Pain, Dope and BLS

I’m running on fumes this morning so y’all bear with me if I ramble, babble or just flat out don’t make an iota of sense. 3 hours of sleep tends to do that. Oh but it was worth every minute :0)

First off, the Depot is quite the venue. They’ve done a fab job of remodeling the old UP train station. It’s beautiful. Some of the art deco era touches – such as the large silver door pulls on the wooden doors into the main level, the paint colors - from the days when the building bustled with busy travelers are awesome. Of course, your average dude wouldn’t notice this; being a person with an X chromosome, I tend to notice the trivial things like décor and architecture. Plus, I LOVE old buildings/houses. So much character. But I digress. The Depot has 3 floors to it; we had tix in the VIP section, which was on the top floor. We shared our suite with 3 guys who had driven from Wyoming just to see Zakk (Wyoming Chapter in the house!). Now when we arrived, our original plan was to grab our tix from the box office where they were held for us, then go over to the Gateway for dinner. We figured we had plenty of time, since it was just after 7 and the show wasn’t scheduled to start until 8. Au contraire, mon cher. The person at the box office window had us go thru security, into the building to the inner office to claim our tickets and be shown to our suite. So we went in. Ordered a beer. Wandered the main floor, ordered a couple Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches & fries (definitely not a Moochies Philly but pretty good). Then the first band started! At 7:30! Who the heck ever heard of a concert starting EARLY?!? First band: Cycle of Pain. This is a new group formed by Black Label Society’s bass player, JD. They kicked butt. Completely rockin’ tunes; if you happen to be in the mood for some in-your-face attitude music, I would recommend their cd. Second band: Dope. From Chicago. Been around a while apparently as the singer said that their new cd was their 5th. Wasn’t sure what to expect. These guys put on a good show, really worked the crowd (the mosh pit was loving it…that is something I will never understand – mosh pits….don’t get it, does NOT look like anything close to fun). They played “Rebel Yell” by Billy Idol which cranked everyone up and got the place rocking. And then. At last. BLS. I have to say that given the choice between seeing a group in a large venue (arena) or a smaller club venue like The Depot, I’d choose the club every time. You have a much more intimate, one-on-one experience with the artist you are seeing in the smaller venues. We were maybe 20 feet from the stage. Having Zakk up close and personal like that was just the best. Loved his tribute to Dime. His 20 minute guitar solo was phenomenal. And his rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner” …is awesome.They tore up the stage, the crowd rowdy and loving every second...except maybe the bouncers. Suicide Messiah is still running through my head this morning. The show was fantastic and was over way too fast. This member of the Doom Crew Utah Chapter was left wanting more more more, anxiously awaiting my next chance to see Black Label Society. And it can't be soon enough.