Abyss's Review (12/9/00 Roseland Ballroom, New York, NY):
O.K. what do Doro, Dio, and Yngwie have in common? Odd names? All from the 80s? They’re all old? I guess it could be all of the above. All three seem to be making a kind of “comeback” this year, so it seems only fitting that they tour together. Personally, I didn’t enjoy any of their new albums all that much, so the thrill of seeing live metal wasn’t there this time, and I don’t honestly know whether that benefited the artists or gave them an extra hurdle. On the one hand, it’s hard to write how much you enjoyed a show that you weren’t excited about, but on the other hand, they have no real level of expectation to live up to.
Dio
Photos by Cynthia PelznerDue to traffic (the annoyance, not the band) I got into the Roseland Ballroom at the end of Doro’s set. I was able to catch a few songs, however, and Ms. Pesch sounded pretty good. There was an obvious sense of 80s nostalgia present, and the crowd seemed to eat it up. Average age here was well over 30, and I must say that it felt quite good to be on the under side of the median age again. Doro pranced around stage in her leather pants and played to the crowd with profound questions like “How are you doing, New York!?!” while the almost entirely male audience fawned over her like she still looked like she did 15 years ago. Granted she’s still an attractive woman, but come on, if you ask me who’s music I like more I’ll pick Doro; if you ask me who I’d rather fuck it would have to be Christina or Britney. But hey, beauty’s in the crotch of the beholder, but I digress…
Yngwie J. Malmsteen was up next. Now I know I’ve oft written that his music, while technically proficient, lacks songwriting and heart. Now that I’ve finally seen him live, I can say that I have been correct this entire time. Never in my life have I witnessed more flash and pompousness than during this short set. And while Mr. Malmsteen doesn’t have the same hairline difficulties as many of his contemporaries, he could do us all a favor (favour for our British readers) and button up his shirt. Quick tip, when your stomach protrudes over your guitar, the time for wearing an open billowing shirt is over. Yngwie did impress the hell out of me with his dexterity, but take away the technicality of his performance and there really just isn’t anything there. He does put on a good show. Kicking, and jumping around, but he’s just so damn conceited that it’s hard to take it seriously. I mean damn, this guy will do anything to try to impress us, even continuing to play while he towels off his brow. But to his credit, he didn’t miss a single, blistering-paced note the entire night. By the way, he played 201,635 notes and 4 chords.
YngwieThe man was next. The mighty Dio. Or at least that’s what everyone else tells me, he looks kinda small to me. The crowd was way into this guy, and why shouldn’t they be? They have a lot in common with him; baldness is a common problem. Dio opened with a lot of older material before going into about five songs in a row from Magica. This structure just went to prove how the new material really doesn’t stack up. It was evident from the crowd reaction that the new album isn’t one of their favorites. Don’t get me wrong, they still cheered, but the new material seemed to lull them into a hypnotic state… it’s just plain boring. But luckily it was much easier to get to the bar. A crowd favorite was “Heaven and Hell” which did a great job of waking everyone up out of their stupor. To his credit, Ronnie’s voice has really held up well over the years, much better than that of his peers. In short, Dio is still a force to be reckoned with, but his glory days appear to be behind him.
Death's Review (12/9/00 Roseland Ballroom, New York, NY):
I'd seen this one coming on the calendar for some time, although we didn't actually get it together and commit to covering the show until a few nights before. You see, getting the team together to get to a show isn't always easy. Life is hectic in the Big Apple, and it takes effort to arrange for these things. Moreover, in New York, everything seems to sell a lot of tickets. And many shows sell out. New York is a major media hub so guest lists and photo credentials can be tight. But this was a classic eighties metal bill of only slightly less epic proportions than the Maiden/QR/Halford jaunt from earlier this year. On a Saturday night no less. We had to check this one out.
DioSo it was that I found myself braving the bitter cold and the ungodly 2000 Edition Midtown Manhattan Holiday Tourist Pedestrian Traffic TM to wait out in front of Roseland for the multiple waves of late-arriving Judgment Committee members (and photographer) so I could dole out their tickets/credentials as they got to the venue. Eventually, everyone showed and we got inside. By the time I got a beer and settled in, I focused for, say, a song and a half before Doro's set was finished. I can tell you this: she looked good up there, the sound seemed excellent, and there was a large crowd, even though she was the first of two openers, and people did generally seem to be paying attention.
During the intermission we drank. Roseland served mixed drinks and we found a bartender who was feeling quite generous with the alcohol. We talked and drank and psyched ourselves up for Yngwie who soon came onstage and put on a fantastic performance. For starters, his new singer was an improvement, in my opinion, on the last. But make no mistake about it: this show was about Yngwie Malmsteen. It reminded me what I loved about Yngwie albums like Rising Force, Marching Out and Trilogy. The Strat and the Marshalls. The speed of it all, the progressiveness and the amazing technique. .Yngwie proved himself quite the showman at Roseland, taking center stage and performing antics like flipping his guitar up in the air and throwing picks out into the crowd the entire night. He amazed the crowd with his performance, and the crystal clear sound illuminated the fact that he never missed a note. Yngwie held the audience's attention, entertaining them throughout a lengthy opening set. A good 2/3 of this crowd was into it enough to make him feel like a headliner. And it felt to me like this might have been a special show for Yngwie, as the band even came back for an encore (for an opener?) after the house lights had already come back on for a moment. It was great fun to watch, and despite the smattering of Yngwie hecklers behind us ("You fat fuck, learn to write a fuckin' song!" Stuff like that.), there was so much energy in the room that I really have to give it up for Yngwie. In a lot of ways, it was one of the better sets of music I've seen this year. Seriously.
YngwieThe second intermission meant more drinks, a quick review of the extensive merchandise stand, and a general purview of this surprisingly large crowd. Sure, it was a cold Saturday night in New York, but I really wasn't expecting Dio to fill Roseland, a relatively rather large venue. He did. I wonder, did this tour do well nationwide? Is this a "return of metal" thing? Is this a VH1 Rock Show -inspired byproduct of 80's metal nostalgia? Or was this just a New York Saturday night? A recent Halford crowd at the same venue on a weeknight was less than half this size. Maybe Dio is like Ozzy: there's always an audience. Anybody got a theory?
Soon Dio began. He opened with the excellent and lesser known "Sunset Superman" (from 1987's highly underrated Dream Evil album), before moving into several classics from Holy Diver and reaching an early climax with another Dream Evil gem, "All the Fools Sailed Away" (who knew that Dio liked this album as much as I did?). But then, as much as it pains me to say this, Dio began playing Magica and sucked all of the life out of the audience right then and there. And he prolonged the bludgeoning by playing many, many Magica tracks, right in a row. And whatever I thought of that album before, I like it a little less now. I feel bad about it, sure, I want to like it. But all I could think about while he was playing that stuff was how much I hoped it would soon be over. Miraculously, after some time it was. And Dio redeemed himself, if only partially, for the infliction of excruciating Magica pain upon us by treating us to an extended (with the whole Live Evil "there's a big black shape lookin' up at me . . . " thing) "Heaven and Hell" (but no "Mob Rules"), Rainbow classics "Long Live Rock and Roll" and "Man on the Silver Mountain," and the awesome "Don't Talk to Strangers." He even hooked us with a cool encore of "We Rock." Good show, but you gotta break up that new material man. For the love of god. Anyone else who was there knows I'm right.
So that's it. Another big metal night out in New York City. I can't believe I wasn't that psyched going into it. Glad I got there in the end. We should all respect Dio, and should support his endeavors. He is a true legend of heavy metal. And check out Yngwie if you get the chance. As you may have heard, he shreds. Finally, I am a supporter of all that is Doro. So it's all good with this tour. Oldies acts or no, this show was the heavy metal place to be in New York City that particular Saturday night.
Hel's Review (12/9/00 Roseland Ballroom, New York, NY):
The holiday season in Manhattan is probably a lot like hell itself. Sure, instead of fire and brimstone we've got more tourists than you can fit side-by-side on a sidewalk, bumper-to-bumper traffic, and bitter cold, but I think it's all similarly excruciating. I've made a few trips to midtown lately, and I have to say I forgot what it was like, and for some reason, I keep forgetting, because I gave myself the usual amount of time to get to the corner of 52nd and Broadway. That meant I was very, very late. Turns out I wasn't the only one with a little holiday rage, and when all was said and done, I was just happy Doro was still onstage when I finally got inside. She rocked. While disappointed, I wasn't completely devastated that I missed most of her set, since I was able to console myself with the memory of her set at the March Metal Meltdown, which I was able to enjoy up close and at some length. This was better, since it was in a real venue, with much better sound, and the crowd seemed to be into her performance. What I caught sounded great. Doro was in complete command of the stage, the audience, and her voice. The few songs I saw were memorable.
DioYngwie was next on the bill and was typically phenomenal. As I stood there, straining to catch a glimpse of the stage (Why are all the men who come to Roseland over 6 feet tall? I can never see a damn thing at this place!), I was reminded of an episode of Sabrina the Teenage Witch that I recently saw in syndication. In it, Sabrina was experiencing a crisis because no one was acknowledging her excellent schoolwork any longer. Her teacher walks around handing out papers saying, "Harvey, nice work, C. Valerie, B+, excellent job! Sabrina, A. Libby..." Then Sabrina wins the science fair, and it's more of the same - of course Sabrina won the science fair, she's the best. Longing for recognition of her accomplishments, she casts a spell to be appreciated, which of course goes awry. What I saw of Yngwie's show was not only technically brilliant, but his showmanship - tossing his guitar into the air and slinging it around in a circle around himself, among other things - while never missing a note, was outstanding. But, to me, it all cries, "look at me, love me, tell me I'm the best!" I can't shake that Sabrina analogy. I can certainly understand it, however. That's the whole reason people go into show business, isn't it? Yngwie's band was good too; I liked the new singer much more than the one on the album, whoever he is. And, as I said, Yngwie himself was amazing, though his wardrobe could use an overhaul. I have to say, I think this was the first time I ever saw an encore from anyone but the last act, but Yngwie did indeed come out for one more song. Crazy stuff.
Dio was the headline act, and it seemed as though the entire house was there to see him. Their reception of him was enthusiastic, with lots and lots of drunken horns raised in the air. It is amazing, but I swear Dio looks exactly the same as he did over ten years ago. And he acts the same way too. From what I could see, he was running and jumping all over the stage, gesturing, and making intense faces. The fans were loving the old material, and were all very, very drunk on this Saturday evening. When the guy in front of me almost fell over reaching for the beer his friend brought to him, I knew it was only a matter of time before he went over. It was. At this point in the evening, Dio started playing material from Magica. It was clear that people didn't know it, because my issues about tall people suddenly became much worse, as they turned to talk to each other. I couldn't see a damn thing and was getting pretty sick of it, I must say. I really do hate Roseland as a venue, since the only place a short person can actually see the stage from is all the way in the back, where the noise is bad to begin with and all the people bored by the band congregate to talk, and the band is very small at that distance. So I invariably end up standing around straining for a glimpse of the stage. The rest of the set was great, and the encore was highly entertaining. "We Rock" made me very nostalgic for my older brother, for whom it was a personal anthem back "in the day". Considering the locale for this event, I had as good a time as possible. All the bands turned in great performances, and then we were turned out, back into the cold hostile environs of Manhattan.
Yngwie
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