It was great to get the 2010 KEEL concert schedule kick started with two excellent shows in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. At both gigs, we were a little overwhelmed by so many familiar faces, friends and fans who came from all over to see us – our only regret was that we could not spend a little more time with each of you.
In Vegas, there were people from all over Nevada, California, Arizona – one couple, Steve & Michelle, came all the way from the UK to get married in Las Vegas and made their wedding plans around the KEEL show! In Atlantic City, East Coast KEELaholics from New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and other nearby states all made the trek and we can’t thank you enough. Seems like every gig has a “family reunion” feeling, and that adds even more to our excitement and appreciation of these events.
1.Las Vegas – June 19 – FEELGOOD’s: “Feelgood’s” nightclub is everything you’d expect in a Vegas venue owned by Vince Neil. Killer sound and lights, the staff was great to us, and it was a perfect place to have our first show of the year. This was a headline show – which meant we could play all the classics and a healthy dose of tunes from our new “Streets Of Rock & Roll” album. Due to everyone’s busy schedule, we only had one rehearsal (the night before the gig) – but the guys in the band did their homework and showed up in “game shape.” I had spent a few weeks practicing with the track mixes cranked up through a large PA system, playing and screaming along while going through the moves with the mic stand and guitars, so I was vocally & physically ready. The KEEL show is a workout and for me preparation is the key.
One year ago on June 19 we were in a Los Angeles studio recording “Streets” – this year we were doing our first KEEL gig of the year – and that also happens to be my wife Renee’s birthday. She has always been totally supportive of my music and my obsession with my work, content to spend her birthday in airports, recording studios, and dressing rooms; while I stressed out about the details, logistics, the songs, my tone, and everything else she was there with a smile and her camera to capture it all. I stopped the show at one point to give her roses and a kiss, but that (and her other gifts) were not nearly enough to show her how much I love her and appreciate her.
Normally, we don’t do encores – I don’t like it when bands leave the stage without playing their biggest hit(s) and expect the audience to jerk them off and bring them back with shouts and applause. But of course, that’s what we did…it was the first time we’d done an encore in well over 20 years; many of our shows are festivals or support slots where we don’t have a choice – so we indulged ourselves and left the stage after “Lookin’ For A Good Time” and the crowd did not disappoint. It was really a rush to hear the “KEEL! KEEL! KEEL!” chant and we of course returned for “Tears Of Fire” and “The Right To Rock.”
Thanks to Feelgood’s and KEELNation West for making this a triumphant return to the stage for us.
VEGAS SONGLIST:
REASON TO ROCK
COME HELL OR HIGH WATER
ROCK N ROLL OUTLAW
SOMEBODY’S WAITING
SPEED DEMON
PUSH & PULL
DOES ANYBODY BELIEVE
BECAUSE THE NIGHT
HERE TODAY GONE 2MORROW
STREETS OF ROCK & ROLL
WRONG THING RIGHT GIRL
LOOKING FOR A GOOD TIME
TEARS OF FIRE
THE RIGHT TO ROCK
2.Atlantic City – June 23 – HOUSE OF BLUES: Our first East Coast show of the Reunion was a blast, opening up for Cinderella at the HOB in front of 1000+ kick ass rock fans. The response was great, I felt good about the performance, and had a great time at this gig. We endured the customary logistical difficulties of being an opening act - I didn’t even get to soundcheck with the guys – but the show was strong and the energy was electric.
ATLANTIC CITY VIDEO CLIP (front row FanCam courtesy of Randy Gill – sound is a little distorted but this is pretty cool – we will get some more video from this show up at some point soon): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsUPuc6sbZ8
Continuing in the ‘reunion’ theme, we were joined backstage by Tony Palmucci, who played on “Larger Than Live” in 1989 and did the short tour that followed. Tony’s a class act and a great player, who spent 9 years as Dee Snider’s guitarist following his tenure with KEEL. And of course Cinderella drummer Fred Coury is family – he played in KEEL for a very short time in the summer of ’84 and jammed with us at our debut reunion show in Hollywood last year. Thanks guys, great to see you as always.
KEELNation East gave us what we came for, and we hope to make it back to the area at some point in the future. The promoter was very happy, gave our agent a stellar report, and invited us back next year…
