The Legends of Rock music Mountain would be continuing their 35th
Anniversary Tour with a stop at the famous B.B. King Blues Club in
NYC. Supporting the show this evening would be The Lizards (a band
that now features Mike DeMeo from Riot and Bobby Rondinelli from
Rainbow/Blue Oyster Cult).
Sea of Tranquility's Ken Pierce was on hand and brings us this report.
Lizards would be featuring tunes from their
last year release Cold Blooded Kings, and this music will appeal to
any fan of Blues oriented Rock and Roll. There was some great Led
Zeppelin feel to the piece and I am happy to report that it conveys
very well in a live setting. I was able to briefly talk to the band
before they went on and was sad to find out that they would only be
playing for 45 minutes this evening. Still, despite this dilemma a
good 6 tunes would be performed as well as a drum solo from Bobby
Rondinelli. Mike's voice is crystal clear in a performance and given
he also plays the keyboards, the music is full at all times during the
set. Patrick Klein had a great guitar tone the entire brief set and he
is a stylish player who seems to have a very blues based origin.
Bassist Randy Pratt holds it all in place and totally surprised me with
the skill he demonstrated on harmonica during one of the numbers.
Looking on Bobby Rondinelli I can say that he really needs no words.
This man is perhaps one of the best Rock drummers in the business today
and any day. His legendary work with Rainbow and most recently the
Blue Oyster Cult has made him a welcome addition to the Lizards
lineup. I am sure that The Lizards are on an even better path of
success based on the addition to these two guys. The crowd reception
of them was largely positive and that was nice to see since everyone
was a diehard Mountain head in the sold out club. Sometimes those
types are not too receptive of the opening acts so this was a great
sign for me to observe. The Lizards are set to do some opening slots
for UFO when the group returns to the States so if you are a fan of
this kind of music I advise you check them out as well. You will not
be disappointed.
Mountain would hit the stage very shortly after the break and while it
was exciting to see them in person once again, it seemed as though
Leslie West was very ill, or just had been. He explained very early in
the set that his voice was shot and he joked that it was from yelling
at drummer Corkey Laing for 35 years more than anything else. Leslie's
sound was great as I expected it to be, but I have only seen them twice
in my lifetime. It's a unique sound I always felt, and really had
influenced a lot of players who came up in the 70's as far as rock and
roll was concerned. Laing was hammering at the drums, and is a
different player than Rondinelli. He actually kept his stage tech busy
with knocking the stands off of his riser. Continually through the
set, Laing would propel drumsticks off the cymbals and into the
audience. This crowd was eating that up, and I think he had to go
through a few dozen of them. On bass is Ritchie Scarlet, and while he
plays a mean one I have never been a fan of his vocals. He sang a few
of the numbers that Felix Pappilardi sang I was not all that happy with
them. Leslie who certainly likes to tell stories throughout the show,
described Ritchie as Keith Richards with a better haircut (or something
along those lines). Among the expected Mountain staples, there were a
few nice surprises. One of them was an acoustic rendition of Bob
Dylans "Blowin' in The Wind". This was done by Leslie alone, and truly
had some heart to it. Originally it was announced that Michael
Schenker would be sitting in with the group on guitar. Yet some
personal issues came up and he had subsequently cancelled all of his
appearances. As I watched the show I could not see where he would have
sat in perhaps except perhaps on one of the closing tunes or cover
numbers. The cover number that blew me away was the bands rendition
of "Crossroads" by Cream, who West informed everyone was a major
influence on his own career. This was a highlight to experience. The
surprisingly short show was closed out by the expected "Mississippi
Queen" their most famous number. Leslie was definitely showing signs
of needing to stop at this point, and perhaps this was the reason for
the set length.
I did enjoy getting to see the band though, as a 35 year career in any
job is to be admired, much less the Music Industry. Especially today
when emphasis is based more on quick money and flash in the pan stuff
than fostering a band and watching them succeed year after year.
Lizard's Set List:
1. Something Higher
2. The Rodeo
3. Down
4. Hyperspace
5. Bobby Rondinelli Drum Solo
6. Mad
7. Can't Fool Myself
Mountain Set List
1. Never In My Life
2. Blood of the Sun
3. Theme For An Imaginary Western
4. Leslie Solo
5. Blowin in the Wind (acoustic)
6. Nantucket Sleigh Ride
7. Corky Laing Drum Solo (with Tito on percussion)
8. Going Down
9. Crossroads
10. Mississippi Queen
For full photo section courtesty of Piercing Metal, click here
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