Location: Trezzo Sull’Adda (Milan) / Live Club / Italy
Date: Sunday, 03.05.2014
The third day of Frontiers Rock festival (and given the ridiculously appealing line-up, the author of these “humble lines” keeps unhappily, though unintentionally, calling it “RockLine festival”) delivered the festival’s peak. For our crew, the third day started the “Italian” way. Indulgently, that is. With a typical breakfast loaded with “sugar”. Cookies, spoonfuls of Nutella, unwrapping jam packets, rusks, sipping teas, strong coffee extracts from the coffee pot, crunching chocolate croissants and so on… The weather was sunny and freshly washed. We took a trip to the old town center. Trezzo Sull’Adda is a gorgeous little town. It has ancient walls and the remains of a former fortress. It’s neatly kept, without a single bit of litter on the ground. By eleven o’clock we were already lurking around the festival venue. When we met Brad Gillis the day before, he let slip that Night Ranger had their soundcheck at that time and that we could meet again. And yet. The soundcheck had already happened, and it was definitely Night Ranger. Only the iron gate, through which the musicians were being brought in by van, stubbornly stayed bolted shut. Meanwhile we got chatting with two guys from Rijeka who, before eleven, had already left a pinch of whiskey in a bottle of Jack Daniel’s that wasn’t worth even a decent wetting of the throat anymore. They were chronically out of beer too and were frantically asking where to find a discount supermarket with good prices. They had come all the way from Rijeka to “get wasted” at the Winger show.
Even the most patient among us lost our nerve, and around one o’clock we decided to head off to a pizzeria and refuel. But look at that, damn it. We’re just pulling out of the parking lot when the iron gate opens and a small BMW jumps out to pick up a little group of people. Standing among them, with that head and beard, was Jack Blades (Night Ranger), whom we of course instantly pounced on with cameras and Night Ranger album props. Blades told us that his roots also trace back to somewhere in Serbia, since his grandmother was supposedly named Petrov (did he mix up Serbia with Bulgaria or Russia? Well, anything is possible these days). And when he genuinely breathed out: “Dober dan!” we almost fainted. The rest is history.
It’s three o’clock. The organizers’ punctuality worked again. Crazy Lixx jump on stage. Young, excellent Swedes who are far from new to this. Even though their current album »Riot Avenue« is two years old and they’re working on a new one, they made a point of taking time out to hop over to Trezzo for this show and forget about studio work for a moment. The band is superbly tight and knows exactly what everyone has to do on stage at any given moment. Use of the stage, movement, teasing the crowd, clowning around. They’ve got no shortage of testosterone. Rock ‘n’ roll straight to the forehead, goofy and all. Maybe the generic side pokes you in the nose a little, since the band is clearly inspired by the look and work of glam bands from the recent past, though their songs credibly hold up in terms of arrangements. You just get the feeling you’ve heard all this somewhere before. A solid half hour of concentrated playing. The guys rolled one song straight into the next and made the most of the time they were given at the festival.
It was clear early in the afternoon that the third day would be the best attended. Already during the Crazy Lixx show it was hard to move around the hall, it was that packed! And the crowd only grew when Issa took the stage. A band fronted by Norwegian singer Isabell “Issa” Øversveen. Besides her stage presence, the girl has a seriously well-built voice, which instantly won over everyone during her set. Especially in the way her power develops and carries from the mid range up to the highest registers. An excellent singer. Songs like I’m Alive and Angels Crying carry an infectious melodic rock macramé, and what sets the music apart from genre typicality is of course Issa’s distinctive vocal approach. On keyboards, Alessandro Del Vecchio (Hardline) helped out again, having also saved the L.R.S. (La Verdi – Shotton – Ramos) project’s performance in that role at the festival the day before!
The third act then took things up a few notches. Given his reputation and enormous experience from a long-running music career, that’s hardly a surprise. The name? Jeff Scott Soto with his backing band. A man of exceptional vocal gifts, which have taken him into the league of the more important performers of the rock era, including Yngwie J Malmsteen, Journey, Talisman, Soul Sirkus, Eyes, Takara, Kuni and Axel Rudi Pell. On top of that, Jeff also works with the new melodic rock band W.E.T., which is supposed to take over, to some degree, the musical legacy of Talisman and one of the two American versions of Trans Siberian Orchestra. Soto jumped on stage with four musicians in tow. On first guitar was the young but incredibly talented and hair-splittingly sharp Spanish player Jorge Salan, followed by two Brazilian musicians, BJ (guitar and keyboards) and drummer Edu Cominato, and New Yorker David Z on bass. Jeff was literally unstoppable that day. The great impression he left two days earlier with W.E.T. was further built upon with this show. He completely immersed himself, switched off and squeezed out the best he had. Of the solo material, Believe in Me and Holding On stood out, as did the performance of Look Inside Your Heart, for which Jeff invited a special guest on stage! Night Ranger guitarist Joel Hoekstra! The quintet’s playing was virtuosic, polished and tight. Relentless and all-out. Of course the Talisman classics “ladder” was in there, which Jeff spiced up with a quick run through two hits by pop stars Madonna (Frozen) and Seal (Crazy). At the end we did get a Talisman song played by the whole band (I’ll Be Waiting). Right at the close, Jeff somewhat melodramatically wrangled another five minutes out of the organizers, and the band cut loose with the Steel Dragon song Stand Up as a grand finale, sending the crowd into ecstasy one last time.
The legendary John Waite, whom you probably all remember for his mega hit Missing You, landed in a thankless role. He had to follow the extraordinary live experience Jeff Scott Soto had just put on. Genre-wise, too, Waite stuck out a bit, poking out of the festival’s context, especially considering the last few years of his career, when he started flirting more intensely again with his bluesy days and the beginnings of his career. While the rhythm section stays unchanged, still manned by Tim Hogan (bass) and Rodger Carter (drums), Matchbox Twenty guitarist Kyle Cook has left Waite’s band, and his spot has been taken by none other than former Alice Cooper and Pretty Boy Floyd guitarist Keri Kelli. During John Waite’s set we were once again convinced how polished and charismatic a vocal approach this exceptional singer has. A slightly sandpapered voice, incredibly soft and sensitive when it’s time to bring out emotion and passion. Waite is maturing like a fine old wine. The repertoire was of course enriched by The Babys numbers (Back On My Feet Again, Every Time I Think of You, Head First) and, as expected, two Bad English hits (Best Of What I Got, When I See You Smile). The crowd was properly woken up by Missing You, while for the finish Waite decided on a cover of the Led Zeppelin original Whole Lotta Love, which wasn’t the wisest move. Even though it entertained the audience, Waite’s own back catalog is wide enough that he shouldn’t have to play a song that every kid on the planet who can grab two basic chords on a guitar has already played to death. But here comes that “but”. The song is a real vocal challenge and John knows it. So at precisely this point he once again stunned us with his finesse and tenderness. An extraordinary rendition that our old grump Robert Plant, who doesn’t even want to hear about a Led Zeppelin reunion anymore, should definitely hear. A performance that was somewhat unfairly left in the shadow of Jeff Scott Soto’s.
The arrival of Danger Danger brought a hefty troop of melodic rock fans to Frontiers Rock festival. Danger Danger have been playing Europe extremely rarely lately, if at all. It’s been a solid five years since their last studio album »Revolve«, and it’s high time Danger Danger put together another studio album. The rhythm section remains original, with Steve West on drums and Bruno Ravel on bass, while vocal duties are once again handled by the “cocky cockroach” Ted Poley. On guitar, since 2003, when he replaced the excellent Andy Timmons in the band, is the Swedish guitar alien Rob Marcello. That same Rob Marcello stepped into the boots of House Of Lords guitarist Jimi Bell for House Of Lords’ fall tour in 2009, so already at the House Of Lords show in Ronchi (Ronchi dei Legionari) near Trieste we could see for ourselves how versatile and accomplished this guitar heavyweight is. Precise and fast as the devil himself! Danger Danger threw an incredible party. They really didn’t even have to try that hard. The expectations from the fired-up crowd were simply so strong that it carried them high on its hands the whole time. Over the years Ted Poley has lost a good chunk of his vocal range and routinely steered clear of the higher registers. The classics Bang Bang, Naughty Naughty (in the closing stretch), I Still Think About You and Monkey Business« were enough to have the crowd going wild with delight. In fact, from the very first moment, with the opening shrapnel of the studio debut’s Rock America and Boys Will Be Boys, the hall shook to its core with adrenaline heat. The crowd had finally gotten its big heroes at last. At the end Poley shouted a parting line to thank the audience: “Stay horny Italy!” a remark that, given all the debauchery the crowd showed during the show, could hardly have fit the context of this performance any better.
One of the most eagerly awaited moments of Frontiers Rock festival was surely the performance by Americans Winger. »Better Days Comin’« is the band’s freshly released studio album, which came out just about a week before Winger’s show at this festival. When the band came on stage, it was surprising right from the start that guitarist John Roth wasn’t in the lineup. In his spot, one of the band’s guitar techs was apparently wielding the guitar. He didn’t fit the context at all, even though Kip had quite obviously told him to imitate John Roth’s stage moves as much as possible. By his outfit alone the guy didn’t fit in, let alone his “trucker” look. Despite the high expectations for Winger, they had a pile of constant technical problems throughout the show. The sound was downright terrible. Kip Winger’s bass got a “leg” and only started rattling somewhere in the middle of the show. Not only that. Winger were also plagued by tightness problems. Even before the new Rat Race, a nasty mistake happened. Morgenstein had already counted in, but not everybody was on the same wavelength at that moment, and they immediately “fell apart”. They had to restart the intro, and then the song finally rolled on. Even though a feeling of tension radiated from both Kip Winger and Reb Beach on his left, Winger managed to get things back to their usual standard, especially in the last third of the show, and like true big professionals brought the show safely home. People didn’t worry much about the band’s troubles. Their heroes delivered a bag full of classic Winger evergreens from the stage: Hungry, Pull Me Under, Madelaine, Miles Away (with Kip on keyboards and an opening search for the pedal under his feet, read: techs gone nuts), plus Headed For A Heartbreak (with an extended outro, where Beach stretched his fingers along the guitar neck very vividly), Cant’ Get Enough, Easy Come, Easy Go and of course the closing Seventeen. A guy in the third row who had come to the festival from Brazil knew every single song by heart, which Kip Winger noticed from the stage too. He pointed at him a few times and threw him a pick, but the guy didn’t even care. He was in his own world. Overjoyed, soaking up the songs of one of his favorite bands.
Kip Winger and company didn’t deliver the best they’re capable of, but because Winger so rarely show up on European stages, the show was still a real little sensation, with the hall bursting at the seams from all that fierce energy. Reb Beach finally showed why he’s such a respected guitarist. He comes across much more in Winger than in Whitesnake, where his genius is “deliberately muffled”. It’s in Winger’s songs that all his musical versatility shows. Let’s just hope the band puts together an autumn European tour to promote »Better Days Comin’«, giving us a chance to catch at least one date where Winger will of course play a set of at least an hour and three quarters.
Night Ranger had the great honor of closing Frontiers Rcok festival as the third day’s headliner. Legendary rockers sworn to the famous west coast AOR craft from San Francisco are today considered a band with exceptional mileage, musical experience and musical routine. If in 2011 we watched them as Journey’s opening act for just half an hour, this time the story was quite different. The Night Ranger lineup remains unchanged, made up of original members drummer and vocalist Kelly Keagy, bassist and vocalist Jack Blades, guitarist Brad Gillis, and later additions guitarist Joel Hoekstra and keyboardist Eric Levy. The latter joined the band three years ago.
With Nigt Ranger the stage setup is always something special. They push all the amps way to the back, much like Status Quo do, and move Kelly Keagy’s drums to the front right, since Kelly takes the lead vocals on several songs. That frees up a huge amount of room for running left and right and up and down. And Night Ranger know how to use it damn well. Whatever the ravages of time are doing to Blades and Gillis as they mature, the years on their shoulders don’t show for a second. The two are still seriously agile, and alongside the younger Joel Hoekstra they pulled off a pile of stage acrobatics. All that was missing was a “split” or two and the measure would have been full. Playing guitar behind his back and similar wild stunts from Gillis, who plays absolutely everything he can think of with feather-light ease and without a single mistake. With virtuoso precision. Astonishing. He and Hoekstra make an exceptional guitar duo. Surely the guitar duo of the whole festival. And by a concrete margin. Even ahead of Tesla. We can say about the whole show that Night Ranger definitely (and deservedly) took first place by a long shot ahead of the other acts. They ate them alive.
The band got the hall on its feet right away with two well-known standards, the opening Touch Of Madness and the evergreen Sing Me Away, then, via the excellent newer Lay It On Me (»Somewhere In California«, 2011) and the rock-solid ballad Sentimental Street, delighted the crowd with a cover of the Damn Yankees song Coming Of Age. So the first surprise is behind us, time for the rest. The first big one was The Secret Of My Success from the album »Big Life« (1987). The song was released as a single and also used as the theme for the humorous TV sitcom of the same name starring Michael J. Fox. That was followed by the brand new song High Roiad. That’s also what the band’s upcoming new studio album, due out this June, will be called. Blades fired up the crowd so that they had to shout “Yeah!!, Yeah!!!, Yeah!!!” three times in a row in the chorus, and they were once again eating out of his hand with gusto. The new song works great with the rest of the material, which means we’re evidently getting another classically built Night Ranger album, and that’s very good. Then came another treat. A jump back to the first album »Dawn Patrol« (1982) and a performance of Eddie’s Comin’ Out Tonight, about whose origins Blades told a funny anecdote about a guy named Eddie who came to their shows back when Night Ranger were a club band. As for Damn Yankees, whose songs you don’t hear on stage anymore, Night Ranger felt differently this time and played another song by that band (High Enough). That way they kept the atmosphere at an incredible level the whole time, and the festival had definitely not radiated as much positive energy up to that point as it did during their set. Next came another reason to celebrate, with two consecutive songs from the album »Seven Wishes« (1985), Goodbye and Four in the Morning. The concert minutes flew by extremely fast. With the hit When You Close Your Eyes from the album »Midnight Madness« (1983), Night Ranger signaled that the show was slowly nearing its end, and that was confirmed right after by Don’t Tell Me You Love Me from the debut »Dawn Patrol«, which Night Ranger playfully stretched out by working in a part of the Deep Purple classic Highway Star. In the closing stretch, where Gillis and Hoekstra once again amazed with guitar superiority that seemed to have no end, Night Ranger wrapped up the regular part of their show right at boiling point.
The encore wasn’t hard to predict when Kelly Keagy stepped up to the edge of the stage with a tambourine and, in a duet with Jack Blades, started singing the verses of the famous Sister Christian. Unlike the modest encores of the first and second day by the headliners, when both Tesla and Stryper played just a single song, Night Ranger, after sending the crowd into delirium with Sister Christian, stayed on stage and tackled the song that has really been left as the very last on the list of those that must be played at every Night Ranger show. They stuck with the album »Midnight Madness» of course and hit the finale with (You Can Still) Rock In America, which Blades renamed several times during the performance to (You Can Still) Rock in Italy.
The Nigt Ranger show really turned out to be the peak of the whole festival! In the right place. At its end, that is. The band radiated extreme joy, cheerful mood, positive attitude the whole way through, and lined up song after song carefree and with feather-light ease, with the hallmark of great routine and incredible experience. The sound of the show was killer! And unlike the other bands, Night Ranger also didn’t use any canned backing vocal tracks. They’re bursting with energy! And that’s a really good sign, because the new studio album »High Road» is about to hit the scene, and let’s hope a European tour follows soon after.
From all the leftover adrenaline and good feelings, we just didn’t want to say goodbye to the venue, even though the festival was over. The hanging out with the many festival-goers, who had come from as far as Bydgoszcz in Poland, as well as the Serbian capital Belgrade, and further from Great Britain, Greece, even Brazil, France, the Netherlands, seemed endless. The clock stretched deep into the early morning, with the post-festival cheer kept alive down to the last open can of beer by a gang of six Slovenian festival-goers (two from Ajdovščina, one from Prekmurje and three from the Ljubljana area), devoted to a music genre with not many deviations. Melodic rock, AOR, hard rock. A galaxy of exceptional musicians, vocalists, guitar superheroes, as well as a bagful of excellent bands living under the “contractual protection” of the label Frontiers Records. Music that chases melodic perfection, clean and polished singing, and where growling, semitone combos that “swallow” the melody, and sloppy three-chord thrashing are strictly forbidden. If you’re a fan of melodic rock and AOR music, you absolutely must visit this festival next year. Even if your favorite band isn’t playing on stage, there are almost no genre deviations among the acts, so this is a festival that absolutely keeps filling you with energy the whole way through. Of course, I’m speaking on behalf of fans of the melodic rock genre and AOR music.
Exceptional company, exceptional music, exceptional performances, exceptional food, exceptional energy. No complaints. Feelings like this are rare after festivals. Fronters Rock festival was the real bullseye on the target! Let me close this “humble piece” with the hope that we’ll see each other at the same venue next year and that Frontiers Rock festival grows into a regular fixture!
author: Aleš Podbrežnik
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
CRAZY LIXX:
1. Rock and a Hard Place
2. Sympathy
3. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
4. Lock Up Your Daughter
5. Riot Avenue
6. Blame It on Love
7. 21 Til I Die
ISSA:
1. Dream On
2. Looking for Love
3. Angels Crying
4. Invincible
5. I’m Alive
6. Can’t Stop
JEFF SCOTT SOTO:
1. Intro
2. Take U Down
3. 21st Century
4. Damage Control
5. Believe in Me
6. Look Inside Your Heart (with Joel Hoekstra)
7. Soul Divine
8. Holding On
9. Eyes of Love
10. Medley:
– Break Your Chains
– Day By Day
– Give Me a Sign
– Dangerous
– Just Between Us
– Mysterious (This Time It’s Serious)
– Frozen
– Crazy
I1. ‘ll Be Waiting (Talisman)
12. Stand Up (Steel Dragon)
JOHN WAITE:
1. Change
2. Back On My Feet Again (The Babys)
3. Rough & Tumble
4. When I See You Smile (Bad English)
5. Saturday Night
6. Every Time I Think of You (The Babys)
7. Best of What I Got (Bad English)
8. Missing You
9. Head First (The Babys)
10. Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin)
DANGER DANGER:
1. Rock America
2. Boys Will Be Boys
3. Hearts on the Highway
4. Don’t Blame It on Love
5. Bang Bang
6. Beat the Bullet
7. I Still Think About You
8. Crazy Nites
9. Monkey Business
10. Naughty Naughty
WINGER:
1. Midnight Driver of a Love Machine
2. Madalaine
3. Hungry
4. Pull Me Under
5. Blind Revolution Mad
6. Down Incognito
7. Guitar Solo
8. Rat Race
9. Deal With the Devil
10. Stone Cold Killer
11. Miles Away
12. Headed for a Heartbreak (Reb Beach guitar solo in the outro)
13. Can’t Get Enuff
14. Easy Come Easy Go
15. Guitar Solo (Reb Beach)
16. You Are the Saint, I Am the Sinner
17. Seventeen
NIGHT RANGER:
1. intro (You Shook Me All Night Long)
2. Touch of Madness
3. Sing Me Away
4. Lay It On Me
5. Sentimental Street
6. Coming of Age (Damn Yankees)
7. The Secret of My Success
8. High Road
9. Eddie’s Comin’ Out Tonight
10. High Enough (Damn Yankees)
11. Goodbye
12. Four in the Morning
13. When You Close Your Eyes
14. Don’t Tell Me You Love Me
—encore—
15. Sister Christian
16. (You Can Still) Rock in America
