In an odd twist of fate, Trixter is finally coming to Pittsburgh this coming week to perform at Jergels, and I won’t be able to catch the full show. So, I decided to make a birthday visit to Columbus and catch the entire ‘Spirit of ’89’ line-up at one of my favorite venues, The King of Clubs, which just happens to be a few miles from my kiddo in Columbus, Ohio. And, I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate!
The night kicked off with a trio called Band, Inc. which is fronted by lead singer, bassist and songwriter Giuliana Lucia Amaral. The young award-winning vocalist was joined by Luis Kalil on guitar and Lorenzo Meynardi on drums, who delivered a high-energy set of originals.
The momentum continued on as Pretty Boy Floyd took the stage in sea of purple as they brought the glam with favorites from their classic Leather Boyz with Electric Toyz album, and including one of our personal favorites “Your Mama Won’t Know” early in the set.
Original frontman Steve Summers was joined by returning drummer Nick Mason, who just finished a run with Jason Charles Miller on the Steel Panther tour, as well as newer members Lonny Paul on bass and Dizzy Aster on guitar.
We last caught this line-up in the spring at the M3 Rock Festival and it was cool to see a set that was less rushed. I especially enjoyed watching from the balcony where we had a birds-eye view of Nick Mason’s stick twirling, as the venue’s high-stage makes for great crowd views, but not so great drummer shots from the pit.
The band later returned for some fun, when Steve Summers took the microphone again for an all-band encore!
Enuff ‘Z Nuff was catching up with the tour in Ohio soon after their return from a tour of Japan. I was excited to snag a few of those Japanese tour picks and buy myself a Tory Stoffregen pick holder from the merch stand.
It was great to see our friend Chip and wish him well following a recent scare on stage at a hotter than hell Rocklahoma performance. No worries about weather complications at the nicely air conditioned venue on a beautiful fall evening in Ohio, however, and Chip was in great spirits despite the band’s extensive travels.
The set list was full of familiar favorites like “Kiss The Clown” and “The New Thing,” but we hear from guitarist Jason Camino that the band had learned some additional songs for the Japan tour and we are hoping that a few of those make it in when they perform at Jergels later this week. For those who are fans of the Hardrock Nite album, a few of those cuts made the list as well, namely the Wings cover “Jet” and the Beatles cover “With a little Help from My friends.”
To close out the night headliners Trixter took the stage as a trio with guitarist Steve Brown fronting the band while giving bassist PJ Farley a few opportunities to take the lead as well. Also serving up background vocals behind the kit, was Ben Hans who has been touring with the duo on both acoustic and electric tours in recent years.
Their set included the singles you’d expect like “One in a Million” and “Give it to me Good,” as well as a few surprises like a cover of Paul Simon’s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” and offered up plenty of opportunities for flashy photos.
With it being my birthday, and with the recent release of the Paramount Plus documentary “Nothing But a Good Time,” it is hard not be sentimental and think of this band’s history. I first saw them perform with Don Dokken at the historic Pittsburgh Syria Mosque venue’s ballroom as a teenager. I wasn’t ‘in the know’ back then, and didn’t meet the band until many years later, but can still remember their many visits to the ‘Burgh, including one with Firehouse and Warrant at our outdoor Starlake amphitheater (which is kind of ironic given that I was just visiting with former Firehouse bass player Perry Richardson who now plays with Stryper the day prior).
Despite the mayhem that was unleashed in the era of “hair metal,” it is a true testament to the talent and the determination of these artists who continued on to do such great things. As we watched Steve Brown’s interview on our big screen TV while editing these photos, we can’t help but celebrate how far these guys have come since their teenage success on MTV.
For those who haven’t check it out, Steve’s work can be found on the latest Ace Frehley album 10,000 Volts and on the topic of KISS, PJ Farley can also be found performing with Fozzy bandmate and wrestler Chris Jericho in an unmasked-era KISS tribute band called Kuarantine that rose from the ashes of the global pandemic. So, it won’t be much of a leap for me to tell you that the evening ended with a cover of the KISS favorite “Rock and Roll All Nite,” where the band invited all of their tourmates to join the party!
Coverage by Editor and founder Kara Marie Uhrlen on 9/22/2024. All event photos © Kara Uhrlen and The Pure Rock Shop.
