Carmine and Vinny Appice are in the midst of doing another Drum Wars tour and brought the show to the cataract city of Niagara Falls. NY on Tuesday night. I must admit, I didn’t know what to expect out of this since it was my first time seeing the performance live. The band installed local musicians Guy Nichols on bass, Jim Crean on vocals, and Buffalo Music Hall of Famer Michael Hund on guitar.
Each Appice brother showcased his respective talents during each of their solos and also during their “drum offs” against each other. This wasn’t a clinic, it was basically the brothers pounding the skins to their favorite songs while a backing band accompanied them. Yes, it seems stories were shared and also tongue and cheek jokes as Carmine gave it his all and then the spotlight turned to Vinny. He responded by pulling out rubber sticks to in an effort to insinuate “wow…how am I supposed to follow that up?” Also, they played while tossing sticks back in forth without missing a beat.
The hour and half set consisted of songs that each is known or associated with the most. The band couldn’t have fit the Appice’s more perfectly. In fact, the Appice brothers decided they wanted to keep them around and dismissed the band they had playing with them in Rochester in favor of the guys they had with them in Buffalo. Who knows, maybe they will be a permanent fixture for future Drum Wars?
It wasn’t a competition, as the name of the tour or promos build it up to be, but a mere appreciation for each other and celebration of the music they created! A must see as this was one of the best shows I have witnessed all year!
Set List:
Mob Rules (Black Sabbath cover)
We Rock (Ronnie James Dio cover)
Holy Diver (Ronnie James Dio cover)
Flinstones medley
Carmine Appice solo
Bark at the Moon (Ozzy Osbourne cover)
Do ya Think I’m Sexy? (Rod Stewart cover)
Lady Evil (Black Sabbath cover)
Drum Wars 2
Vinny Appice solo
Crazy Train (Ozzy Osbourne cover)
Paranoid (Black Sabbath cover)
We would like to thank Ross Catalino from Back to Back Entertainment for allowing BackstageAxxess.com to review the show. Stay tuned for an exclusive interview with Carmine and Vinny Appice that was conducted before the show.
