Live Gig Report and Photos: Robert Cavuoto
John Corabi lead singer and ringleader for the The Dead Daisies shouted, “Make Some Noise New York!” to the fans crammed into Webster Hall’s Marlin Room in New York on September 8th. The rally cry also happens to be the title of the band’s third kick ass CD, Make Some Noise; which was released August 5th; a hard rockin’ CD where Aerosmith meets AC/DC with Van Halen guitar solos thrown in for good measure.
The Dead Daisies are at the tail end of an US summer arena tour opening for Kiss. The band decided to take a detour from the arenas to put on a party atmosphere show for their loyal New York fans who didn’t get an area Kiss date. The stage was far smaller than what they have been used to this tour, but the close quarters only created a more intimate vibe and explosive show.
Guitarist and founder of The Daisies, David Lowy, raised the bar when he assembled this high-caliber line-up of musicians that includes John Corabi of Mötley Crüe on vocals, Doug Aldrich of Whitesnake & Dio on guitar, Marco Mendoza of Whitesnake & Thin Lizzy on bass and Brian Tichy of Whitesnake & Billy Idol on drums!
The band opened the show with a slew of their hottest tracks; “Midnight Moses,” “Mexico,” “Make Some Noise,” and “Long Way to Go.”
Resembling Steve Tyler with his two tone hair and beard, John Corabi worked the audience and owned the stage whether he was on acoustic guitar or with the mic in hand. He used every inch of the small stage to get the band’s point across as he clearly wanted the audience to pay attention to their music and how it was being played.
Performing like a well oiled machine each member working in perfect harmony. “All members are equally as important to the band’s sound and intricate to the sum of the whole,” as David told me in an interview just prior to the show.
Doug Aldrich brought out an arsenal of guitars which including his Gold Top Les Paul, an ESP Telecaster, and BC Rich Bich which he used to put on a pyrotechnic display of fiery guitar work. David Lowy pounded out the rhythm guitar allowing Doug to soar on the leads. For only performing a short time together, Doug and David clearly have a unique stage chemistry that many guitar duos can only hope to ever achieve.
The band was on fire and eager to give this hungry NY crowd what they had been waiting for – a raw, sweaty, rock n’ roll show. The band continued to hit hitting the audience with a barrage of smoldering tracks like “Looking for the One,” and “Mainline.”
It only got better from there when former Dead Daisies guitarist and now Gun n’ Roses guitarists, Richard Fortus, joined the band for a three man guitar jam on “Evil” and “Get Up, Get Ready.” As John Corabi put it, “Lynyrd Skynyrd has nothing on us now!”
Brian Tichy was tremendous to watch with his insane style of playing. Every hit on the drums was a full wind-up swing like he was pounding nails with a sledgehammer all the while playing perfectly in the pocket of bassist, Marco Mendoza. At times all you could see was Brian’s pony tail swaying and two arms pounding. The drum kit took a monstrous beating and Brian only picked up more steam and power with each passing song.
The cover tunes were performed with a smoldering level of finesse that got the fans grooving and in awe of the band’s musical abilities; they included; “Fortunate Son” by Creedance Clearwater Revival, The Who’s “Join Together” as well as Motley Crue’s…I mean the Beatles; “Helter Skelter.”
The venue was loud; the band sounded great and gave an outstanding performance. It’s always great seeing newer bands like The Dead Daisies carrying the torch for riff driven rock n’ roll.
About Author
