What a way to start the long 4th of July weekend with a concert by the Scorpions. Right off the top, the Scorps rocked playing hits ‘Bad Boys Running Wild,’ ‘The Zoo’ and ‘Blackout.’ Thanks to Jeff at Pac Amp for making this happen for METAL SHOP. Here are some pictures of the show. enjoy -Ralph.
 
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Dokken rocked the house with a blistering set… playing all their hits, including: ‘Just Got Lucky,’ ‘In My Dreams’ and ‘Alone Again.’ Special thanks to the House of Blues and Trisha for making this happen for METAL SHOP. Here are some pictures of the show, enjoy -Ralph.
 
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With front man Dave Mustaine, you knew it would be a kick ass show. The crowd of 20,000 fans raised their fists as Megadeth blasted through a set that included ‘Wakeup Dead,’ ‘Sweating Bullets,’ ‘Symphony of Destruction’ and ‘Peace Sells.’
 
Megadeth will be on the road all summer and I Highly recommend it to all the METAL SHOP listeners. I want to give a big thank you to Vinnie Birbiglia of FYE.com for letting METAL SHOP get shots of the Megadeth autograph session backstage.
 
Here are some pictures of the show, enjoy -Ralph.
 
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The fists were pumping on July 8th as Judas Priest and Queensryche hit the stage at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine, California. Queensryche opened with a great one hour set that included ‘Walk In the Shadows’ and ‘Queen of the Reich.’ They closed with’Take Hold of the Flame.’
 
Touring in support of their latest release ‘Angel of Retribution,’ Metal Gods Judas Priest hit the stage and began a powerful two-hour set that included, ‘Breaking the Law,’ ‘Painkiller’ and ‘You Got Another Thing Comin.’
 
Here are some pictures of the show, enjoy -Ralph.
 
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Def Leppard kicked off their ‘Rock ‘N Roll Double-Header’ tour June 1st in Portland, Oregon (home of METAL SHOP) – every concert is happening in a minor league baseball park this summer. This is a cool idea – standing in the open-air with a cold beer listening to one of my favorite bands is not a bad way to spend the day.
 
It was great to see all the fans – which I’m sure I hung with 18 years ago on the ‘In the Round’ tour – they just looked a little older. But we partied hard and I never expected to be at a Def Leppard show slow dancing with my wife when they played ‘Hysteria,’ but we did and it was nice. And if you have kids under 12, they get in free with an adult. That sounds great on the surface – I have 2 kids, but I didn’t bring ’em to this show.
 
The only problem with letting the kids in is I’m assuming the band had to pay more attention to lyrics, so they didn’t perform ‘High ‘N Dry’ (Saturday – I feel right, I’ve been drinking all day) or ‘Let It Go’ (and you’re bitchin’). I was dying to hear both, but it didn’t happen. They did play all the other great stuff though, including ‘Bringing on the Heartbreak.’
 
It’s great to hear new music from our favorite 80’s bands, but when we go to see them in concert, we wanna hear the stuff that made them great and Def Leppard didn’t disappoint – unlike the Scorpions last year. The fans were fired up and didn’t come down until the end – ‘Photograph,’ ‘Animal,’ ‘Rock of Ages’… all back-to-back, then ‘Bringing on the Heartbreak’ and ‘Pour Some Sugar on Me’ for the encore.
 
It was a great show – even with Bryan Adams opening (ha) – METAL SHOP highly recommends it.
 
Thanks to Shannon Herber at Universal for hooking us up and check out pictures from the June 5th L.A. show – METAL SHOP correspondent Ralph Cartel was there and got some great close-ups -Rich Rock.
 
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The first time I saw Twisted Sister in concert was sometime in ’85 or ’86 when they opened for Iron Maiden at Long Beach Arena. Now, here we are in 2005 and let me tell you the T.S. concert at the Silverton Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas was just as good as back in the mid-80’s. All the original members are in great shape and still know how to rock.
 
Dee and the boys are planning a summer tour in the states and playing the whole ‘Stay Hungry’ album. Since the show was in Vegas, the boys had a special surprise for a loyal fan. They brought him on stage and he asked his girlfriend of 11 years to marry him and she said yes “ahhhhh.” It was great show and hope to catch the SMF tour this summer. Here are some pictures of the show, enjoy -Ralph.
 
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Motley Crue started their set with the blistering sounds of ‘Shout at the Devil.’ With a circus tent as the stage and pyros and circus characters, the show was a hit with the sold out Los Angeles crowd.
 
As the opening song was finished, I noticed that Tommy Lee and Nikki Sixx where dressed in circus theme – Tommy had his face painted white and Nikki wore the old classic black stripes around his eyes. Vince Neil was all over the stage with a lot of energy pumping up the crowd and singing all the classics – from ‘Live Wire’ to the new song ‘If I Die Tomorrow.’ I also found that Mick Mars has some kind of disease on his neck that keeps him from really moving too much, but he played that guitar like a master.
 
The whole concert was a hit. If you have a chance to catch this tour, don’t miss it. A big thank you goes out to Ali Johnston at BWR-LA and Melissa Robles at Nederland Concerts for making this possible for Metal Shop. Here are some pictures of the show, enjoy -Ralph.
 
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