Joe

The Phoenix Kills The Dragon

A Report from Joe Montoya

Sample some of the Dio live set in Real Audio: Killing The Dragon (Houston) Last In Line (Dallas)

The weekend started Friday afternoon as I flew in from Los Angeles to 
Phoenix 
Arizona on 5-31-02.My best friend from jr. high school Robert Henchel 
originally from Redondo Beach was waiting for me parked outside of the 
Phoenix airport as I walked outside. Whew was it hot in Phoenix! We 
headed 
directly to Roberts house and as we drove up the "DIO TOUR MOBILE" was 
in 
front of the house. Ken Boyd had just arrived and was waiting briefly 
with 
Tracy Henchel Roberts wife. We all said our hellos and everyone was 
introduced. Now it was time for a BLACKENED VOODOO lager. The beers 
just hit 
the spot in this dry heat we were experiencing. We hung out for the 
rest of 
the night drinking cold beer and watching some great boot videos ken 
had 
brought to share with us all as we were priming ourselves up for the 
next big 
day planned. I was finally able to get some sleep though I felt like a 
small 
child going to bed Christmas eve anticipating Santa clause to arrive 
LOL!!! I 
could hardly sleep. Well the next day finally arrived with another 
blazing 
sun in Phoenix. We ate breakfast watched more Dio videos went swimming 
in the 
pool and drank another few coldies before finally gearing up for the 
big 
event later in the afternoon. The big Dio show time had finally 
arrived! My 
favorite concert in the whole wide world. We arrived at the Cricket 
Pavilion 
and it was hotter than hell. That was ok because we brought plenty of 
ice 
cold refreshments. Well time to see if our passes came through. what? 
We are 
on the list? Alright!!!!! And yes Kens photo pass came through as well. 
Not 
only that but in my envelope not only my after show passes were in there 
but 
also a pair of comp lawn tickets. We immediately called some of my buddy 
Robert's family out in Phoenix to come and use the tickets and no 
problem they 
were able to attend last minute. so nothing went to waste. Well enough 
of the 
foreplay LOL lets get in to the actual act shall we shall we? DIO hit 
the 
stage about 6:30PM and was still light which was unique because we all 
know 
Ronnie loves the dark. Killing the dragon intro stared blaring through 
the 
venue leading in to Killing the dragon of course. They sounded extra 
tight 
and Doug's sound was great! I felt like this was going to be extra 
special with 
a fresh new guitar player and all and it proved to be just that. Next 
they 
went in to Egypt which was a huge surprise with the old Black Sabbath 
classic 
intertwined in the soft bridge of Egypt and then back in to Egypt. The 
crowd 
was going wild with excitement. I noticed Ronnie said hello to Ken as 
Ken was 
taking pictures up front. That was pretty cool to say the least! And 
the 
audience was great, very peaceful and no violence that I noticed. Even 
the 
young kids were rocking out and there was a lot of them with their 
parents. 
The next song was Push which Ken missed because they were escorting him 
out 
after the third song from the photo section. That is a standard 
practice that 
the photo/media only take photos for the first 3 songs. I was really 
curious 
to hear Kens input on the live application of this one since it is his 
least 
favorite on Killing the dragon.  Ironically Doug had some technical 
difficulty 
as his guitar went out completely. Just Ronnie and the band minus Doug 
as Doug 
and his guitar tech tried to correct the problem. The song was finished 
without Doug as Simon went in to his drum solo. he sounded really solid 
as 
always. I heard the guitar kick in briefly as they fixed the problem 
during 
Simons solo. then Ronnie says  Lets Stand Up And Shout!!!! This song 
got 
everyone standing and rocking. After that number they kicked in to a 
song 
from the new album Rock And Roll. The audience was very responsive as 
the 
band got really emotional and dramatic with this tune. Connected to 
this tune 
was another favorite of everyone Heaven and Hell. talk about emotions 
flying 
LOL!! this really made my night. in my opinion this should never ever 
be 
left out of the DIO set! During Heaven and Hell was Doug's guitar solo. 
this 
guy kicks some serious ass. He not only played the Vivian Campbell 
stuff with 
flair but also the Sabbath and  Rainbow solos great recapturing the 
true 
essence of the guitar heroes involved with those bands. Not only that 
but 
during his guitar solo alone he sounded so great it kind of scared me 
a little 
bit the way it sounded. everyone around me in the audience were in aw 
as he 
did his magic! after that the ending of Heaven And Hell. The next songs 
were 
Man On The Silver Mountain medley with Long Live Rock And Roll. Ronnie 
did the 
Long Live Rock And Roll with the audience participating which I haven't 
seen for 
a long time. Very cool. Then finally the DIO classic HOLY DIVER as the 
last 
song of the evening. Again Doug blew me away with the guitar solo. No 
problem 
with the solo not sounding like its supposed to with Doug. He is my 
favorite 
DIO guitar player out of all of them. Jimmy was great and rock solid 
and 
Scott was up front as well and sounding great! I was very satisfied 
with the 
Dio band and the show they put on and would recommend to everyone that 
they 
check this show out when it comes around to your area even if Dio is 
opening! 
it is well worth the money!

Well after DIO left the stage and we re-upped our drinks with these 
fantastic 
tall margaritas we were blessed with the Scorpions set, and they were 
fantastic! I have to be honest that the highlight of the Scorps besides 
all 
the classic songs was this good looking blonde gal flashing her 
highbeams on 
this guys shoulders a couple rows up from us just to the left LOL!! She 
must 
have done it at least a half dozen times as finally Klause pointed at 
her and 
smiled in acknowledgment. Finally Deep purple was fantastic all though 
the 
crowd was pretty mellow at this point. We all rocked out to old classics 
such 
as HIGHWAY STAR and Woman from Tokyo. At the end of their set and I 
swear to 
god (though Ken laughs at me LOL!!!) Roger Glover was throwing his 
last pick 
gazing in to the crowd as he passed our area with his eyes I put my 
hand 
up and he knocked at me and flicked his pick like a little Frisbee. I saw 
it 
swirl in a circular motion it bounced off a couple of seats in front of 
us 
and landed in our row next to me for me to grab. Wow what a great 
night! What 
a nice way to end a great show! Well after the show when we went to the 
back 
stage area it turned out that DIO's meet and greet took place right 
after the 
DIO set. We were told by security before the show that the meet and 
greet 
would be after the entire show. What a bummer. Oh well I wasn't going to 
let 
it ruin the super show I had just witnessed however. I know this 
happens all 
the time so no biggie. I  felt bad for my best friend Rob and his wife 
Tracy 
because they were looking foreword to it as we all were. Poor Robert 
was so 
upset that he must have told a half dozen security guards our had luck 
story 
hoping one of them would reconsider letting us back. But no luck. Sorry 
mate 
maybe next time. It was actually kind of funny as we laughed about it 
the 
rest of the weekend LOL!!!

Final thoughts 
and 
thank yous                                                                   
                    Over all I had a fantastic evening! It's always fun 
to have 
a few drinks and let loose. DIO definitely stole the show in my opinion. 
IM 
really looking foreword to the tour when it finally comes to California 
in 
August. I would like to take this opportunity now to thank DIOZINE KEN 
BOYD 
one of the corest fans I know for coming down to join us. KEN you are a 
true 
gentlemen and its always a pleasure to hang out with you! Also special 
thanks 
to my best friend Robert Henchel and his lovely wife Tracy Henchel for 
putting KEN and I up and also for putting up with us LOL!! Your 
hospitality 
will not be forgotten! Also a huge thanks to PATTI and ANNIE from the 
DIO fan 
club for your help!  Well that concludes my review fellow DIO fans and 
I hope 
you enjoyed reading about our adventure!  Take care.  Until next time      
JOE MONTOYA AKA JOE FROM REDONDO