Venue – Riverport Amphitheatre, St. Louis
Reviewed by: Jerry


ZZ Top was the draw here for me.  I'd seen Cheap Trick back in 2018 when they opened up for Def Leppard and Journey.  I've also seen them in 1989 at what I still consider the loudest concert I've every been to.  However, I had never seen ZZ Top and wanted to verify for myself the notion that they were a great live band.  Here's what I witnessed:
I could have done without Cheap Trick.  They, like ZZ Top are a band that I've always heard were great live.  I thought they were just ok last year and chalked that up to them playing in a stadium and third on the bill.  I did think they sounded much better at this show.  Robin Zander sounds great as does the band.  But, I guess I'm just not that big of a Cheap Trick fan to appreciate the set list they played.  Outside of the cover 'Aint That A Shame', there wasn't anything I really recognized until they played She's Tight for song 7 on the set list.  The bass player, Tom Peterson sang a song - and maybe he always does but I didn't think he sounded that great.  Though, he did do a great bass solo preceding the song and the song itself was a great jam-band song.  And, I thought it was interesting that Rik Nielson didn't have a legitimate guitar solo.  
They played their biggest hits - The Flame, I Want You To Want Me, Dream Police, and Surrender.  I greatly appreciated quality of the musicianship.  They did sound great.  
ZZ Top put on a fantastic show.  These guys are on their 50th Anniversary tour and thrilled the nearly sold out audience, including the 80-yr old Japanese couple sitting next to me.  They opened up the great song 'Got Me Under Pressure' and played everything I would have wanted them to.  They sounded great as well.  Billy, Dusty, and Frank were spot on all night and I could have listened to them all night. 
That said, I didn't really understand the need for the multiple video screens.  In addition to the venue's two large ones that are beyond each side of the stage they had a massive one behind the drum set and two smaller ones on each side of the stage.  The two smaller ones served no real purpose other than to show what seem to be random images and scenes and pretty much cause a distraction.  The one in back was used for similar purpose and also to show music videos.  I never understood why a band would show the music video they produced for the song they are singing.   Do we really need to see the video for 'Legs' while they play it live?  And, speaking of that song, when played live, one really realizes how bad a song it is.  
Go see these guys.  You'll love the show.

Last but not least, a shout out to local St. Louis bluesman, Marquise Knox.  This is the first time I've seen him and he sounds great.  I'll be checking him out locally when he gets back from supporting ZZ Top.

My video from the show:
I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide

Venue – Riverport Amphitheatre, St. Louis
Reviewed by: Jerry

I was pretty excited for this show. This was Heart's first stop on their "Love Alive" tour that had them back together after their brief 2-year split. I hadn't ever seen Heart and had seen Sheryl Crow once. I expected both to be excellent set but I got one set that was expected and the other that was not. Here goes...

Sheryl Crow opened up for Heart. I'll be honest that I only know a small handful of songs by her but do like her voice and musical style. I saw her about 15 years ago and was pretty inebriated during that show so I don't recall much except for the fact that she put on a really good performance and really communicated well with the crowd. And, that's exactly what she did during this show. She put on a great set and the crowd loved her. I did as well. She's from Missouri and I expected her to really play that angle to amp up the crowd but to her credit she didn't do so and really didn't need to. Her only reference to her "home" was the injection of Mississippi Nights into one of her songs. If you are a fan of hers or like me and just like a great show, she's one to go see for sure.

Over the years, I've heard Heart puts on a fantastic show. I wouldn't say I'm a superfan but do like a lot of their music, especially their older stuff and songs that aren't burned out on the radio (see Barracuda). When they started their set, my excitement only rose. The first four songs included 'Magic Man' and one of my favorites, 'Dog & Butterfly'. At this point I thought for sure it would be the excellent show I was expecting. But then it got a bit odd. Song five was 'Heard It Through The Grapevine' and was the first of five, yes, five cover tunes the band played over the next eleven songs of the set. They did a great job on them though it was a bit odd that during Comfortably Numb, Ann & Nancy didn't participate at all (Nancy might have and I just might have missed her). They added in 'Crazy On You' and 'Straight On' in there along with a few other lesser known (and perhaps unknown) songs but with so few well known Heart songs during that 11-song stretch, the band nearly lost the crowd. I am all for a band digging deep in their catalog for a setlist and throwing a cover tune in. I certainly anticipated Heart to pull out some deep tracks. However, it's my assumption that Ann and Nancy wanted to give us a taste of what they've been doing the last couple of years while they were split up. The covers were certainly unnecessary and I'm certain there were many more of their own songs that they could have played. They ended the show with 'Alone' which was certainly an unexpected closer.

Despite the odd setlist, I will say this - Ann and Nancy sounded simply fantastic. There was no strain or 'wear' in either of their voices and the band was spot on all night. Musically, they were exactly what I was hoping for. I would have just like a little less covers.

Venue:  Riverport Amphitheatre, St. Louis
​Reviewed By: Jerry

​I bought a ticket to this show with pretty high expectations and excitement.  I’d seen Skynyrd before – about 15 years ago.  Just as then, they sounded great at this show.  The great performance is no doubt a result of years and years of touring with primarily the same band.  As Johnny Van Zant mentioned, they’ve been doing it this way for the last 31 years.  They played all of the favorites including a couple of mine – Ballad of Curtis Loew and Call Me The Breeze.  And, if you have never experienced it well, you’re probably out of luck.  But everyone should hear Skynyrd play Simple Man and Freebird live at least once in their life.  Both really are special moments.  

On stage just before Skynyrd was what I was anticipating the most – Hank Jr.  When Skynyrd announced their tour, Hank Jr was the one opener that I hoped we’d get in St. Louis.  I have to admit that my excitement for seeing Hank Jr for the first time probably elevated my appreciation for his performance.  Don’t get me wrong, he did a great job. But, he did a lot of talking.  I’m fine with some talking if it’s storytelling and the like but he was all about professing the fact he was a rebel and rule-breaker kind of guy.  He played all or parts of just about everything I know by him, which isn’t a lot.  I say all or parts because during the latter half of the show he played no less than three medleys.  And, some of the songs within the medleys were only represented by one or two lines.  When those were some of his popular songs, it was a bit anti-climatic.  Perhaps if he wasn’t an opener and had more stage time, his set would be different.  He sounded great and certainly energized the crowd.  

The first band was 38 Special.  These guys never really excited me.  Some good catchy tunes but that’s about it.  They played all you’d want to hear and really did sound great.  But I could have done without them.  And, does a Skynyrd/Hank Jr crowd really want to hear ‘Second Chance’?  

Venue:  Riverport Amphitheatre, St. Louis
​Reviewed By: Jerry

Iron Maiden rolled through St. Louis on their Book Of Souls world tour.  While the crowd was embarrassingly small there was no holding back Eddie & Co from rocking the house.  I’m in the group that thoroughly enjoys much of their post-80s efforts and Book of Souls is certainly one of their better offerings in the last 25 years. 
 
The set list for this particular tour does not include concert staples such as “Run ToThe Hills”, “Hallowed Be Thy Name”, or “2 Minutes To Midnight”.  Instead, they pull heavily from their latest album playing six songs off of Book of Souls to include the fabulous “The Red And The Black” (see link below).  In addition to the new stuff they do play the standards “Wrathchild”, “The Trooper”, “Children Of The Damned”, “Fear Of The Dark”, Iron Maiden”, and “Number Of The Beast”,  Then there are the few gems that I looked forward to.  It was great to hear “Powerslave” and “Blood Brothers” live again as well as the song I most anticipated – and the encore of the show – “Wasted Years”. 
 
To say the least, it was a fantastic show.  Bruce can still sing as good as ever and he runs the stage like he’s 25.  I did find it odd that he strode out in full length cargo pants and a hoodie.  Evidently he did not catch the weather report and realize that it was a typical July evening in St. Louis which allowed the thermometer to hit about 90 at show time.  The band sounded simply perfect.  And what would an Iron Maiden show be without an appearance by Eddie who excited the crowd as usual.

Videos from the show:
​Wrathchild
The Red And The Black

Venue:  Riverport Amphitheatre, St. Louis
​Reviewed By: Jerry
​
So, this Poison show was actually a part of the now-annual Def Leppard summer tour in which they headline with a really good second bill and the most-excellent Tesla.  Def Leppard, while good, was the same as previous.  Tesla, as we've clearly established in this blog is always excellent.  See our previous reviews below on each of these bands.

I was excited to see Poison.  As with the previous Def Leppard second acts, I hadn't seen Poison live in forever and was really looking forward to them.  They did not disappoint.  The band sounded great and Bret Michaels pulled off the vocals very admirably.  While Michaels has been touring on and off solo for awhile, I'm not sure when the last time the whole band had toured so they didn't have too many surprises in the set list.  They played pretty much what you'd expect and the crowd loved it.  I am sure Poison viewed this tour as a test to determine if they could headline.  It was clear that they could so no doubt we'll see them go on tour in 2018 with another 1st or 2nd tier 80's band in tow.  And when they do, go see them if you're a fan.  You'll enjoy it.

Video from the show:
Nuthin But A Good Time

Venue: Delmar Hall, St. Louis
Reviewed by: Steve

I could pretend that I know and love every song recorded by the Chris Robinson Brotherhood.  I could even go on and on about how I sang along to every song at the show. But those statements would be lies. I walked into the show not knowing the name of one song. And you know what?...I loved it. It was very freeing to attend a concert not knowing what to expect. I wasn’t keeping track of what songs were played (or which ones weren’t) which can be a distraction from enjoying the show. Live in the moment, right? With this show, there were practically no expectations. Don’t get me wrong, I know and love Chris Robinson’s music (Wiser Time anyone?) and I knew CRB’s style of music so I had a rough idea of what I was getting into. Needless to say I wasn’t disappointed. The jam band\psych\hippy\country\rock\folk music flowed throughout the evening. Robinson’s voice hasn’t degraded one bit nor has his passion for the music. There was essentially no interaction between Robinson and the crowd during the almost 3hrs of stage time but it didn’t take away from the show. He sang and danced enthusiastically while playing the guitar and the few times he broke out the harmonica were phenomenal. Despite being a Sunday night, the crowd danced and sang the night away…clearly knowing the music better than I did. It was fun to be part of crowd that had such passion for a band with a relatively small following. I would be remiss not to mention the Delmar Hall, one of St. Louis’ newest concert venues. It’s absolutely perfect for an intimate concert. The acoustics were great and I can’t imagine there’s a bad spot in the place to watch a show. If you haven’t checked out the Delmar Hall yet, I highly recommend it. And if you haven’t seen a CRB show, check them out the next time they come through. At the very least pick up an LP…I know a record store that can order one for you…..
-Steve

Video From The Show:
Roan County Banjo

Venue: Riverport Amphitheatre, St. Louis (yea, I know!)
Reviewed by Jerry

​So, if you've never seen Def Leppard, they still put on a great show and it's easily worth the price of admission.  This is the third time I've seen Def Leppard in the last 10 years and the second time in two years.  The set list is generally the same as it was when I saw them in 2006 - all the songs you'd expect to hear plus a few post-Hysteria ones thrown in.  For my money, I'd love to hear more from High 'N Dry but it is what it is.  At this show, they did play 'Let It Go' and 'Switch 625' from that great album.  They play no less six songs from Hysteria - a bit much for me but again, it is what it is and they played them spot on.  The encore was phenomenal with 'Rock Of Ages' & 'Photograph'.  Joe Elliot still has the pipes necessary to belt out all of their tunes and the backing band of Collen, Savage, Campbell, & Allen still kill it musically.  Again, go see them if you haven't or even if you haven't in a long time.  It will be a great show.  
 
REO played just before Def Leppard and put on a great show as well.  I'd consider myself an average REO fan as I barely know anything that isn't played on the radio (which to my credit is more than their top three hits) thus the brevity of this review of their performance.  But I like what I know and as this was the first time I'd seen them I was really excited to go.  They did not disappoint.  Their ten song set list included one of my favorites - 'Back On The Road Again'.  If you like these guys, I'd recommend you go see them as well.  Kevin Cronin can still hit the notes and the band sounded great.   Be warned.  They will play the song I count as one of the top ten worst songs ever - 'Can't Fight This Feeling'.
 
Then there's Tesla who opened up this show.  The bad thing about seeing Tesla in a concert format such as this is they never get the chance to play long.  This is the third time I'd seen them in the last 18 months and they friggin' rocked it again!  Their eight song set included a new song in which Phil Collen helped write and came out and played on.  Tesla fans would of course recognize all of the other songs they played.  Unfortunately, we probably only accounted for about a quarter of the audience.  The entire audience naturally got all giddy when they played 'Signs' - an overplayed song which I'd be just fine not ever hearing again.  Jeff Keith still sounds fantastic and the band still plays like it's 1986.  If you are even a mild fan of these guys go see them live and preferably when they headline so you can hear more of them.  They are fantastic.  Their set consisted of three from Mechanical Resonance, three from Great Radio, Edison's Medicine, and the new one.  Man, what a performance!  Too bad the other 15,000 non-Tesla fans there didn't fully realize it.

Videos from the show:
Def Leppard:  Rock Of Ages & Photograph
REO:  Take It On The Run
Tesla:  Edison's Medicine