Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Velden am Wörthersee / Bluesiana Rock Cafe / Austria
Concert date: September 12, 2013
Attendance: 90
Ticket price: €44.00
And then came Steamroller! And there was Bluesiana! And it got steamed up for the second time! Steamrolled flat. The steam boiler was fired up by the trio Doug Aldrich (guitar), Michael Devin (vocals, bass), Matt Starr (drums)! Anyone recognize the names yet? Aldrich and Devin, the new-era Whitesnake duo. Aldrich and Starr, the revived Burning Rain duo! Hot, right?
The clock had well passed nine in the evening when the super rock trio rolled onto the stage of the unique club scene of an even more unique club in Austrian Carinthia. Bluesiana Rock Cafe. Even the little birds on the rooftops are chirping that without Bluesiana the world would be half as interesting and colorful!
This time even all the Austrian rockers rose from the dead, the ones who are usually unjustly missing from the »sensual« events run by the steadfast, one-of-a-kind good soul Gudrun Kofler. Slovenes showed up, Italians showed up. The faces we always run into at this club showed up! And the heavy-hitting trio, bursting with all the pent-up potency of youthful verve, still fueled in full measure by adrenaline and testosterone, went berserk in the opening rock ‘n’ roll classic Burn. The instantly recognizable Douglas Aldrich, as we love to remember him from Whitesnake stage shows, together with the freshly baked »Whitesnake-style« youngster Michael Devin, basically just stayed in Europe after Whitesnake’s last gig this year in Russia and extended their »business obligations«. They made one phone call. To the other side of the »pond«. The Atlantic, of course. On the other end of the line picked up Aldrich’s buddy from the revived Burning Rain, who put out the excellent comeback album »Epic Obsession« this year. Drummer Matt Starr. And Steamroller were born again.
The potent trio rampaged on the same stage last October! And the eyewitnesses and »earwitnesses« had plenty to say when they came back from that little club spectacle! This time the trio returned in a lineup no less loud and no less furiously noisy. Matt Starr filled the gap superbly, jumping in for Brian Tichy, who played with Steamroller last year. This year the trio turned the set list completely upside down compared to last year. We definitely enjoyed the mostly Deep Purple and Whitesnake classics, an expected adventure along the musical career path of Aldrich’s and Devin’s boss David Coverdale, and at least one Led Zeppelin classic was a must. Their influence is strongly felt in Burning Rain’s music, and it’s clear Aldrich is a huge Led Zeppelin fan. This year the guys played Heartbreaker!
First of all, the chemistry of the threesome deserves a shout-out, because it works fantastically. They’re enjoying it! The change of scenery. That goes especially for Doug and Michael, who surely got mildly fed up for a while with all the theatrical glitz of intense Whitesnake touring. Shaking up the atmosphere and doing a tour in an intimate club vibe, where the contact with the music and the musical character you represent as an artist is more authentic and heartfelt. You really can’t wish for more than that! It’s the best thing you can give the fans of your music.
And that’s exactly how the show went down! The trio enjoyed it. The crowd enjoyed it! And a third of the way in you could feel the steam flooding the club! Fitting, given the band’s name! Doug Aldrich’s virtuoso soloing seemed to have no end. It was also loaded with twisting, bending notes thanks to generous use of the slide! After back-to-back Purple and Zepp classics Space Truckiin’ and Heartbreaker, Doug quipped: »I hope Richie Blackmore and Jimmy Page don’t kill me for mangling their songs!« His buddy on the right, MichaeL Devin, who at first glance, with all the »fur« he’s grown over the last two years, looked like the martyr and son of the heavenly father we all know so well, was strapped with a black Rickenbecker. It fit Purple’s Space Truckin’ perfectly (and not just sonically). Honestly, Devin could hardly wait to take over lead vocals, to hit the road with Steamroller and finally get to sing. And to 100% avoid any accidental embarrassment, the guys went for a preventive lower tuning, so Devin’s voice pulled off absolutely everything, even the highest vocal lines! In excellent style! That was especially noticeable in Still of the Night (Whitesanke). Particular joy came from the hard-rock takes on softer originals, radio-friendly evergreens Walking on the Moon (The Police) and I Shot The Sheriff (Eric Clapton). The fantastic Cryin’ In The Rain (Whitesnake) landed perfectly. Before the aforementioned Still of the Night, Devin and Aldrich deliberately teased the crowd about which Whitesnake song they wanted to hear, since they fully expected that sooner or later someone would yell »Still of the Night«. And it happened. A well-rehearsed stage routine between Michael and Doug followed, which the latter spiced up: »How the hell are we going to play this tune when there’s only three of us?« Ahhh Doug… Come on. Aldrich has played this tune at every Whitesnake concert for almost 10 years. And in Steamroller’s trio hands it came out less glamorous and more down-to-earth hard rock. Watching the big riffs created by the legendary Adrian Vanderberg get reinterpreted by Aldrich’s skilled and ever-reliable hands was something special, and I got goosebumps all over. Priceless experience, standing just a meter away from all this fantasy of rock reality!
A noisy experience! The club walls were shaking! Even Gudrun Kofler admitted she rarely remembers such noise in her club. Hard rock at its finest, in terms of authenticity and the creation of magic that never lets you down in raw potency and genuine passion! Priceless! To close, another intense Deep Purple lesson with Smoke on the Water and Stormbringer, and the show flew by in a flash.
I’m sure Steamroller could pack a Slovenian club like Orto bar in Ljubljana to the last corner. If Whitesnake nearly sold out Ljubljana’s Hala Tivoli two years ago, there’s no way Steamroller couldn’t fill Ortobar. In a word: top-notch. Fantastic musicians. Right there in front of you, in plain sight. Without a speck of kitsch or frills. Just the raw, uncompromising plasma of hooligan swagger, the full-blooded yield of rock ‘n’ roll potency!
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