Headed over to Rock The Arena Saturday in Toledo at the sold out Savage Arena on the University of Toledo campus. Long day, but it was a great time. Most of the bands sounded great. I didn't get any pictures but the arena sounded decent, the fans were all friendly, and the concession and beer prices were pretty reasonable overall. Not a bad seat in the house that I could see.
Lineup was 1:15pm: Trixter; 2:00pm: Firehouse; 3:10pm: Lita Ford; 4:20pm: Dokken; 5:30pm: Winger; 6:50pm: Warrant; 8:10pm: Ratt; 9:40pm: Bret Michaels
Originally LA Guns was scheduled but dropped out, and Dokken took their place.
Trixter: I believe all original lineup. Missed most of their set arriving late, but they ended with "Give It To Me Good" like one would expect.
Firehouse: I believe 3/4 of the original lineup. Missed a lot of their set wandering around, getting beers, seeing what was what in the arena, checking out merchandise for sale, etc. But they played "Love Of A Lifetime" and "Don't Treat Me Bad."
Lita Ford: She sounded good and had a solid band. Her setlist was: Gotta Let Go, Larger Than Life, Bitch Is Back (Elton John cover), Blueberry, Living Like A Runaway, Can't Catch Me, Cherry Bomb, Close My Eyes Forever, Kiss Me Deadly
Dokken: Consisted of Don Dokken, original drummer Mick Brown, and newer bassist/guitarist. Don sounded ok overall but butchered Dream Warrior. Can't hit the high notes anymore. They played: Kiss of Death, Into The Fire, Don't Close Your Eyes, Dream Warriors, Breaking The Chains, Alone Again, Maddest Hatter, In My Dreams, Tooth and Nail
Winger: They sounded the best. Original trio lineup of Kip Winger, Reb Beach, and Rod Morgenstein, and a rhythm guitarists/keyboardist. They played: Pull Me Under, Can't Get Enuff, Rainbow In The Rose, Down Incognito, Rat Race, Miles Away, Headed For A Heartbreak, Easy Come Easy Go, Madalaine, Seventeen
Warrant: Sounded pretty good. Four of the five original members, all except for vocalist Jani Lane (RIP). The new vocalist was pretty good, but it's weird seeing the band without Jani. They played: Big Talk, Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich, Down Boys, Sure Feels Good To Me, Sometimes She Cries, All My Bridges Are Burning, Sex Ain't Love, I Saw Red, So Damn Pretty (Should Be Against The Law), Heaven, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Cherry Pie
Ratt: Ratt turned out to be no original members other than drummer Bobby Blotzer, which was odd to see; however, the band sounded great. If it is really Ratt or not is up for debate. Evidently years of suing each other brings out bad blood. Who knew? They played: I Want A Woman, Back For More, One Step Away, Slip Of The Lip, Dance, Wanted Man, Closer To My Heart (dedicated to Robbin Crosby RIP), Lay It Down, You're In Love, Shame Shame Shame, Lack Of Communication, Way Cool Jr., Round And Round
Bret Michaels: Bret sounded great. He's a great frontman. Runs around, pumps up the crowd, sings well, etc., but seeing him without Poison was strange. Seems like a money thing. Why split income 4 ways when you can pay a bunch of hired hands a salary and keep most of the money yourself? Watching his guitarist run around and play C.C.'s solos with bravado like he wrote them was annoying. But the band does sound good. They're playing Marysville Ohio this summer. They played: Talk Dirty To Me, Look What The Cat Dragged In, Sweet Home Alabama, Your Mama Don't Dance, Ride The Wind, Something To Believe In, Unskinny Bop, Every Rose Has It's Thorn, Nothin' But A Good Time, and encored with Kiss' Rock & Roll All Night
Overall a fun but long day. Pretty cool thing for the University of Toledo to be doing. They have another event this summer with all '90s bands (Vanilla Ice, Salt & Pepa, Young Mc, Coolio, etc.). That lineup isn't my thing, but if they do further events in the future, I'll think of heading over.
Some photos can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/utsavagelive
https://twitter.com/utsavagelive
