don’t Close Your Eyes Steve mentioned how they were about to play their one hit. He spoke to the crowd, “We’ve got one hit That’s it. Just one.” I kept thinking that they were going to play Cold Blood, because to me, that was their one hit. That was the song that turned me onto the band. However, that wasn’t their hit, as research later showed. Steve was right, Don’t Close Your Eyes was their one hit.

By that point in their set, it didn’t matter to me if they had no hits, this was a band that I had to see live again. I needed to see their full set and a full performance. Steve mentioned that it was hard to choose songs to perform when you only had an hour of stage time. He was hoping that the fans were happy with the selection. Heck, Kix could have been covering Peter, Paul, and Mary and that crowd would have been happy.




The band fired off fan favorites including Sex, Cold Shower, Cold Blood, The Itch, Girl Money, and Blow My Fuse. Their performance of Blow My Fuse was utterly fantastic, sounding just like it did on the record, note for note, even more than 20 years later. When Steve asked the crowd if we were ready to blow his fuse, the place went wild, and I screamed alongside of everyone else as loud as I could.

When the band got to their big closer in Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, I was hooked. I had thought that Cold Blood was going to be their last song of the night, which once again shows how much I didn’t know about the band. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah is a favorite amongst fans. Coming from Kix debut album, this has been a live concert closer staple for decades. Cousin Ryo was not aware of this until that night.

When Steve asked the crowd if they wanted to hear one more, the response was deafening. “Are you sure you want to hear one more?” he asked. The crowd roared a yes. Steve mentioned that they could play Yeah, Yeah, Yeah and the reaction was maddening. I remember thinking to myself that this must be a hell of a song.

It was. A drawn out, 12 minute version of Steve Whiteman’s failed attempt to get laid. The song is solid, but the live performance is exceptional. Whiteman hams it up with spins and twirls and then tells a story right in the middle of the performance. It’s the story telling that makes the live song so much fun.




When they got to the close of Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Kix had earned themselves a new fan. I told Rob Rockitt (of Hard Rock Hideout) that we had to see these guys live during a full set. I was blown away by this band. He mentioned that they stole the show at last year’s M3 and I could understand how that was the case.

Simply put, Kix was one of the best performances I’ve seen in a very long time. Filled with exceptional sound, talented musicians, and a very entertaining frontman, Kix has what it takes to entertain the masses and win over their fans. If you ever have the chance to see them live, I highly recommend it. They are a blast!

The Scorpions - June 19, 2010

The Scorpions were the big headliners at 2010s M3 Music Festival in Columbia, Maryland. As part of their farewell World Tour (rumored to last until 2012 so there should be ample opportunity to see them live if you haven’t) The Scorpions made the stop for this big metal music festival.

I was excited for this part of the night. Having never seen The Scorpions live, this was going to be a great moment in my life. Another classic band was going to be added to the list of amazing performers that I’ve been blessed to see over the years. The Scorpions were a band that I never really paid much attention to after the 80s. So when they announced that this was their farewell tour, I knew that I had to see them live. Fortunately for me, they were headlining M3, which I was already attending.

Now, I don’t know if they’ve been having sound troubles at the beginning of this US tour, but their sound check took forever. Part of it was due to the festival running late (thanks to Vince Neil), but part of it was The Scorpions. Their road technicians performed almost two full songs during the sound check. At one point, we all thought it was the band taking the stage!

When they finally did come out on stage, The Scorpions seemed a bit off. They opened with Sting In The Tail, the title track from their latest (and supposed last) release. Sting In The Tail is an amazing song, and a great choice for an opener. Even though I had never heard the song prior to that night, I was up on my feet, clapping my hands, and rocking along with the band.

STING IN THE TAIL



Make It Real from the classic Animal Magnetism, and Bad Boys Running Wild from Love At First Sting were performed next. Both songs sounded off. The vocals were low, the guitars appeared out of tune, and the Scorpions seemed to be off by about a full beat on each song. Something was definitely wrong with their sound, and I understood why the sound check took so long. The Scorpions actually sounded bad.

The Zoo was up next, and while this is one of my favorites, this song was also not crisp and appeared to be slightly strained on the sound. After The Zoo Klaus Mein would explain to us that he had the flu, but did not want to cancel the show. He said that he could not sing any louder and if we wanted to blame anyone for the bad sound that we shouldn’t blame the sound engineers, we shouldn’t blame the band, we should blame him. I disagree. Up to that point, I thought Klaus was the best sounding part of The Scorpions. Granted, his vocals were lower, but other than that, his voice was on. It was the rest of the band that wasn’t, and regardless of Klaus’ plea, I would have fired the entire sound crew. They did an awful job.

Klaus disappeared backstage after that and the rest of the Scorpions performed Coast To Coast. That was an interesting pick. Having been a huge fan of Lovedrive for many, many years, hearing Coast To Coast live was pretty darned cool.

Klaus returned for the next song and introduced a very special friend that was going to help sing it. He told the crowd how this man was a friend of the band for years and he was honored to have him come out on stage with them. Vince Neil then came out to sing Another Piece of Meat, which he covers on his latest disc, Tattoos & Tequila. I was worried for a moment. Klaus was fighting the flu. Vince was on stage to sing. Was Vince taking over vocals for the rest of the show? If he was, I would walk out. It’s hard enough to see Vince sing ever third word to his own songs, now I had to listen to him sing every third word to The Scorpions songs too?

VINCE NEIL SINGS EVERY THIRD WORD TO ANOTHER PIECE OF MEAT



Thankfully that was not the case. Vince sang his one song with The Scorps, the crowd went nuts for him, and then he was gone. It was a cool moment in rock and roll that much I’ll admit.

What disappointed me most about this Scorpions performance was their song selection. Perhaps it’s because I had never seen them before, but I wanted to hear classics like Loving You Sunday Morning, Still Loving You, and if possible the deep cut of Always Somewhere. Now, I’ll admit, Coast to Coast was cool and a deep cut. I also understand that they are plugging a new album, so those songs have to be performed (and they were excellent songs). However, James Kottak’s drum solo went on forever, and to me, unless your name is Neil Peart, you shouldn’t be performing a drum solo. Kottak’s was boring and it easily could have been replaced by Still Loving You and Loving You Sunday Morning.

The Scorpions opted to not play the aforementioned songs. They also skipped out on No One Like You and Rhythm of Love. Highlights of the night included Tease Me Please Me, Blackout, and of course the huge encore of Rock You Like A Hurricane.

For the beginning of Blackout, guitarist Rudolf Schenker came out dressed like the madman on the cover of the classic Blackout album. He was a card all night long. Very entertaining and fun to watch, and seeing him in the headgear and goggles was too funny.

Overall, I was a little disappointed with The Scorpions performance. I am willing to give Klaus and company the benefit of the doubt due to Klaus fighting the flu. If they come back around to New Jersey, I will try to see them live again. Hopefully everyone will be healthy at that point.

ROCK YOU LIKE A HURRICANE



Setlist
Sting In The Tail
Make It Real
Bad Boys Running Wild
The Zoo
Coast to Coast
Another Piece of Meat (with Vince Neil)
The Best Is Yet To Come
Holiday
Wind of Change
Raised on Rock
Tease Me Please Me
Kottak Attack (drum solo)
Blackout
Six String Sting
Big City Nights
Encore
Rock You Like A Hurricane

Live Video Footage From M3

Here is some live video footage of this past Saturday’s M3 Festival.

First up is Kix – Cold Blood. Note the shape that Steve Whiteman is and keep in mind that he must be in his 50s. He’s an inspiration.




LA Guns (W/ Phil Lewis) – The Ballad of Jayne. Hearing this live on Saturday totally brought me back to high school.




Nelson with Mark Slaughter playing guitar. The sound quality is great. The film is a little shaky. Nelson looked great, sounded great, and I made the right decision leaving Vince Neil’s set to see them.



And finally, here’s The Scorpions performing Sting In The Tail.