Foghat slow rides into Mount Vernon

There aren’t many things better for the soul of a struggling football coach the day after his season ends with a thud, than some rock & roll therapy in the form of taking in a live band with his wife. Football is a grind. It takes a lot of time and energy and it is a huge commitment. When it is over, the body, mind and spirit are all due for a factory reset and there was no better way to start that for this off-season than to spend the evening with my wife and catching one of the 70’s most underrated bands.

I’ve been fortunate enough to catch Foghat twice before. Back in 2014, they were opening for the equally awesome Blue Oyster Cult and Bachman-Turner Overdrive at the Ohio State Fair. Again in 2019, and coincidentally the very first live band reviewed on this page was Foghat opening for Bad Company in the Dayton area. This time was different, though. This would be my first chance to see Foghat as the headliner and able to play a proper full set.

Led by their thundering, founding drummer; Roger Earl, the quartet kicked off the evening with their opening staple “Chateau Lafitte ’59 Boogie“. Right from the get-go you could tell that the thumping bass and driving, slide guitar that are synonymous with the Foghat sound were going to be firing on all cylinders. The previous times that I had seen Foghat were with the long-time and charismatic front man Charlie Huhn on lead vocals. Replacing him in 2022 has been Scott Holt. I must admit, Holt’s vocals has added some needed power to these tunes. This is particularly evident on their newer songs and on the heavily blues influenced songs like “It Hurts Me Too“. Holt is no slouch, either, as a second guitarist. The band brought fresh life to jams like “Drivin’ Wheel” and “Stone Blue” and the aforementioned newer songs off of their recent album Sonic Mojo.

In case you didn’t know, the album was released in 2023 and spent 39 weeks atop of the Billboard Blues charts. They played “She’s A Little Bit of Everything” and “Drivin’ On” from that record. While it is obvious that fans are there to hear the hits, the band is even touring this year as the Slow Ride 50th Anniverary Tour, the new songs and the record itself work so well because they are keeping it simple. The band isn’t trying to re-invent the wheel. They are playing old school rock & roll music rooted in the blues. That’s what made them famous and that’s what is keeping them relevant nearly 55 years after their 1971 founding.

Of course, the trio of hits that ended the show were certainly the highlight. Their famous cover of Willie Dixon’s “I Just Want To Make Love To You“, “Fool For The City“, and the tour’s namesake iconic track “Slow Ride” were all received with crowd approval and applause. “Slow Ride“, the band’s era defining track that highlighted the soundtrack for one of my favorite movies of all time; Dazed and Confused, was the perfect cap to the night.

At 79 years old, Earl and his band mates appear to be having a great time still up there on stage and the songs sound great. That formula seems to be a recipe for success and is a testament that they’ve been able to carry the show forward all of these years. I don’t know how much longer Earl will want to remain on the road, but if he chooses to, he has surrounded himself with a band that seems to have the stamina to keep this thing drivin’ on.

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Ranking Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne. Man, what an icon for the world of heavy music. There would be no hard rock and heavy metal as we know it today if it weren’t for Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward when they founded Black Sabbath back in 1968. Picture that. The popular bands at the time were groups like The Doors and The Rolling Stones…and then, here comes Black Sabbath. They, quite literally, changed the world; and like so many of their contemporaries, their run at the top of the world was all too brief. For various reasons, Osbourne would be out of the band throughout the 80’s and 90’s before reconnecting and performing with Black Sabbath sporadically since 1997. Osbourne’s passing on Tuesday, just seventeen days after the final Black Sabbath show, truly feels like one of those deaths that marks the end of a chapter of your younger self. Ozzy Osbourne. I’m not sure there has been a bigger individual name in my lifetime that is more synonymous with heavy music.

In honor of his memory, and the killer tunes that he graced us with, now is your turn to choose YOUR favorite Ozzy (solo) tune. I will save Black Sabbath for a different time. Vote for your favorite below and then read on as I reveal my favorites from his wild career.

I was fortunate to see Ozzy perform live one time in 2007. It was at Ozzfest at the old Polaris Amphitheater in Columbus, Ohio before it turned into a Top Golf and a Swedish furniture store. It was a great show and I honestly remember being surprised by that. At that time, Ozzy was still largely in the public eye due to the popularity of his family’s reality TV show but I honestly didn’t think that he would still be able to perform. He proved me wrong. I wish that I had also got to see Sabbath, but it wasn’t meant to be, as Ozzy was sick for the 2005 Ozzfest and Sabbath had to cancel; leaving Iron Maiden to headline instead… Anyway, my introduction to Ozzy came from my dad’s Diary of a Madman cassette tape. That album still holds up and is the one that I hold in the highest regards from Ozzy’s career, although a decade later, No More Tears gives it a serious run for its money. Some of Osbourne’s greatest songs, though, would come towards the end of his life. His later works were introspective and I believe through this music was how he came to terms with his demons. My Top 30 songs from Ozzy’s solo career are below, in reverse chronological order:

  1. Patient Number 9 (2022)
  2. Ordinary Man featuring Elton John (2020)
  3. Under The Graveyard (2020)
  4. Let Me Hear You Scream (2010)
  5. I Don’t Wanna Stop (2007)
  6. Gets Me Through (2001)
  7. Perry Mason (1995)
  8. I Just Want You (1995)
  9. See You On The Other Side (1995)
  10. Mama, I’m Coming Home (1991)
  11. No More Tears (1991)
  12. Desire (1991)
  13. Hellraiser featuring Lemmy Kilmeister (1991)
  14. Road To Nowhere (1991)
  15. Breaking All The Rules (1988)
  16. Fire In The Sky (1988)
  17. The Ultimate Sin (1986)
  18. Shot In The Dark (1986)
  19. Bark at The Moon (1983)
  20. Over The Mountain (1981)
  21. Flying High Again (1981)
  22. You Can’t Kill Rock & Roll (1981)
  23. Believer (1981)
  24. S.A.T.O. (1981)
  25. Diary of a Madman (1981)
  26. Tonight (1981)
  27. Mr. Crowley (1980)
  28. Goodbye To Romance (1980)
  29. I Don’t Know (1980)
  30. Crazy Train (1980)

This weekend, raise your glasses to the Ozzman and turn it up to eleven.

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AC/DC powers up Cleveland crowd

Over the past seventeen days, I was able to take in live shows by the two biggest active rock bands in the world. May 11th, my niece and I took in Metallica. This past Wednesday, my daughter and I went up to Cleveland to see the one and only AC/DC. Both shows came as a surprise to me. My niece had picked up an extra ticket for the Metallica show when she grabbed tickets to surprise her boyfriend with. My daughter had apparently told my wife that she wanted to see AC/DC as her graduation gift. Unbeknownst to me, this plot involved a ticket for me as well for my birthday. Am I blessed or what?

AC/DC is one of those bands that, for some unknown reason, has kind of become mainstream to make fun of. It’s ridiculous. AC/DC and Led Zeppelin are the two most important hard rock bands of all time. Yet, it’s become cool for dorks in Falling In Reverse shirts to tell us that “If you’ve heard one AC/DC song, you’ve heard them all.” In honesty, that’s such a lazy take. Typically, the rhythm section is playing some straight forward blues based rock & roll but the late Malcolm Young also had some killer rhythm guitar lines as well. And brother Angus? Those leads are the stuff of legend and sound as great today as they did in the 1970’s.

A lot has changed since AC/DC played Ohio. They hadn’t played the Buckeye State since back to back shows in Columbus and Cleveland in 2016. Axl Rose, whom I thought did a great job, was on lead vocals for that tour after Brian Johnson was medically advised to retire due to him going deaf. Not everyone was keen on the Axl Rose led AC/DC however, as the arena date for Cleveland was attended by less than 9,000 folks. Thanks to the power of science, Johnson has been able regain his hearing, at least enough to allow him to sing. The band released their latest album, Power Up, in 2020 and unfortunately we all know what happened to any touring plans that may have came from that. It’s been a long road to get to this point, but they were finally able to start touring on their new album and the U.S. tour would finish with a stadium appearance in Cleveland.

To say their return was heavily anticipated is an understatement. Like I said, less than 9,000 people went and saw them in 2016 for their Cleveland date. Last week, over 50,000 people filed into Huntington Bank Stadium, home of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns. This was the third time that I’ve seen AC/DC and they were absolutely on fire. Johnson’s vocals were better than they were the first time I saw them back in like 2008. The star of the show, though, is Angus Young. He is 70 years old and his energy, let alone his guitar chops, blows away modern bands with players 30-40 years his junior. For anyone that says that you need an ocean of crowd surfers at a rock show to enhance the experience….all they need to do is watch footage of this concert. From the opening riff of “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)” through the final cannon bursts of “For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)“; the crowd was on their feet, pumping fists in the air, and singing back every lyric to these timeless songs. It’s almost as if when the songs are good enough, the fans don’t need to distract themselves with the world’s biggest game of “everybody look at me while I crowd surf.” Simply, it was two and a half hours (yes, you read that right) of pure rock & roll adrenaline.

My daughter and I were way, way, way up in the football stadium. Section 507. If you know anything about football stadiums, the seats closest to the field start in the 100s and gradually climb. We were as high as the stadium goes. It didn’t matter. With the exception of the band being so loud that at times the music was echoing by the time it reached us in the heavens, the band were fantastic, and the sold out crowd head banged for the entirety of the twenty one song set. I have no idea what the future for AC/DC holds. Brian Johnson is 77 years old. Angus Young is 70. If they come back, I’ll hopefully be there. If this turns out to be their swan song, then I salute them going out while they are still the biggest and baddest band in the world. Way up there in the sky where our seats were, I saw toddlers, teens, people my age, and people that appeared to be in their 70s and everyone in between. With that kind of impact and that kind of reach, surely, rock & roll ain’t noise pollution, rock & roll ain’t gonna die.

AC/DC Set List 5/28/2025 Cleveland, Ohio

  • If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It) – 1979
  • Back In Black – 1980
  • Demon Fire – 2020
  • Shot Down In Flames – 1979
  • Thunderstruck – 1990
  • Have A Drink On Me – 1980
  • Hells Bells – 1980
  • Shot In The Dark – 2020
  • Stiff Upper Lip – 2000
  • Highway To Hell – 1979
  • Shoot To Thrill – 1980
  • Sin City – 1978
  • Rock ‘n’ Roll Train – 2008
  • Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap – 1976
  • High Voltage – 1976
  • Riff Raff – 1978
  • You Shook Me All Night Long – 1980
  • Whole Lotta Rosie – 1977
  • Let There Be Rock (with extra long guitar solo) – 1977
  • *Encore*
  • T.N.T. – 1975
  • For Those About To Rock (We Salute You) – 1981

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Metallica returns to Historic Crew Stadium

Over the years, I have been fortunate enough to gift a lot of concert tickets to a lot of people thanks to this gig. Often, especially in the earlier days when I was writing for corporate entities, I would be given a “plus one” with my reviewer tickets. It’s always been important to me to share what I consider to be good music with people that I care about. It’s been awesome to be able to take friends and family members along for the ride over the past twenty years or so.

One of those people that I’ve been able to take to a handful of shows over the years has been my eldest niece. She accompanied me to a Cheap Trick show as an early teen. I was able to bring her to a big festival in Toledo a few years later that featured a who’s who of 80’s hair metal. It featured bands like Ratt and Dokken. We’ve seen Lynyrd Skynyrd and in 2019, for the inaugural Sonic Temple Festival (after they changed their name from Rock on the Range) we were able to see her favorite band at the time: Foo Fighters. I tend to think that, over the years, my writing has gotten better. Alas, comp tickets for big festivals like Sonic Temple have become much harder to get a hold of since I no longer do this for a corporation. I’ve been very fortunate to get free tickets to more concerts than most people probably go to in a lifetime, so I’ll never complain about not getting comped for something that I love to do and have been privileged enough to do countless times. It is frustrating, though, that those opportunities have dried up for some events due to the fact that I’m now just a name and no longer a name with a corporate logo attached to it. I digress.

With that being said, Sonic Temple was not going to be in the cards for me this year, even with as awesome of a lineup that they had organized. Metallica. Korn. Alice Cooper. Alice In Chains. Linkin Park. And on, and on. These are some legendary acts and in a sudden twist of fate, that same niece shot me a text that she had picked up tickets for Sunday as a surprise for her and her boyfriend….and that she had gotten one for me as well! The seeds, that I hope I planted in her brain years ago about live music, have become a passion of hers too. I was touched that they had grabbed a wristband for me as well. Typically, her and her boyfriend go to Ohio’s other major festival; Inkcarceration in Mansfield. They recently moved to Columbus, though, and live within walking distance of Historic Crew Stadium. I went down Sunday morning, to their home, and we walked to the stadium in time to catch one of the opening acts for the day: Fame On Fire.

They were a fun show and we stayed there at the “second” stage for most of the early afternoon. We caught sets by The Plot In You, From Ashes to New, and Badflower. From there we separated for awhile. I was ready to get into the stadium for Chevelle, while they were more interested in seeing Asking Alexandria who has long evaded them. Chevelle was great, as always, and performed for the second largest crowd of the day besides the headliner.

Initially, the band after Chevelle, was supposed to be the iconic Alice In Chains. Unfortunately, due to a medical emergency, they had to pull out two days before the gig. That didn’t leave the festival organizers much time to find a replacement…especially one with the kind of draw that Alice In Chains brings in. They did, however, especially on such short time do an admirable job by adding hometown heroes Beartooth to the lineup. I’ll be the first to admit, that I am not what you would call a huge Beartooth fan. I think they are fine. It has definitely been cool, though, to see them grow over the years. You used to be able to see this band in small venues and this past winter they headlined a show at Columbus’ Schottenstein Center. That’s big time. It was also quite clear that the moment was emotional for the band as well. Lead vocalist Caleb Shomo stopped multiple times to thank the crowd and even towards the end appeared to be shedding some tears. To open an enormous show in your hometown for the biggest band in the world has to be one of those bucket list moments for them.

Outside of maybe AC/DC, there are no current bands in the rock/metal stratosphere that are as big of a draw as the festival headliner: Metallica. They are far and away the largest act that this festival has booked and it’s doubtful, honestly, that that will change. Just as they did when they headlined Rock on the Range in 2017, they absolutely filled the stadium. I’m a huge Metallica fan, but they are not my favorite band. That does not change the fact that they are massive, and at least in the United States, there is nobody else that can do what they are doing. They are bigger now, in 2025, than they even were in their “prime”. The only other act, that I’m aware of, that is playing football stadiums for multiple nights per city is Taylor Swift. I mean no disrespect to her when I say this, but she isn’t playing two completely unique sets each night either where there are zero songs repeated. That is legendary.

And so it was. Metallica came and conquered Columbus yet again. Their Sunday set was a perfect blend of classics and a few tracks from their most recent album 72 Seasons. One of the highlights for me was hearing a stadium full of people echoing back the outro to “The Memory Remains”. Getting to see the biggest band in the world, again, with my niece and her boyfriend at our hometown festival was awesome. Gene Simmons famously stated that “Rock is dead.” Sometimes it feels that way, and the up and comers definitely have their work cut out for them if there is ever going to be a new band to be on that same level as a Metallica or a Led Zeppelin or an AC/DC. But rock isn’t dead. Events like this couldn’t happen if that were true. This festival has grown from a one day affair to a four day event with four stages and 100 performances since 2007. Younger generations of fans and newer bands will have to continue to keep it alive but hearing 50,000 people in a stadium singing along to “One” and “Enter Sandman” has me very optimistic that the legends of yesteryear and the legends of today have laid a more than solid foundation for the legends of tomorrow.

Metallica Set List Columbus, OH Sonic Temple Festival May 11, 2025

  • Whiplash
  • For Whom The Bell Tolls
  • Ride The Lightning
  • The Memory Remains
  • Lux AEterna
  • Screaming Suicide
  • Metal Militia and Hang on Sloopy (medley)
  • No Leaf Clover
  • Cyanide
  • The Call of Ktulu
  • The Unforgiven
  • Wherever I May Roam
  • Fight Fire With Fire
  • Moth Into Flame
  • One
  • Enter Sandman
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Ohio’s Live Rock Scene: May

As is the case every year in these parts, May is the big dog as far as major rock & roll happenings in Ohio. Columbus is home to the Sonic Temple Festival (formerly Rock on the Range) and always brings in some of the biggest names in rock and metal music. This year is certainly no exception. We are going to start with that festival as they are bringing in the biggest metal band in the world and we will end in Cleveland with the biggest hard rock band in the world.

Next week, May 8-11, will mark the return of the massive Sonic Temple Music and Art Festival to Columbus at Historic Crew Stadium. In recent years it was expanded to four days and now even offers four stages of music. There will be over 100 performances over the course of the four days. The event is 97% sold out and it is definitely not cheap. If you haven’t already secured tickets, they can be purchased here. They do offer a “pay later” option if that is up your alley. If the event does not sell out, you will likely be able to score good deals on the days of the shows. I’ve bought from the long-time scalpers that stand on 17th Avenue before and they are usually pretty negotiable. Highlighting the four days will of course be Metallica. They will headline on Friday and Sunday and will play two entirely different set lists. No songs will be repeated. They will be supported on Friday by the legendary Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie. On Sunday, when they close out the festival, they’ll be supported by Alice In Chains. All of these bands put on phenomenal live shows.

Thursday May 8th will kick off the event and will be headlined by nu-metal titans Korn. Other great live bands that I’d recommend checking out are Three Days Grace, Poppy, Filter, and Killswitch Engage. . Joining Metallica on Friday will also be a thrash metal trio of Overkill, Testament, and Exodus as well as classic metal heroes Armored Saint from Canada. Saturday will welcome back Linkin Park to headline for the first time since 2014 when they headlined the former Rock on the Range. They will be supported throughout the day by bands such as Sick Puppies, Hoobastank, Trivium, Jimmy Eat World, Incubus, Bullet For My Valentine, and Crossfade. Lastly, joining Metallica and Alice in Chains on Sunday will be Chevelle, Swedish metal giants Arch Enemy, and the anticipated return of Power Trip.

Wednesday May 14th brings Nazareth to my favorite small venue; Columbus’ The King of Clubs. The 70’s rockers will be appearing there for the first time. Tickets are still available and range from $30 for general admission to $60 for floor seating. There are also tables available from $200-$300 depending on how many seats. I’ve never seen Nazareth, but think this should definitely be a show worth checking out.

May 19th brings two of the bigger hard rock acts of the 2000’s to Blossom Music Center up in Cuyahoga Falls. Six days later they will also visit Cincinnati’s Riverbend Music Center. The tour features Staind and Breaking Benjamin. I’ve seen both of these bands a number of times and they both sound great live. There are plenty of tickets available for both shows and those can be purchased right here.

On May 21st Billy Idol and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts will come to Cincinnati’s Riverbend Music Center. I haven’t seen Billy Idol live, but Joan Jett was great at the very first Sonic Temple back in 2019. There are plenty of tickets available in all sections of the large venue. They range in price from $22-$270 depending on location and can be purchased here.

May 23rd will bring another classic rock veteran to the Buckeye State. Pat Benatar will visit The Ohio State University’s Mershon Auditorium. Tickets are pricey and range from $65-$270. They can be bought here. I saw her open for Journey once and her show was fine. The tour will make stops in Sylvania (Toledo-ish) the next night and down on the river in Marietta on the 27th.

There is only one active band right now that could top the Metallica visit next week. Short of Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin reuniting, that band is AC/DC. It’s been a long time since the boys from Down Under have played in Ohio and it very well could be the last time that they do. They will be playing in Cleveland for the final night of their tour on May 28th at Huntington Bank Field; home of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns. The show is nearly sold out and the few remaining seats range in price from $221-$360. If you can swing it, buy your tickets here, and go see one of the greatest rock acts of all time for possibly the final time. I’ve been fortunate enough to see AC/DC twice and can’t recommend it enough!

That’s all for May! June has some good stuff coming up too, but May is definitely the time to go see some live music!

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Ohio’s live rock scene: April

Well, I dropped the ball on this one, and am already behind. Hopefully, you already knew that Cold was in Columbus at The King of Clubs last Saturday night. If not, my bad. The Jacksonville outfit also visited Cleveland two nights prior but won’t be back in Ohio for the remainder of the tour. They will visit nearby Indianapolis, Lexington, KY and Covington, KY to end the jaunt on May 30th through June 1st if you want to make the trek to see them.

If you are in the Cincinnati area, southern rock legends ZZ Top are rolling into the Queen City TONIGHT at the Andrew Brady Music Center. Plenty of tickets remain available and range from $46 to $165. They can be purchased here. I’ve been fortunate enough to see ZZ Top twice and they were stellar both times. This is the Houston trio’s only announced visit to the Buckeye State this year.

Classic era Queensryche vocalist Geoff Tate is on tour and visiting each of the three big C’s of Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus. On April 12th he’ll be playing at the Taft Theatre in Cincy. On the 15th he’ll play TempleLive Cleveland and on the 16th he will visit TempleLive Columbus. The tour is featured as the final time that Tate will play Queensryche’s famous Operation Mindcrime album in its entirety. Tickets are still available for all three shows through Ticketmaster. If you dig 80’s era metal, this is a show worth looking into. My buddy Dan and I met Geoff Tate several years ago as part of an after show meet and greet from a Queensryche gig. The show was fantastic.

Thursday, April 17th, folk rock legend Bob Dylan stops in Toledo at the Stranahan Theater. This show is sold out. Two nights later the music icon stops in Youngstown at the Powers Auditorium. At the time that I am writing this, there are three total tickets still available. Dylan, who will turn 84 in May, is one of the most influential songwriters of all time.

April 19th brings options to people in Columbus. Icons like Bob Dylan? No. However, rock favorites from nearby Point Pleasant, West Virginia that have adopted Columbus as a second home, Bobaflex will be playing a rare live show at The Newport Music Hall. The band has largely been quiet for the better part of a decade as some members have moved on to a quieter life and others have soldiered on with a new project: The Lonely Ones. Occasionally, though, the McCoy brothers convene the Bobaflex band to do these one off shows at The Newport. General admission tickets are still available for $20 and can be purchased here. They aren’t all that active these days, but Bobaflex used to play anywhere and everywhere in the Buckeye State. They’ve played its biggest festival, the former Rock on the Range, but I’ve also seen them three times in Marion and another time in Mount Vernon. They aren’t in it for the stardom, they just want to play live shows…and they’ll probably party with you afterwards.

Across town, at the same time, at A&R Music Bar will be New York rockers Wheatus. Admittedly, I don’t know anything about them outside of their absolute banger; “Teenage Dirtbag”. Tickets are available here for only $17-22. At that price point, you really can’t go wrong. At the bare minimum, you’re going to get live music and get to sing along to one of the most iconic rock songs of the early 2000’s. It’s kind of hard to not have a good time under those circumstances. If you’re closer to the Cleveland area, they will be in Lakewood the night before at Mahall’s.

Wrapping up April will be arena rock legends Journey. They are coming to Cleveland for a private concert for season ticket holders of the Cleveland Browns on April 24th. The concert will be a Draft Day party and will feature a full headlining set at Huntington Bank Field, the home stadium of the Browns. Tickets are free for Browns season ticket holders. As of now, they are available for purchase from Ticketmaster as resell tickets. The current range is $20-$182. I expect these prices to steadily drop. Ohio weather in April is unpredictable and a band like Journey is not going to want to play to an empty stadium. If you know a Browns season ticket holder, reach out to them for their tickets if they aren’t going to go. Journey has been a great performance each of the several times that I have seen them over the years; albeit with three different singers. Few bands have a catalog of tracks that everyone knows every word to. Journey is one of them. This one should be a good time as long as the band members keep their egos in check and leave their drama in San Francisco.

That wraps it up for April. Go try to see some live music! If April doesn’t do it for ya, don’t worry, we’ve got the big boys coming up in May.

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Ohio’s upcoming concerts: March

March is nearing its end and spring, at least by the calendar, is here. While the days may be few, there are still a handful of rock concerts coming to the Buckeye State before April arrives that are worth checking out!

This Saturday night, at my favorite small venue, is Brother Cane. They will be making a stop at The King of Clubs. These guys released three albums in the 1990’s and are led by their vocalist Damon Johnson. You may also recognize him as one of the three guitarists in the current Lynyrd Skynyrd band. Tickets can be purchased here. I’ve not seen this band live, but I’ve yet to be disappointed by a show at The King of Clubs.

Wednesday night, Poppy will visit Cleveland’s House of Blues on her They’re All Around Us tour. The pop-metal-internet sensation is fresh off of a performance on the Jimmy Kimmel Show in support of her album that shares the tour’s namesake. Tickets can be purchased here, and range from $39.50-$69.50. I’ve seen her once and found her show to be very entertaining and I enjoyed it. The House of Blues is also a cool, historic venue to see a concert in.

March 29th, the last Saturday of the month, brings two big time bands from the “nu-metal” era for a pair of arena shows.

In the capital city of Columbus, Deftones will be performing at Nationwide Arena. They’ve never been my thing and I haven’t been impressed by their live shows in the past. However, their recent career resurgence has them playing at one of the larger venues in the state, so I must acknowledge their relevance. The Mars Volta will be opening the concert and tickets can be purchased here. It does appear that the show is sold out, so you’ll unfortunately need to be prepared to pay re-sale prices.

The other arena show going on that night will take place in the Queen City of Cincinnati. Coming to Heritage Bank Center is the band Disturbed. Tickets are available from $29 to $182 and can be purchased here. Daughtry and Nothing More are the opening acts for this show. I’ve seen Disturbed live several times and have always enjoyed them. The Chicago metal act has been active since 1994 and have been touring pretty relentlessly for the past ten years or so. I’d vouch for this one, of the remaining March concerts coming to Ohio, as the best bang for your buck. If these aren’t your jam, don’t fret, Ohio is welcoming a jam packed April and it is sure to have a little something for everyone!

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Pickerington bangs their heads with Quiet Riot at annual festival

Quiet Riot. The members that are continuing to carry on the legacy of the very important heavy metal outfit headlined the annual Picktown Palooza festival in the Columbus suburbs last weekend. The band was fantastic and were touring on their ongoing 40 Years of Metal Health (41 now) tour that began in 2023. Their story is one of triumph and tragedy alike, and they were sure to pay homage to their former band members that aren’t with us anymore; namely an iconic trio of rock stars that left this world too soon: guitarist Randy Rhodes, drummer Frankie Banali, and lead vocalist Kevin DuBrow. Anyone that dares refer to themselves as a metal head, ought to know the importance of 1983’s Metal Health record and what it meant for the future of the genre. Metal Health was the first metal album to every top the Billboard charts. Ever. It’s a great record from start to finish and I strongly encourage anyone to put it into their rotation regularly.

For starters, the festival has definitely grown tremendously since the last time that I attended. I believe that it was in 2019 when Dokken headlined and the event was held in the middle of town. It is now held on the campus of one of their huge high schools and was certainly much larger than in the past. Sponsored by local rock station, QFM 96, the concert attendance numbered in the thousands by my estimation. The show was highlighted not only by the hits but by deeper cuts like “Love’s a Bitch” and “Run For Cover” but the absolute highlight was being able to finally see “Thunderbird” performed live. You can check my video of that performance below.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZlkT7bgbJ34%3Fsi%3DQ3ysRCFJ-dbJ9HqI
Quiet Riot performing “Thunderbird” live at Picktown Palooza

The last time that I’d seen Quiet Riot was in 2007 at The Ohio State Fair when they played the Celeste Center with Slaughter. While classic era members DuBrow and Banali were still in the band at that time and the show was great, the set list was very short (only 8 songs for a headliner?!) and didn’t have enough stuff from their iconic album. Sadly, DuBrow would leave this world just three months after that gig at the young age of 52. The current era of the band righted those wrongs in Pickerington with a 15 song set that featured a heavy portion of the Metal Health record. Afterall, when you have an album that went 6x platinum, it’s wise to feature it in your live show. With that being said, however, I always encourage new music and I was happy to see the band play a song that wasn’t released until 2022; “I Can’t Hold On”. The song was a lost demo track written by DuBrow and Grossi back in the early 2000s that had been forgotten about until it was found on an iPod in 2021. The current band constructed the track from its demo status and released it two years ago.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=SmWZ2rDe1oQ%3Fsi%3D09_mTkyVlySpGB9W

They did that and more. The current lineup was energized and lead vocalist Jizzy Pearl (who has also sung for contemporary acts L.A. Guns, Ratt, and Love/Hate) had great control of the crowd. Drummer Johnny Kelly (formerly of Type O Negative, Kill Devil Hill, and Danzig) had the unenviable task of trying to fill the enormous shoes of Frankie Banali. Banali famously held the spot behind the drum kit from 1980 until his death in 2020 and poured his life into keeping the band’s legacy alive after DuBrow’s death in 2008 as was documented in the 2014 rockumentary: Quiet Riot: Well Now You’re Here, There’s No Way Back. It is a fantastic film that documents the real life struggles of a band that seemingly had it all, lost it all, and the lifelong grind of trying to climb back to keep the dream and the music alive. It’s seriously a great film and a must stream if you haven’t already. Like I said, no small task for Kelly to sit in Banali’s seat. However, he played great and combined with iconic bass player Rudy Sarzo, the rhythm section was on point all night. Sarzo is one of those guys that has been around the heavy metal and classic rock band block, general good guy, and is well respected not only for his work with Quiet Riot but also in the following bands: Ozzy Osbourne, Dio, Blue Oyster Cult, Whitesnake, The Guess Who and Geoff Tate’s Queensryche. The last of those, with Queensryche, I felt he was the star of the show when they played Columbus’ famed Newport Music Hall about a decade ago. The dude is a legend. Lastly, lead guitarist Alex Grossi, has held down that spot for nearly 20 years now. His playing did justice to those Cavazo riffs of the heyday era but he also made sure to pay homage to the all to brief career of the bands founding member; Randy Rhodes, as well. I hope that this incarnation of the band continues to tour for many years and perhaps for the 45th or 50th anniversary of Metal Health, they can play it in its entirety!

Quiet Riot Set List – July 13, 2024, Pickerington, Ohio

  • 1. Run For Cover (1983)
  • 2. Slick Black Cadillac (1983)
  • 3. Mama Weer All Crazee Now (1984) (Slade cover)
  • 4. I Can’t Hold On (2022)
  • 5. Sign of the Times (1984)
  • 6. Love’s a Bitch (1983)
  • 7. Condition Critical (1984)
  • 8. Thunderbird (1983)
  • 9. Party All Night (1984)
  • 10. Blackout in the Red Room (1990) (Love/Hate cover)
  • 11. The Wild and the Young (1986)
  • 12. Let’s Get Crazy (1983)
  • 13. Highway to Hell (1979) (AC/DC cover)
  • 14. Cum On Feel The Noize (1983) (Slade cover)
  • 15. Metal Health (Bang Your Head) (1983)
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Lynyrd Skynyrd, Oliver Anthony, and Fuel visit Columbus

Well, I’m going to start this one with the elephant in the room. The first Buckeye Motorcycle and Music Rally festival in Columbus, OH (at least on Saturday, I didn’t attend Friday) was horribly attended. I don’t know who dropped the ball. I don’t know if this was promoted poorly or if tickets were too expensive or if there were just too many other things to do in Columbus on this day, but I genuinely felt bad for all involved. I felt bad for whomever put this event on, because I don’t see any way that they made any return on their investment to host this event. I felt bad for the dozens of pop up shops and food trucks that had nobody to serve. I felt bad for the three great bands that likely haven’t played to crowds this small in ages.

With that said, each of the three bands that I took in, remained professional and put on great shows. At 6 p.m. Fuel took to the stage. The Pennsylvania rock band had played this venue before at 2014’s Rock on the Range Festival, which was the last time I had seen them perform. At this point in the evening there were only a few hundred people in the massive stadium to catch their set, and that’s a shame because they were on top of their game. The people in the pit area to the right of the band was spirited and engaged and I believe kept the band inspired to put on a good performance. Honestly, with as poorly attended as this was, the event’s organizers should have began massively discounting ticket prices a month ago to try to recoup some cost and they also should have allowed everyone on to the stadium floor yesterday as it became apparent that dividing the fans into areas made the crowd size look even smaller. At one point the band even remarked that they didn’t care if they were playing to 5 people or 15,000. Most importantly, the band sounded great and were able to debut a new song from an upcoming album release that they seemed genuinely excited about. Of course, their late 90’s and early 2000’s anthems “Shimmer” and “Hemorrhage (In My Hands)” were very well received by the fans in attendance but the prospect of new music is always welcome by fans and band alike.

Fuel performing “Hemorrhage (In My Hands)”.

I was very excited for the next performer of the night; Oliver Anthony. I believe that this was his first visit to Columbus. I don’t do many reviews of country artists or go to many country shows. Country music has become so commercial over the past twenty years with so many of the radio friendly artists honestly being the farthest thing from country. In recent years, however, there has been an uptick of talent being exposed that is more representative of real country music. Oliver Anthony fits that mold. His band was fantastic and brought their brand of foot stompin’, back porch sittin’, Blue Ridge Mountain music to life. After a brief Bible reading and a performance of “Amazing Grace”, Anthony would also remark about the scarcity of the crowd; commenting that “I guess tonight will be an intimate affair” or something to that effect. When their set began at 7:30 the crowd may have been pushing 1,500 spectators. While the attendees were few, the ones that came enjoyed the band in a steady rain for the majority of the set. Obviously, the highlight was their 2023 anthem “Rich Men North of Richmond”, a song that resonated with millions of Americans from every sort of background that are fed up with being sold out by the suits in Washington, D.C. However, if you haven’t dug into the rest of their catalog yet, you are sorely missing out. Songs like “Cobwebs and Cocaine”, “Ain’t Gotta Dollar”, “I Want To Go Home”, and “I’ve Got To Get Sober” as well as a cover of Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen” were all highlights as well as many more. These are the types of songs that I mean when I say real country. These are the types of songs and the type of music that depict the kind of struggles that those rich men North of Richmond know nothing about. The band concluded their set with “Rich Men North of Richmond” and had three minutes left of stage time when it concluded…so they played it again, much to the delight of the rain soaked yet raucous crowd. Normally, they would also include a cover of “Free Bird”, which was requested from the crowd but Anthony quipped that “someone else had to play that one tonight.”

At 9 o’ clock it was time for the event’s headlining act, the iconic Lynyrd Skynyrd, to make their first appearance at Crew Stadium and their first visit to Columbus since 2012 when they opened the city’s Columbus Commons venue in downtown. That show was the first time that I was able to officially review this legendary group and photograph them as they toured in support of their Last of a Dyin’ Breed record. As they have every time that I’ve been fortunate enough to see them (I believe last night was #12 since the 2006 tour with 3 Doors Down and Shooter Jennings), they brought their best effort. This was my first time seeing them since the passing of guitarist Gary Rossington last spring, and while Damon Johnson has mighty big shoes to fill, he served admirably and the band is now able to continue on and keeping some of the greatest music ever written alive and relevant in the live setting. I’d imagine that by the time that Skynyrd took the stage that the crowd had probably reached a few thousand strong and the rain held off for the rest of the night. The Jacksonville band played their pretty standard 14 song set and while there weren’t many surprises, I imagine it is nearly impossible to find the perfect set list unless they were going to play until 3 a.m. Alas, they wrapped up around 10:30, sounding as good as ever. I hope that at some point Columbus gets another shot to see this band before they hang ’em up for good. If I don’t get a chance to see them again, I was glad to be there throughout the years. They always made sure to “play it pretty” for Cincinnati, Columbus, Cuyahoga Falls, Toledo, and Dayton in all of the different venues that I saw them play. Not only did I get to see them all of those times, the supporting acts that they’ve brought out on the road has also been the stuff of legend: Hank Williams, Jr., ZZ Top, Bad Company, 3 Doors Down, Justin Moore, Shooter Jennings, Black Stone Cherry, Blue Oyster Cult, The Marshall Tucker Band, and .38 Special are just some of the groups that I’ve also seen along the way as a touring partner of the Lynyrd Skynyrd band.

Lynyrd Skynyrd Set List 6/29/2024 Columbus, OH

  • 1. Workin’ For MCA
  • 2. Skynyrd Nation
  • 3. What’s Your Name
  • 4. That Smell
  • 5. I Know A Little
  • 6. Whiskey Rock-a Roller
  • 7. Saturday Night Special
  • 8. The Ballad of Curtis Loew
  • 9. Tuesday’s Gone
  • 10. Simple Man
  • 11. Gimme Three Steps
  • 12. Call Me The Breeze (J.J. Cale cover)
  • 13. Sweet Home Alabama
  • 14. Free Bird (encore)
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Avenged Sevenfold and Poppy burn it down in Columbus

Avenged Sevenfold made their second visit to Ohio’s capital city last night in support of their latest offering; 2023’s Life Is But A Dream…, a project that was five years in the making. They made their initial Columbus stop last May as the Friday night headliner at the Sonic Temple Festival. Admittedly, I was concerned after watching them last year at a festival that has become like a second home for them. Perhaps, it was just the long layoff after the pandemic that had made them seem somewhat rusty. Whatever rust they may have had last May has surely been shaken off by now. Last night at Nationwide Arena the band were in top form. Their proper headlining, fifteen song set saw them focus on their latest record but also dust off some of their more obscure back catalog.

The opener for this tour is alt-pop-metal outfit Poppy. Admittedly, I was unfamiliar with her or her band prior to last night and I didn’t have high expectations. I’m glad that I went into it with an open mind, however. I’m sure that I am not the target demographic for her music and will admit that it was certainly not in my wheelhouse of something that I’d normally listen to. With all of that said, there was something about the performance that drew me in. I can’t explain it. There were elements of techno, metal, and pop that fused into an oddly enjoyable blend of music. All I can say is I had never heard or seen anything quite like it before last night. I would explain it as if you mixed Rob Zombie with In This Moment and K-Pop. I’m generally not one that would be described as a very artistic person, but her performance was certainly art. I can and do appreciate that. While I might not understand it, I was entertained and drawn into it, and in retrospect there were things about her performance that fits with the experimentation and progressive path that A7X has been on since Hail To The King was released.

Poppy Set List Columbus, OH 3/26/2024

  • 1. Bloodmoney
  • 2. Church Outfit
  • 3. Bite Your Teeth
  • 4. I Disagree
  • 5. X
  • 6. Hard
  • 7. Sit/Stay
  • 8. V.A.N. (Bad Omens cover)
  • 9. Fill The Crown
  • 10. Anything Like Me
  • 11. Scary Mask
  • 12. Concrete

Shortly after 9 p.m. the lights dimmed and Kvinsky’s Nightcall played over the speakers as the intro before Avenged Sevenfold took the stage to kick off the night with a pair of songs from the new album. It’s no secret that over the course of the past two albums the band has been experimenting with new sounds. Like bands before them (Rush, Iron Maiden, Metallica, etc.) they’ve been pushing the boundaries into new territory. Avenged Sevenfold no longer fits into a cookie cutter box of a proper metalcore band. They’ve grown. They’ve evolved. That’s okay, too. How boring would it be, for them, to continuously make the same record over and over again? Do I have a fondness for their earlier work? Absolutely. I do enjoy seeing a band grow, though, and both The Stage and Life Is But A Dream… have grown on me with each listen.

The new tracks held up well in the live setting and of course the crowd went nuts for the songs from the “classic” era of this band. For a band that I worried about potentially being lost less than a year ago; those fears have been put to rest after seeing them last night. M. Shadows in particular seemed to be having fun again and his vocals were stronger than they’ve been in a long time. With eight studio albums now under their belt, during a career spanning twenty five years, there is always going to be a gripe with any set list that they choose to perform. Of course I want to hear “Beast and the Harlot“, but I’ll gladly trade that for a band that is still challenging themselves to make new music. That means the fire still burns within them. If that fire still burns, then you’ve got a band that is going to continue to create. Bands that create, want to share their art and perform it live. Give me that. Bands that become bored, don’t last. I need live music more than I need to hear a particular song. I’m thankful that Avenged Sevenfold is still driven to create and bring us their live show. Inspiration breeds motivation, and has led this band back to being on top of their game. They were on top of their game last night.

Avenged Sevenfold Set List Columbus, Ohio 3/26/2024

  • 1. Game Over (2023)
  • 2. Mattel (2023)
  • 3. Afterlife (2007)
  • 4. Hail To The King (2013)
  • 5. We Love You (2023)
  • 6. Shepherd Of Fire (2013)
  • 7. The Stage (2016)
  • 8. Roman Sky (2016)
  • 9. Blinded In Chains (2005)
  • 10. Bat Country (2005)
  • 11. Nobody (2023)
  • 12. Nightmare (2010)
  • 13. Unholy Confessions (2003)
  • 14. Save Me (2010)
  • 15. Cosmic (2023)
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