Many bands have wrapped up touring for the year but a few rock and roll legends had the itch to get out and play. Kings of Chaos are a group of musicians who get together to have fun and play each other’s music. This outfit has been around for a few years with different incarnations. The 2016 version of this band included Matt Sorum on drums, Robert DeLeo on bass, Steve Stevens, Billy Duffy, and Billy Gibbons on guitar, Robin Zander and Chester Bennington on vocals.
This was a short run for the band which consisted of 6 dates with the last being at the Turning Stone in Verona, NY. Bennington emerged first and belted out the Stone Temple Pilots “Vasoline.” The shows outfit constantly rotated all night long. Bennington sang a few songs before Robin Zander of Cheap Trick appeared singing the appropriate “Hello.” Zander dressed in a white jacket and straw top hat and talked about his affinity for the Syracuse area. His wife is from the Syracuse and he stated how he always likes visiting and playing here.
One of the most revered guitar players on the planet appeared next in Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. A few ZZ Top tunes were played including the fan favorite “Tush.” Zander took center stage alone this time as he sang “The Flame.” Next was Steve Stevens doing a solo that included a lot of playing in flamenco.
Billy Duffy led the band doing a short acoustic set that included The Cult tune “Edie (Ciao Baby)” and then “Interstate Love Song.” Ringleader Matt Sorum talked about how a 14 date fill in for Motorhead back in 2009 was the highlight of his musical career. His growly vocals were perfect on “Ace of Spades.”
The entire band wrapped up the show with a few songs including the always fun “Dream Police.” The opener Frankie Perez came out to help both Zander and Bennington sing the Freddie King classic “Going Down” with each taking a turn with a verse. A song from Led Zeppelin was chosen to end the set as the band gave a stirring rendition of “Whole Lotta Love.”
I must say they all sounded great and had fun while doing it but a special shout out to Chester Bennington. Not only did he sound great on the up temp songs but his various tones were spot on for the ballads as well. He was the MVP of the show in my opinion. This was a fun one and a great way for BackstageAxxess to wrap up coverage for 2016.
Setlist:
Vasoline (Stone Temple Pilots cover – Chester Bennington on vocals)
White Wedding (Billy Idol cover- Chester Bennington on vocals)
Fire Woman (The Cult cover- Chester Bennington on vocals)
Hello There (Cheap Trick cover- Robin Zander on vocals)
Surrender (Cheap Trick cover- Robin Zander on vocals)
I Want You to Want Me (Cheap Trick cover-Robin Zander on vocals)
Watin’ for the Bus (ZZ top cover- Billy Gibbons on vocals)
Tush (ZZ Top cover- Billy Gibbons on vocals)
The Flame (Cheap Trick cover-Robin Zander on vocals)
Guitar Solo (Steve Stevens)
Edie (Ciao Baby) (The Cult cover- Chester Bennington on vocals)
Interstate Love Song (Stone Temple Pilots cover- Chester Bennington on vocals)
Jesus Left Chicago (ZZ top cover- Billy Gibbons on vocals)
Ace of Spades (Motorhead cover- Matt Sorum on vocals)
Sex Type Thing (Stone Temple Pilots cover- Chester Bennington on vocals)
Love Removal Machine (The Cult cover- Chester Bennington on vocals)
Rebel Yell (Billy Idol cover-Robin Zander on vocals)
Dream Police (Cheap Trick cover-Robin Zander on vocals)
La Grange (ZZ Top cover- Billy Gibbons on vocals)
Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers (ZZ Top cover Billy Gibbons and Robin Zander on vocals)
Going Down (Freddie King cover- Robin Zander, Frankie Perez and Chester Bennington on vocals))
Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin cover- Robin Zander and Chester Bennington on vocals)
We would like to thank Kymm Britton for the credentials to review the show.
