| Dio and Kings X |
| Written by Chris Slack |
| Sunday, 27 July 2008 10:23 |
|
Dio and Kings X November 9, 2002 at The Showbox, Seattle WA HammerFall was originally set to open the show but due to arriving at the venue late they were unable to play. I would have missed them even if they did make it to the venue in time because traffic was so bad! Kings X started at 6: 45, about two minutes after I got to the Showbox. I’m glad I got there in time because I would have missed one hell of a great live band. They played a 50 minute set comprised of a number of songs such as "Black Flag", "It’s Love" and a few others. Kings X has been together for a long time and it shows in how tightly they can work as a band. Most songs seemed to have long, complex guitar solos that Ty Tabor whipped out with little effort and a lot of love. One song, the next to last, had about 10 stop/start parts towards the end and not once did the band members have to look at each other for visual queues, they just kept their eyes on the audience and played on and on. All three members did some vocals so there were some great harmonies throughout the show. Although the audience was rather sparse while Kings X were playing those who were in attendance got into the show and responded well to the set. Anyone who can appreciate tight, sometimes technical, and heavy rock and roll should check these guys out. When it appeared that changeover might be done I sat down in the photo pit only to be promptly removed by Dio’s tour manager for not having proper permission from Dio management (I had a generic photo pass from the venue). He was totally cool and introduced me to Wendy Dio who hooked me up with a Dio World Tour 2002 photo pass. As is the case with most of the larger acts photography was limited to the first three songs, fortunately I recently got a camera that has a burst mode. The Showbox had nearly filled to capacity by the time Ronnie and company took the stage and ripped out “Killing the Dragon”, the title track from the latest album. The audience was crazy from the start, showing their horns and singing along with their favorite Dio tracks. Ronnie was in fine form, displaying the vocal skills that to this day keep him in the upper echelon of metal/hard rock singers. He was very mobile throughout his set, moving all over the stage and ensuring he made eye contact with everyone in the front few rows at least once. Some younger metal frontmen could really take a lesson or two on working a crowd from a veteran like Ronnie, he had everyone captivated for the whole show. His backing band did a fine job as well. Doug Aldrich, the most recent addition to the band, played like a veteran in the band. He had the solos for older songs nailed down perfectly the newer songs sounded great too, although I must admit to not being very familiar with them. Veteran drummer Simon Wright did the obligatory classic metal style drum solo but made it more interesting by playing along with “Carmina Burana” during the latter half. I haven’t seen Dio since he was with Sabbath on the “Heaven and Hell” and “Mob Rules” tours and was surprised at what a great show he and the rest of the band put on. Though he may be one of the oldest touring heavy rockers out there, Ronnie James Dio has the heart, voice, and energy to blow away most current bands and hopefully continue to do so for many more years. Dio set list: Killing the Dragon Egypt Children of the Sea Push Simon Wright Drum Solo Stand Up and Shout Rock and Roll Don’t Talk to Strangers Man on the Silver Mountain Long Live Rock and Roll Lord of the Last Day Fever Dreams Holy Diver Heaven and Hell Last in Line Rainbow in the Dark We Rock |