Having been just over a year since Jack Russell and his band of rock ‘n roll pirates sailed in to Buffalo, NY, fans of the band, who are just thawing out from a long cold winter, were ripe for a night of 80’s nostalgia…Great White style.
The boys took a bite out of their early catalog by starting off their set with “Out of the Night,” from the 1983 EP of the same title. The 15-song performance included a balanced mix of old and new tunes, including a few surprises like 1992’s Psycho City. Russell explained it wasn’t until recently that this song was added to their live repertoire, and for long time fans of the band, it was indeed a welcomed indulgence.
Respectable solos were offered by both guitarist Robbie Lochner and later, drummer Dicki Fliszar. Lochner lit up the fret board with some classical melodies and then invited Tony Montana to a duet on a pair of Hendrix classics, “Purple Haze,” and “Voo Doo Child.” Formerly filling the role of bassist in Great White from 1987-1992, Montana now plays rhythm and lead guitar, along with harmonica and keyboards for this incarnation of the band, and appears to have his own group of loyal admirers (myself included).
Montana maximized his turn on lead guitar during “House of Broken Love,” which garnered a response from the crowd that resulted in a large grin on the face of front man, Jack Russell, whose vocal delivery of the song oozed with a sultry passion, as most everyone in the place was singing along to what, in my opinion, is quite possibly one of the best blues song ever recorded during the 80’s era. Jack addressed his fans many times during the evening’s intimate performance. He thanked them for sticking by him though his 37 year career, getting him through the hard times, and inspiring him to keep creating and playing music. He boasted about being proud to have been part of an era that will most likely never come around again. For those of us who got to experience those magical times along with him, we couldn’t agree more, and we thank you Jack, for sticking around to keep reminding us just how freaking incredible it was!
Setlist:
Out of the Night
All Over Now
Desert Moon
Psycho City
Mista Bone
Save Your Love
Guitar solo (R. Lochner)
Lady Red Light
Hard Habit to Break
Drum Solo
Mistreater
House of Broken Love
Rock Me
Encore:
Immigrant Song (Zeppelin cover)
Once Bitten, Twice Shy (Ian Hunter cover)
We would like to thank Ross Catalino form Back 2 Back Entertainment for the credentials to cover the show.
