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Rocket From the Tombs with Cobra Verde
The Beachland Ballroom
06-02-03
It was a packed house at The Beachland for this
potentially once in a lifetime event, a show by reunited Cleveland rock
legends Rocket From the Tombs. Although there were more old timers in
the crowd than I normally see at a rock show in town, there were plenty of
younger fans there as well. Could this show possibly live up to
expectations?
I'd have to wait a little while to find out, since
Cobra Verde was up first. The band played a tight set of catchy rock
tunes drawn mostly from their new 'Easy Listening' CD, and went over well
with the crowd. Vocalist John Petkovic commented about how the evening
was a real piece of Cleveland rock history, and threatened to play a Michael
Stanley Band song. Luckily he was just joking. Sometime member
J. Mascis was not with the band this evening.
As good as Cobra Verde was, the crowd was there for
Rocket From the Tombs. Featuring original members David "Crocus
Behemoth" Thomas, Gene "Cheetah Chrome" O'Connor, and Craig Bell joined by
Richard Lloyd (Television) and Steve Mehlman (Pre Ubu), the band started off
slow and built to a fiery climax that more than satisfied the crowd.
The band played most of its classic material, including "What Love Is",
"Never Gonna' Kill Myself Again", "30 Seconds Over Tokyo",
and "Final Solution". The crowd even broke into some
slamming for a couple of numbers, notably "Sonic Reducer" which was probably
the best received song of the evening. Vocalist Thomas took a couple short breaks
to drink from a flask in his shirt pocket and
let Cheetah sing "Ain't it Fun" and "Amphetamine". Craig Bell also took a turn at the mic for "Muckraker".
At times the band sounded a little rough around the edges - this tour is the
first time they've played together in decades, after all. Still, this
was an incredible show and I'm just glad I was able to see it. (Bob
Ignizio)
For pictures click
here.
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