It’s a Wednesday night, nowhere near as warm as the Wolfsbane gig just a few evenings previously, but this school night warm up gig for Steelhouse Festival hadn’t put punters off and the queue was round the block. Lita was in town and the fans were not gonna miss it!
Dubbed as a ‘Girls Night Out!’ tonight was all about the hard rockin’ women and kicking off the night was a young Welsh singer and her band who are unashamedly influenced by Lita, Vixen and all those other 80’s hair metal girl bands.
We caught Chez Kane (9) way back in February supporting H.E.A.T and they impressed us then. Full of energy and flair, the band use every second of their short set to indulge themselves and treat us to 30 minutes of raunchy rock that sets the tone for the rest of the evening. Vocalist Chez has a powerful delivery, honed from over a decade of hard work both in her more recent band and for a long time before that with her siblings in the band Kane’d, and it shows, she knows how to work the audience and they lap it up, a great start to the night!
I must admit to having a thing with the ladies from the 80’s hard rock scene, the advent of MTV and shows like Headbangers Ball opened up a whole new world for me, showing that the girls could rock and party just as hard as the men, but god, some of those videos were awful!
At the forefront of this musical explosion were the incredible Vixen (10) and although there is only drummer Roxy Petrucci left from the classic 80’s line-up, the new generation of Vixens can still mesmerise us. We get a plethora of classic hits tonight. Opening up with the juggernaut hit, Rev It Up they have the best time banging out those big tunes.
Vocalist Rosa Larricchiuta is stunning, an incredible voice that is perfect for this glam rock style, and she doesn’t stop smiling, having so much fun. Guitarist Britt Lightning (Brittany Denaro) is a class act with some superb guitar skills, the guitar in the ballad Love is A Killer was spine tingling and the heavy riffage on Cruisin' got the heads banging, a real talent that deserves to be on any great guitarist’s list.
As the matriarch of the band Petrucci can still hit those skins as hard as ever and has put together a fine group of musicians that honour the legacy of Vixen, and no better way to finish a rip roaring set than with their biggest hit Edge Of A Broken Heart leaving this 80’s rock chick very happy indeed.
If Vixen were the party girls of the 80s rock scene, then Lita Ford (10) was the Queen, and still is rock royalty. Lita is pure rock through and through and will never be anything less. A career that has seen her play with the best and carve out her own successful back catalogue, tonight was a celebration of that long career.
The set list is a fans dream list, opening up with the anthems Gotta Let Go and Larger Than Life we know we’re in for a great night. Songs from her extensive career are smashed out one after the other, Relentless and Living Like A Runaway keep the momentum going, and she is relentless.
As the matriarch of the band Petrucci can still hit those skins as hard as ever and has put together a fine group of musicians that honour the legacy of Vixen, and no better way to finish a rip roaring set than with their biggest hit Edge Of A Broken Heart leaving this 80’s rock chick very happy indeed.
If Vixen were the party girls of the 80s rock scene, then Lita Ford (10) was the Queen, and still is rock royalty. Lita is pure rock through and through and will never be anything less. A career that has seen her play with the best and carve out her own successful back catalogue, tonight was a celebration of that long career.
The set list is a fans dream list, opening up with the anthems Gotta Let Go and Larger Than Life we know we’re in for a great night. Songs from her extensive career are smashed out one after the other, Relentless and Living Like A Runaway keep the momentum going, and she is relentless.
Speaking of Runaways she gets all the ladies up on stage from Chez Kane and Vixen to do a celebratory version of Cherry Bomb, but it’s the final three songs of the night that seal the deal, three songs that alone would have been worth the entry fee, the powerful Only Woman Bleed got the neck hairs standing to attention, but of course there was something that hadn’t been mentioned up till this point.
We had lost The Prince of Darkness, Ozzy, just a few days previously so it was inevitable that Close My Eyes Forever was going to be dedicated to Ozzy, the huge screen at the back projected a photo of the legend whilst Lita and band member Patrick Kennison performed the song, it was an emotional moment and you could see all around the room people hugging each other, it was still raw and a fitting tribute to the great man.
You’d be happy to have the night finish there, but Lita had one more hit up her skin tight sleeve, the crowd favourite Kiss Me Deadly and after the outpouring of emotion, everyone in the room sang along, closing out a fantastic Girls Night Out and for a few hours transporting us back to those care free days of leather pants, back combing and numerous cans of hair spray!
You’d be happy to have the night finish there, but Lita had one more hit up her skin tight sleeve, the crowd favourite Kiss Me Deadly and after the outpouring of emotion, everyone in the room sang along, closing out a fantastic Girls Night Out and for a few hours transporting us back to those care free days of leather pants, back combing and numerous cans of hair spray!
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