From her early days in Warlock and on to her own impressive solo career, Doro Pesch is to many Heavy Metal fans the one true reigning queen without any peer. For over twenty years she has been delivering Metal that holds its origins in the genres most classic and respected roots, and since she first appeared on the scene she has rarely taken a break from releasing CD's and DVD's for her fans. The singer recently celebrated her anniversary with a rocking DVD that features just about every one of her most memorable tunes. It also finds some of the worlds most respected rockers making an appearance to raise the hails with her. It's been a few years since she last appeared in New York City and when she did, this performance was an opening slot. Her chance to do a headlining set of music once again made this a must get to event and when it was announced that Savatage/Trans-Siberian Orchestra Chris Caffery would be joining her band for the US Tour it became all the more appealing. The Metal extravaganza would happen of course at the one and only B.B. King Blues Club & Grill (a venue that I am starting to feel that I should receive mail at based on how many times I visit them to bring you the Metal word). Soon after Chris' announced he would be jamming in Doro's band he made it public that he would also be opening up directly for her set and with his having so many fans in NYC for his own work you knew tonight was going to be special.

Read on for Ken Pierce's full show review!

The evening was kicked off by two independent local bands (Operatika and Arctic Flame). Operatika came on too early for me to see, but I caught a little Arctic Flame. They're not bad and base their music in a style that can be best described as early Power Metal. Guitarist Jon Mariani is the definitive shining star in the group.

Caffery hit the stage a little bit after 10pm, and I was honestly not happy about the overall late scheduling for this show. It was a Tuesday after all and at the risk of sounding cold, one of the openers should have been sacrificed to allow this show to run a little earlier and give the headliners a chance to keep their audience energized and give them a little extra music. Caffery was celebrating the release of his third album, a molten Metal platter called Pins And Needles. I had just heard the disc and can attest that this is the heaviest I have heard him since Savatage and Doctor Butcher. His band tonight would be very different since I last saw him as well, and now have Paul LaPlaca on keyboards and some guitar, Joey Bones on bass and the maniac himself John Macaluso on drums. Chris' set was far too short and while I am a big fan of the guy I felt he should have cut any banter to try and get another tune in there for everyone. He did stop to sing happy birthday to his friend while sporting a lighted tuxedo jacket so that at least was a bit more amusing than just finding him talking about politics like some other musicians often do. The tunes and band were tight and covered a little of everything that Chris had done over the last couple of years. He even managed to fit in a Savatage tune with "Edge Of Thorns" and that had people singing and after a quick Macaluso drum solo he would do his signature number of "Pisses Me Off". I think this is a cute tune, but I really am wondering if he should close with this as opposed to pulling a show stopper out of his catalog that might instead leave the audience breathless. His guitar playing was really great tonight and he was proving to a packed room that he is one of Metal's most solid players. His set ran about a half an hour and from here he would change and be back onstage as Doro's guitarist. Whew, talk about a busy night.

It was about 11pm and Doro was finally here and the crowd was totally in frenzy about it. I was pretty excited myself as it has been a number of years since I last saw her and the one thing I really admire about the performer is her drive and intensity to her craft. She hit the stage like a locomotive running off the tracks and her band was equally as animated. As drummer Johnny Dee smashed his kit, bassist Nick Douglas (or Metal Man as he is known to those who have watched the DVD) just pummels his bass with fervor. Chris was off to my right and really seemed to fit right in to the band and this was commendable since he has only been signed on for this about a month ago. It's one thing to learn the songs and another entirely to seem like you have been in the band for a lot longer. Joe Taylor also plays guitar in the band but I was more focused on Doro herself and Caffery based on where I was viewing the show from. If you have been lucky enough to see this new DVD then you know that the Doro set is a kick ass display of Metal and energy. She bounced around the stage and often was reaching far over the photo pit area to touch the outstretched hands of the fans. I was glad to see how well she was going over because she is really a legendary Metal superpower when you look at her historically. She comes from a time when it seemed like the Metal genre was a boys club only and despite this she stood strong, tall and has outlasted many of her contemporaries from those years. Not many performers can proclaim that they had such a career and such a rich catalog of memorable material. She opened tonight with "Earthshaker Rock" and this was pretty much setting the stage for the entire night. I could feel the audience behind me shaking the barrier that allows me to take pictures and since we are in a club there is not a massive span of room but more like a few feet only. It's strong but I did not know how long this was going to remain stationary with the legions acting out all their aggressions in full force. "I Rule The Ruins" came up next and then "You're My Family" and then something weird happened. The bodies started flying and landing on everyone in the photo area (journalists, photographers and security). By my recollection this has not happened to me this early EVER, and I have seen some insane Black and Death Metal shows over the last couple of years. Leave it to the classic style of Doro to find me with Metal heads falling out of the sky to land on top of me. Once safely away, I continued to enjoy the set and it was too incredible if you ask me. It included almost every tune that I had held close to me in her Metal catalog and was also loaded with the solid numbers from her new album "Warrior Soul". The DVD she filmed was done in support of the release which is possibly her finest album in a couple of years. Doro would also deliver a Judas Priest cover with "Breaking The Law", which she did on her "Classic Diamonds" album before she would launch into her main anthem of "All We Are". This was the first tune that found many of us first hearing Doro including myself, so it holds a little power over the rest of her music. Needless to say the audience is all singing this one from beginning to end and she keeps it going in the chorus to allow for some serious crowd participation. She would talk to the crowd at some points and seemed very happy to have Chris joining her for the tour and let the audience know this fact right away. After that main tune she would return for a couple of encores and would literally leave the venue with the fans both exhausted and begging for more. There are good Metal shows and there are great ones and thanks to you Ms. Pesch and company for giving the legions one of the most exhilarating times for them to remember for many months to come. We all look forward to your return.

Chris Caffery Set List
1. Edge of Darkness
2. Reach Out and Torment Again
3. Edge of Thorns
4. Into the Arena
5. Preludio/Abandoned
6. Pisses Me Off

Doro Set List
1. Earthshaker Rock
2. I Rule The Ruins
3. You're My Family
4. Burning The Witches
5. True As Steel
6. Above The Ashes
7. Hellbound
8. Hellraiser
9. Metal Racer
10. Johnny Dee Drum Solo
11. Strangers Yesterday
12. Fur Immer
13. Burn It Up
14. Fight
15. Breaking The Law
16. All We Are
17. East Meets West
18. Love Me In Black
19. Burn It Up

Official Web site: www.doropesch.com
Official Web site: www.chriscaffery.com