Review by Ron
Before I dig into this review I feel the need
to give a rundown of the events leading up to the show. Spitfire
records had generously offered me the opportunity to see Dio in New York
City at the Irving Plaza, and like any fan of true metal, I jumped at the
chance, despite the six+ hour drive to NYC from Rochester. As near
to the show as 5 days before the date, I had been confirmed for the guest
list, plus meet and greet passes. When I got to the show however,
the person at the door had a different story. The list he had from
Spitfire showed nothing resembling my name. As you can imagine, I
was somewhat surprised to hear this. Luckily for me, I decided to
stick around and see if I could get it cleared up, rather than giving up.
After 2 hours of trying to get a hold of someone who could help me, the
bouncer eventually just took pity on me and allowed my friends (who I had
brought to the show with assurances that they would get in) and I
to enter. Of course, there was no way they would have given us our
meet and greet passes at this point, so the signatures I had brought my
Dio and Sabbath vinyl to be adorned with were sadly not to be dispensed,
nor were we destined to meet Ronnie and the band. As you can imagine,
after driving over six hours, paying for a hotel and all the other expenses
of traveling, this experience certainly had an effect on how I perceived
the show as a whole.
I am happy to report however, that as soon as
the band stepped on stage and fired up, any ill will on my part was immediately
washed away by the force of the incredible stage presence that Dio still
commands after all these years. This was the last date in the US
for this tour, and Dio ended it with a bang. Starting the set with
a few classics including little heard tracks like "Gypsy" and "Invisible."
(I was informed by an excited middle aged metal fan that "He never plays
these live! This is awesome!") Awesome did a good job of summing
up the show thus far. After a few songs and incredible 10+ minute
aural assault by returning drummer Simon Wright, Dio did something that
not many bands would have the balls to do. They announced that they
would be playing the new album, Magica (which is a concept album, Dio's
first) in its entirety. Some bands with a solid repertoire
of material will only play a few songs off their latest album, and end
up essentially playing only their greatest hits. Obviously, Dio has
the utmost confidence in the strength of their new material, and judging
from the crowd's reaction, this confidence was justified. As I made
my way closer to the stage the activity in the pit was heating up.
In the middle of Magica, Craig Goldy took a break to deal out the other
incredible solo of the night, showing of his awe-inspiring guitar skills
and wowing the fans. Goldy was a member back in the Dream Evil days,
and his return is definitely good news for Dio fans. Another returning
member going way back with Dio was Jimmy Bain on bass, who first worked
with Ronnie James all the way back in 1975 when Dio was the lead singer
of Rainbow. The lineup was rounded off by Scott Warren who's excellent
keyboards added mood to the Magica experience, and fleshed out classic
Dio cuts.
And speaking of classic Dio cuts, after Magica,
Dio let loose with all the fan favorites. Songs like "Rainbow in
the Dark", "Mob Rules", and "Man on the Silver Mountain" turned the pit
into a frenzied jumble of moshing metal fans. When the first strains
of "Holy Diver" blasted through the amps, the venue completely erupted.
Everyone on the floor was jumping and hair was flying everywhere as fans
of all ages came together in a celebration of what heavy metal is all about.
Ronnie and the band played off the crowd the whole night and it was obvious
they were all having a great time. The dynamic of the show was stellar,
and the atmosphere was friendly and fun, even in the midst of the raging
pit. Each time the band seemed about to call it a night, the enormous
crowd response pulled them back out on stage for a total of three encores,
and when they finally ended their 2+ hour set, it felt like the end of
a journey. And at the risk of being overly cheesy, it was something
of a journey. One back to the glory days of metal. Ronnie James
Dio has been singing since the late 50s, but when he is on-stage and singing
full bore, his impact is incredible, and the years drop away. The
same held true for the crowd that night. Many of the fans in the
crowd were from Ronnie's generation, but when the metal was flowing, they
were like kids again, and everyone was swept up in the experience together. |
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