Went to see Girlschool , Alcatrazz & Lilian Axe this week. My Review… & WASP

[CanadianMetal]

I still go to concerts a few times every month & love to be at the very front, and that is where I was for all the bands on this night.

Lilian Axe I had seen once back in 2009 when I was visiting Minnesota. Some of the other bands I saw on that trip were LA Guns, Rhinobucket, , Harsh Reality (amazing set by a band I had never heard of) , Metallagher (who combine the thrash of Metallica with the watermelon smashing of the singers older brother , comedian Gallagher) .

Lillian Axe were more on the rock side of things, than the metal of the other bands but played well and got a good response. They seemed to not be as heavy as I remember them from the 2009 gig, I don’t own any of their albums so can’t say if this is the direction they went since then. In any case, an Enjoyable opening set.

I had never seen Alcatrazz before, so was very curious about how they would be. Was surprised by how many Alcartazz shirts I saw in the audience, and so many people had flown in from Japan for this set !

From the first second to their last song WOW, they were amazing , and way heavier than I was expecting. They had Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai as their early guitarists and current guitarist Joe Stump is absolutely incredible !
He has been teaching a Berklee for over 27 years as their metal & shred teacher and he has a style that combines Blackmoore , Malmsteen , Vai and Uli Jon Roth into metal perfection !

Every musician was at the top of their game and the vocalist was fantastic as well. Even thought they must have played a similar length set as the headliner , I wish they could have played even longer, as they were on fire.

If you have a chance , make sure to go see Alcatrazz on their current tour, such a blistering epic set, that will leave you with a huge smile on your face and reinforce why you fell in love with metal in the first place ! 10/10


I had seen Girlschool once before, about a decade ago when Crucified Barbara opened for them, a great double bill.

This was their only Canadian date, as this year will be their last in North America before retiring from touring.
I thought I would finally get to see Tracey Lamb (a founding member of NWOBHM all female band - Rock Goddess) on bass, as I will never get to see Rock Goddess. Unfortunately Tracey had left early this year after her 3rd stint with Girlschool, however her replacement looked (and played) like a younger version of Tracey with a great bass tone.

They did a great set and included a tribute to Lemmy with the Motorhead cover before ending their main set with my favorite Girlschool song … Emergency !

Many many years ago I had actually heard the Motorhead version of Emergency first and loved it, and was not till a year later that I realized it was a Girlschool song LOL.

All 3 bands used the same double bass drum set so the time between bands was minimal and I was surprised that I was home by 11 pm .

A great night of music on a Sunday night \m/
(and caught guitar picks from all of the bands, to add to my collection lol)

[CanadianMetal]

[Love_Industry]

Two bands that started out great and went to crap and one that owe their entire career to being friends (with benefits) with Lemmy.

That said the first 4 Lillian Axe and first two Alcatrazz are must have albums.

[veritas]

not really Alcatrazz with that line up, but glad it was a good show

[VinnieVincentsVag]

Is Graham Bonnet singing for Alcatraz?

[CanadianMetal]

No not Bonnet

[Gibsonite]

Is Graham Bonnet singing for Alcatraz?

Not this one, but he has his own version of Alcatrazz too

[jens]

From the first second to their last song WOW, they were amazing , and way heavier than I was expecting. They had Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai as their early guitarists and current guitarist Joe Stump is absolutely incredible !
He has been teaching a Berklee for over 27 years as their metal & shred teacher and he has a style that combines Blackmoore , Malmsteen , Vai and Uli Jon Roth into metal perfection !

You sound like the webmaster of Alcatrazz.Geocities.

Also: if your name's "Joe Stump" you should invent a cool rock name.

[woblinweebles]

Is Graham Bonnet singing for Alcatraz?

He has his own version, but I'm not sure they have played any gigs. He was replaced by Doogie White from Rainbow, but he bailed semi recently and now Alcatrazz has their manager on lead vocals. The only original members left are the former New England guys, the keyboard player and the bassist, and I guess the bass player isn't currently touring with them.

[CanadianMetal]

I should also mention that the 3 bands shared a couple members on this tour .

The Alzatrazz bassist also filled in for Lillian Axe , while the Alcatrazz drummer also filled in for Girlschool. It seems the original Girlschool drummer is on tour with them, but not actually performing as they mentioned that she was backstage . Perhaps it is health related ?

In other news , I went with a few friends to see WASP last night as they had a sold out show with Armoured Saint . Was pleasantly surprised that Blackie sounded great , as the rest and recovery must have rejuvenated him and the band killed it with a nice setlist . The only Change I would have done was to replace The Real Me with Animal .
Love the debut album, so was great to see it done live .

[VinnieVincentsVag]

I thought Blackie was lip syncing these days?

[CanadianMetal]

I did not notice anything suspicious as seemed live to me and I was at the very front. Did not hear anyone at the venue talking about any concern with Blackie , only about how fantastic it was to see WASP and Lawless put on a great performance.

[Kid-Wicked]

i went just to see lillian axe. never played here before. had no idea who was left in the band. singer was good but the leg kicks made for great comedy.
the guitarist from alcatraz was sitting across from me. no idea who he was but he had a lot of chains and rings with the open shirt. looked like an yngwie clone until i heard him play then i KNEW he was a clone. great player.
couldn't name you a tune from girlschool. still can't.

armoured saint was great but bush wasn't loud enough.
wasp was good but there was no show. just a stage and the songs. blackie was on trunk saying the show was going to be this, that and the other thing. it wasn't. but it was still good.
didn't notice any canned vocals but there was some effects on tracks during wild child.

[pieceofme]

Was the WASP concert at the vogue or rickshaw?

[CanadianMetal]

Was the WASP concert at the vogue or rickshaw?

Was at the Vogue.

[RaceFan3]

Was the WASP concert at the vogue or rickshaw?

Was at the Vogue.

Did you catch Armored Saint's set? How were they? I'm sure awesome cuz they always are but still good to hear current 'Saint reviews

[Kid-Wicked]

Was the WASP concert at the vogue or rickshaw?

the rickshaw co-promoted the show.

[CanadianMetal]

Was the WASP concert at the vogue or rickshaw?

Was at the Vogue.

Did you catch Armored Saint's set? How were they? I'm sure awesome cuz they always are but still good to hear current 'Saint reviews

Yes. Saint was very good , and I had not seen them for about 16 years (2008 Rocklahoma) , back then I saw John’s wife and daughter on the side of the stage with his then young daughter rocking out to her dad’s band , she must be in her 20’s now.

Too bad we can’t post pictures directly on here , as I have some great ones from all the sets, right at front of the stage .

My young sons’s favourite Armoured Saint song is Can You Deliver , so I filmed a clip of that for him and Bush came to the area between the stage and barricade and sang just a few inches away .