STEELHEART Concert Review

Steelheart

Friday, September 17, 2010

G.B. Leighton’s Pickle Park, Fridley, MN

Click either picture to see more photos of Steelheart (13).

Arriving late I missed about half of Steelheart’s performance, but what I saw was shocking. Vocalist Miljenko (Mike) Matijevic has kept glam-era band Steelheart alive throughout the years but in a radically different form. I’m all for bands doing something different, however, I think most people would be more than surprised at the heavy, modern sound of Steelheart today. They bore their way through the likes of “LOL” from the latest album, Good 2b Alive, and the crowd seemed to welcome the new material enthusiastically. Mike’s ear-splitting voice is still in fine form, and it almost seemed wrong for him to use effects on his vocals at times. For the life of me I don’t understand how he can chomp gum on stage all night while singing like he does. Everyone in the band was tight and aggressive, befitting the direction of newer material. The only thing that was out of place was the bass player’s incessant habit of twirling around his topknot like a clown; despite this, he was great on stage. Before I knew it the band left the stage, returning to play “Everybody Loves Eileen”, “We All Die Young”, and “I’ll Never Let You Go (Angel Eyes)” for the encore. Although Mike occasionally took up a guitar earlier, the encore was played with one guitarist and the songs were adapted well for this format. You can hear this well on “I’ll Never Let You Go”, the final song that brought down the house. This iconic power ballad had the crowd singing along with a vigor rarely seen at a club show as Mike was nearly pulled from the stage.

Steelheart performing “Everybody Loves Eileen”.

Not having seen Steelheart since one of their earliest tours in 1990 opening for Great White and Bulletboys, I was frankly surprised at the heavy emphasis on new material. I admire Mike and the band for doing so, as too many legacy acts use their classic material as a crutch. As long as you’re not expected a rehashing of the first two albums, Steelheart puts on a powerful, convincing show. Judging from the crowd’s response no one seemed to mind.

Watch Steelheart perform their biggest hit, “I’ll Never Let You Go (Angel Eyes)”.

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Upcoming Concert Reviews - Cain, High On Fire, Steelheart

I went to the High On Fire/Torche/Kylesa show last night at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, so look for a full review with videos and photos later this week. Kylesa is extremely powerful on stage and put on a monstrous show. I wasn't expecting much from Torche, but their live show is quite impressive. As always, High On Fire was great, although guitarist Matt Pike suffered through a couple equipment problems. It was a fantastic show all the way around.

In the next day or two I'll also have posted reviews (with videos and photos) from the amazing reunion show by Cain, as well as thoughts on Steelheart at Pickle Park in Fridley. Look for all of this soon!

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KAMELOT Poetry Contest

You know by now that Kamelot's North American tour has been postponed due to singer Roy Khan's illness, so I'm waiting here on word that their show at First Avenue in Minneapolis will be rescheduled. Their new album, Poetry For The Poisoned, was just released, and Kamelot has announced a poetry contest. Entries should be submitted by email to poetry@kamelot.com by Thursday, September 30. You can create any form of poetry that is Kamelot-related, such as a song, an album, or what the band's music means to you. The band will select their top five favorites, and these winners will receive a Kamelot T-shirt, an autographed poster, and more.

Now for some silliness! I decided to have some fun with this contest and thought I'd share my poetry entry. Since I went to Steelheart's recent show at G.B. Leighton's Pickle Park in Fridley (review is coming shortly!), I thought I'd pay homage to Kamelot by adapting a Steelheart song. This is intended to be sung to Steelheart's classic power ballad "I'll Never Let You Go (Angel Eyes)". You can follow along while watching Steelheart perform the original at their recent show in Fridley.

I'll Always Crank It Up (Kamelot)

Kamelot

You mean a lot

Such a sound that lights up my life oh

You're a band come true

I love each and every tune

And I'll always, always crank it up

I will always crank it up

First time my ears heard Roy's voice

All my screams were answered

First time I heard Tom's guitars

My loyalty I do pledge

I'll always crank it up

Your band's the greatest find

You're the only band for me

You're all I hear

And I'll always, always crank it up

Kamelot

My blood runs hot

On the songs you share with me

You never let me down

You're always in my mind

And I'll always, always crank it up

I will always crank it up

When the amps cease to rumble

And the curtain starts to fall

The songs stay close within me

And give me strength to soldier on

I'll always crank it up

Your band's the greatest find

You're the only band for me

You're all I hear

And I'll always, always crank it up

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Steelheart Concert Announcement

Enough with the cancellations, here's some good news. Steelheart has announced that they will be performing at Biff's Sports Bar in Spring Lake Park on November 6 in support of their self-released Good 2B Alive album.