Anaheim
California March 10th, 2001
Last Night in the third leg of the tour
By Ken Boyd
Hello Dio Fans!
Well, the third leg of the Magica tour is over and done with—and with a BANG!
The very first thing I have to do with this review is start off by thanking Joe Montoya—without him this trip, this show, and this experience would not have been a FRACTION of what it turned out to be.
Okay, how the hell was it, I can hear you asking right through the monitor as I type this! I am not sure I would label it APE-SHIT, as someone else described their show, but I would definitely say it comes very much close to that.
This was indeed one of the BEST shows and THE best road trips I have had in all my years of Dio touring. Words just cannot fully express, but I will try.
It is always something special about seeing the opening of a tour as well as the closing of a tour, and interestingly enough both Joe and myself had started this long journey in Ventura on March 20th, 2000 at the very kick off, as well as closing out this great album promotion here in Anaheim on the 10th of March a full year later.
The whole trek started with the seven hour drive out on Friday morning. It was a difficult start as the evening before the water heater in our home went out and I had to stay up late running new lines and rewiring in a new unit—something I am not all that talented at to begin with. So, needless to say I was quite tired and a little irritable.
The trip was smooth going with not a single wrong turn—those that know my usual reviews know me to make at least one wrong turn and get lost somewhere along the way-LOL! Joe had extended the offer of us to stay at his place for the entire weekend. His home in Redondo Beach is quite beautiful and he made us feel very much at home the entire time. In fact, while Joe was showing me some of the items in his collection there was an amazing sketching a friend of his did of the guys on the back of H&H album. This was a real nice item to have.
The first thing we did that afternoon was to head out to Total Access Studios, where Ronnie often records—a very nice little place you would not know so many celebrities use if you didn’t know what it was.
Next, on to the Redondo Beach Pier. Here we did some shopping (I got a great little gift for Ronnie in one of the specialty shops) and just check out the ocean. The weather and been rainy but cleared up the whole weekend just for us!
Before calling it a day Joe took us to a local spot called the Ragin’ Cajun. This place had fantastic food and a really nice atmosphere. It was the first time I had the opportunity to eat Alligator and Frog Legs—which I enjoyed immensely! We washed all this down with some great dark lager called Black Voodoo.
We finished off the whole night back at Joe’s by watching some very rare videos I had brought along to share with my host. We ended up watching three full Dio concerts in a row—having a few more drinks and just talking some good old Dio!
Saturday morning—I knew I’d be in for a long day, but it turned out even longer than I had initially thought. We started it all off by heading up to Malibu. There we had breakfast at a local place right on the beach called Gladstone’s—a great seafood place that boasts the best special bloody marry in the land—so we HAD to try them out! (yeah I know it was 10 am but, hey, we were on vacation!) and a seafood omelet with crawfish and shrimp.
Naturally there was some really great conversation (mostly all Dio related and our plans for the rest of the day), and the BEST company!!
On to one of the better parts of the day, as Joe took me up to Leo Carrillo Beach—the location where All The Fools was filmed. Joe had been there the day of filming, and remembered the place pretty well considering it had been some 12 years. I have some pictures of where they set up the prop for the ship, the rocks and coastline where the band was shot playing and the fan area where the lunch tables and such were set up.
I wrote a nice little piece on this also to be featured in this month’s issue of TMOASM. It also includes a nice map and some details about the video and song itself. Drop over and check it out, I think you will find it interesting and worth the effort.
After a short break back at Joe’s place it was on to the concert. You could already feel the energy building….you know what I’m talking about!
We had HELL finding the HOB in Anaheim as we initially did not realize it was INSIDE Disney Land—no addresses, no one we knew had ever been there. I called the direction line, but the cell signal was too weak and I could not get through. Thank god for leaving early or this could have turned into a real mess! LOL!
Once in, we meandered around a bit, but found the place with little further trouble and there was still an hour and a half before the show. We went up to the Box Office and Will Call to check on our passes. AAAAHHHHAAAA they came through! Not only were we on the guest list for After Show but also the fan club and HOB was gracious enough to set us all up in VIP seating. And, to top it all off, my photo pass came through this time! YES! I told the dude at the ticket window that I loved him, but not to take it personally—he was laughing and joking with me as he got a kick out of it.
I also have to take a moment to confess my love to Annie of the Dio Fan Club as well, as I really gave her a lot of shit after things fell through on the last two instances. HOB is obviously difficult to deal with in this regard, and she came through admirably.
While I was in line, I ran into the record exec form Spitfire, who had come down for the show. I have met him at some three shows or so prior to this. Unfortunately I can never remember the dude’s name.
It should be noted, though this House Of Blues is smaller than the many I have been in—seating about 1,000 vs the usual 1,300 to 1,700, it WAS in fact sold out. There were several people out front of the venue trying to get tickets to that night’s show.
We went to the HOB Restaurant to have dinner, and also every HOB Venue I have been to let the paying diners in to the club area first, but the wait was three hours—so kind of pointless considering that the show would be starting in a little over an hour.
We just jumped in line—there were only about 12 fans in the line at this point—though later it would wrap ALL THE WAY around the boardwalk before the venue. In line we soon ran into Joey Patton and his cousin—though this time I was saddened NOT to see the Elf shirt! Likewise we ran into Thomas Krause in from Germany—who had seen several shows, as Joe had. And finally Larry and Lorrie George.
I was quite surprised to not run into Kelly Linhard— and I missed her, as I have not chatted with her since the first leg in Phoenix. Look forward to seeing here on the road somewhere on the new album’s tour! Not to mention Joey Patton’s Brother and sister, and mother and…well you get the point. The prior night in San Diego, where the Patton’s are from, Ronnie placed the ENTIRE Patton clan on the guest list. Joey had a picture of them all gathered around Ronnie, and it was SOME sight to see! I hope he sends me a copy of that pick for the Fans Section. There were also four or five fellow fans from the internet that I failed to connect with—sure missed you guys. I think mostly because it was SO packed in the venue it was hard to distinguish between the MOB and individual.
Wendy wasn’t here tonight—apparently she had gone off to Europe the night before. Also, Roger Summer is no longer the tour manager—I was told he is now following quite a successful kick boxing career. I will miss him sorely; I think he is a wonderful guy. (After all he’s fucking German, as Thomas would say! LOL!!)
While standing out front, waiting to get in, I first ran into Scott Warren and then soon Lorenzo (Ronnie’s sound man). They were both looking forward to the evening and were a bit happy that they would be able to spend some time at home soon as well. How DARE they have personal lives, when we have music for them to play for so many more cities…LOL!!!
The doors opened almost exactly one hour before the show was to start—everybody was real casual about making their way in. And security was REALLY tight—they were searching everyone and checking ALL Ids. It was kind of nice when they simply waved me on when they saw the passes.
Once inside, we were one of the first into the VIP seating area—dead center RIGHT above the stage. Jimmy Bain and Simon came up, saying hi before moving on to wherever they were going. Then some guy came up from behind me and asked, “Is it okay if my mom sits here?” It was Chuck Garric—he recognized me and we shook hands, talked briefly about Lynch Mob and he told me that he would be sitting in with Dio as well tonight!
Chuck’s mom was a wonderful lady who was VERY proud of her son, she and my wife AnnMarie got on very well—it was really uncanny.
Soon, the lights dimmed, the house music fell to silence and the crowd erupted as Armored Saint hit the stage. They were a kind of dirty thrashy band with grubby trashed clothing, and the lead singer’s shirt said boldly across the back: “Your mother sucks cocks in hell”. These guys really rocked, they riled the crowd nicely. On their closing tune, the singer had some really nice things to say about Ronnie and the Dio band, insisting that the audience give it up for them!
Lynch Mob was really good as well, despite all the bad things I had heard about them from prior reviews. But Joe told me this was the best of the four shows he had seen with them on this leg. Oni Logan, still a bit under the weather (he had canceled the prior night in San Diego and Chuck had filled in on all the singing—reportedly doing Ace of Spades as well) Chuck Garric sang the back up along with George, but also filled in on many of the high parts to support Oni’s vocal. George of course was all buff and played well—I am sure many of the guitar slingers in the audience loved it—I even enjoyed much of it over all.
Just before Ronnie came on everyone from Lynch Mob, except George Lynch, were up in the VIP area and I didn’t get to speak with them as the Dio show kicked right in.
The thunderous intro to Sunset Superman and the blackness of the killed lighting build the audience into a frenzy. The electricity in the air was that familiar charge I so love to feel at every beginning of a new Dio show!
The set list is all the same, so I won’t go into it except to hit some highlights.
Joe’s banner got up on stage once again—Thomas actually threw it up on stage right next to where Ronnie was standing. Ronnie picked it up then draped it on drum riser, calling out “My mate Joey made this for us!”
I didn’t get anything on stage, but I brought my Dio My Parking sign—Ronnie saw it and gave thumbs up, smiling broadly. Later, he saw me leaning over the rail and called out my name KEN, pointing to me, giving me a double thumbs up.
During the show there was some dude in cool red flashing devil horns—Ronnie made finger horns on his head and back at him and the crowd went wild.
I have to say that Ronnie DID look so much freer with the chordless mic, especially when he went over to the sides around the monitors and side fills to shake hands with, or sing to, the audience. Ronnie was wearing the Sabbath cross shirt with those black moon/star pants…looking really sharp. And his energy level was really amazing. He was ALL OVER that stage from beginning to end.
Craig looks really great—that new mustache and goatee is razor sharp and makes him look dangerous—the black with red flame shirt and leather pants really suit his new look.
I was at the soundboard and saw the set list (funny that ALAINAL and We Rock were both on it—though neither were played), I took a picture of it, though it did not come out.
Over all so much energy and tons of fun interaction, Ronnie was in good spirits and (as I said) had LOTS of energy. He did not look tired in the least considering it was the last night of a long three legs of touring. At one point, Ronnie was pounding on the keys with Scott and then stabbing him in the eyes with an evil eye! At another point, Ronnie just sat down on top of the new audience lighting riser and sang to the crowd and clasped hands with everyone right in front of him. Finally, Ronnie was also doing a great deal of ad-libbing—one thing I have always really loved about Ronnie on stage live. He was actively changing lyrics or inflection and tonality of particular tunes, as Joe had mentioned in his review of the show.
Some other points of interest during the show:
When Ronnie played Lord of the Last Day, I was surprised there was no red light during the lyric “unholy light” as we have all come to expect.
Feed My Head was really nice to see back in the set, I think they really do this tune well live.
During the lyric “Safe in dreams, away from where they are” and changing the inflection on “Just another shining star”—reminding me of Rainbow days, coming off gentle and clean, before kicking back into the hard-hitting end of the tune.
Craig’s solo was really amazing—he and Jimmy came out together right at the front of stage and just interacted so well, smiling and nudging one another and then Craig shoved Jimmy away playfully, who shook his head and left the stage. Really clean leads and he had added some scales all up and down the neck since I have seen them on the Second leg. Showing once again his great interaction with the audience skills. In fact Craig’s new wife must have been at the soundboard as he was throwing kisses and sending her signs periodically through the show. Almost all the time, he was smiling and very energetic.
Craig as a whole was REALLY on top of it tonight, in fact the whole band was very, very tight—you could tell these guys had been out on the road for all these months hammering and shaping these tunes into something really well crafted!
When Challis came on, Ronnie and Jimmy did their little march across stage—with Ronnie stabbing evil eyes at this one young lady in a green dress and Jimmy swung around the side fills to watch and point the head of his bass at her as well.
Losing My Insanity, being one of my favorite songs anyway, proved to be a pleasant surprise as well when Ronnie began dancing a little Irish jig—right at the center stage before the drum riser, not just a few steps, but a lengthy little dance! The crowd just loved this by the way, they went nuts! What fun!
Otherworld had a nice trade off quality between Ronnie and Craig. Something like the old days where the guitar would play a note and vocal note would match it. This all came off as very spontaneous and totally off the cuff. I particularly enjoyed this section.
Throughout the whole show the crowd was packed in from front of the stage to the soundboard and from one bar to the other on the left and right sides of the club—but the audience was a little less active then I thought they might be. As a matter of fact, even the guys up front were just raising their fist and evil eyes from time to time. I thought, SHIT I better get down there and show them how it’s done!
Then the world split wide open with the closing of the Magica set and right into Holy Diver. This sparked some moshing that really got rough with all those bodies packed in there. Security was really anal at this venue—as with most HOB locations and I was amused to see they were having a really tough time trying to get things back under control.
Heaven & Hell thundered out and people went ballistic with a LOT of Ronnie just holding out the mic to the audience to sing the parts EVERYBODY knew. I have always been one who truly enjoys just scanning the audience and seeing them all singing together in unison during a powerful audience participation portion of the show…and Ronnie always pulls this off well.
As this song closed out Ronnie cried: “I have a feeling we’re not done yet…” igniting the crowd once again. This is where it really got energetic as the band kicked right into the infamous Rainbow in the Dark. During this tune Jimmy’s bass went out. They just went on until they swapped out a chord. To keep things rolling and attention away from the bass tech on hands and knees out on the stage, Ronnie jumped up on top of the new lighting columns on the left side while Craig hopped on top of right lighting riser and pointing to one another singing! Jimmy was soon back in the mix and they thundered to the end of the tune.
The final song for the first encore, Ronnie said this one was for each and every one in the people in the audience and told Craig it was “for you as well you shit!” LOL! Another reflection of the great level of camaraderie now present in this band. Kicking into Last In Line it was also great to see this back in the set list—it had popped in and out the prior two legs of the tour, but it obviously came back with a vengeance this night!
Second Encore…kicked right off with the legendary Man On The Silver Mountain. This classic is a solid staple in the Dio set list that I always love hearing. When the medley faded into Long Live Rock n Roll, an unexpected and pleasant surprise took place. Introducing him as “My best mate,” Ronnie brought Mickey Dee (Drummer for Motorhead) out on stage and then had the crowd change the lyrics where we would normally sing LLRnR to sing “I Know Mickey Dee”! This was one of the key indicators of a festive mood that Ronnie and the band was in this night.
As a coup de gras, Neon Knights was played. But this too was a special treat (something I was already aware of due to the strange fellow who had been sitting next to us a good measure of the night) Chuck Garric guested on this tune along with Jimmy on bass—it was REALLY heavy and both of these guys just hammered us in unison. What a way to end out the night! Not only to hear this tune back in the song set list, but to pull it off with such energy and force for the last tune on the last night of the last leg of this great release.
When the band took a bow, all of the band including Chuck and Mickey came out for a lengthy accepting of crowd admiration and hand shaking. The whole place was on their feet in a standing ovation.
This show stretched almost exactly two hours from front to back…in fact they went over their allotted time and the bar was closed and they were not permitted an aftershow—even the people with the band were sent on their way. We went around to the back stage doors and just said goodbye to everyone. They were all going back to Ronnie’s house to finish off the night.
We packed it up and went to Denny’s to eat. It ending up being a 4AM ending of the evening.
Just as a side note—Chuck Garric has a new trio out called DRUTS and they have a finished demo that I will soon feature along with a one on one exclusive. I also met the other two guys in the band and the guitar player was really great—he kept “following us around” the Disney park after the show--LOL!
Here is an interesting piece of trivia for all you Dio Trivia buffs: It was funny because Chuck Garric’s mom told us about his very first bass and amp she ordered for him out of the Sears catalogue. She did not know much about music instruments and got him the equipment not knowing that a left handed bass (Chuck being left handed) but he learned it and though he is left handed in everything else he plays bass right handed.
In closing:
Again, this show and this trip proved out to be a very special one to me.
I truly enjoyed not only this show and the three legs of this tour, but I am now ready to move on and move forward. I am ready to see the new album come in and a new fresh tour with a new fresh set list—perhaps not quite so much slower tempo Magica—and tear up the country with some more great Rock and Roll. It’s funny because over breakfast I mentioned this to the rest of the fans with us and Joe and AnnMarie agreed with me on this.
And so, even though it really just ended, I am ready for the road of this new tour already.
All The Best, and See you in 30!
KEN
For more Photos from this show go to the Photo Archive area HERE
All Photos Copyrighted under Ken Boyd 2001
