The Gray Manor Inn, located in Dundalk was rocking on Saturday evening. It was a nice, sunny
day, but not overly hot, and the drinks were flowing.
First up was the band Whole Lotta Roses, a local tribute band covering Led Zeppelin, Guns 'n Roses, and AC/DC. They kicked off the set with a powerful rendition of Led Zeppelins, Good Times Bad Times. The bands guitar player, Tony Fabic, was quite the showman, donning a leather jacket, Jimmy Page style wig, and beautiful Les Paul. When performing as Guns 'n Roses tunes he wore a top hat, a nod to the great guitarist, Slash.
The vocalist, John Jamison, also did a number of quick costume changes including wearing a wig of straight reddish hair to imitate Axl Rose, Guns 'n Roses vocalist. The band performed a few Guns 'n Roses song including a great cover of My Michelle, where bass player, Linwood Turner, really got into it.
As you would expect, the crowd got wild when the AC/DC song You Shook Me All Night Long was performed. The ladies in the house came to the front of the stage and 'shook' the men for the rest of the set.
There was a decent turn out for Whole Lotta Roses as the opener for this show.
Later that evening, Judas Rising, a Judas Priest tribute band, hit the stage as the sun was beginning to set. They opened up with the Judas Priest classic, Electric Eye. This guy, was blown away. Judas Rising was great off the rip.
Vocalist, William Jones has a very powerful voice. Someone quick call Rob Halford? he may have some competition.
The band performed several classic Priest songs including Breaking The Law, Heads Are Gonna Roll, the 'disco' classic Turbo Lover and many more. They also performed some of the less covered/radio played Priest songs.
Mike Ferretti is a mean bass player. He dominates the bass making it
his slave and it submits, graciously. Razzle Markel, one of two guitar players in Judas Rising, himself, was a showman. The look and feel of metal is upon him. Darryl Whitesall, is also one of the bands guitar Gods. The dual leads between both were spot on. The drums were powerful and in your face because of drummer, John Nort Noerlein. The Pearl drums he used sounded phenomenal.
If you are a Judas Priest fan, you definitely need to check out Judas Rising!
After watching these great tribute bands, I can't wait to see them again.
Whole Lotta Roses can be seen next at Backseat Bar and Grill, Saturday, July 13th.
Judas Risings next show is November 9th at Henney Macks.