- For those of you that are either of the “They can’t rock if they are Christians” or “If they are rockers...” schools of thought...let’s get this part outta the way. Yes. The band is still strong in their faith, perhaps even stronger now than in the past. And they do share this with the audience. SO...if you fall into one of those two groups I mentioned...I suggest that you go check out some of the other GREAT articles here on Rock N Roll Universe. There’s a whole plethora of ‘em...take your time. Really...I’ll still be here should you decide to come back to hear about the gig.
First of all...the house is primed and when you walk into a venue and that energy hits you, you know it’s gonna be quite a night. Now...I don’t know how much the opening act contributed to that because unfortunately we were running late and I didn’t catch any of their set. Feel a bit bad about that...I always try to catch at least one or two songs of the opener. Regardless...the crowd (felt like a packed house to me!!) was abuzz. Then Stryper hit the stage...people went nuts...and the electricity in the air zapped up another notch or two.
Now...if you haven’t seen and/or heard Stryper before (and let me add right now a big hhhhmmm), let me clue you into what grabbed me about them some 21 (ACK!!) years ago. And that’s the type of music that they play. To me, they have always had that Scorps/Schenker vibe...which I totally dig. Tight and intense guitar work without being too self-serving...kicking vocals...strong backbeat. And they still have it live. I have seen Michael several times in the last few years, both following a solo release and these last two tours. I’m tellin’ ya...on stage he is at his peak, his physicality free flowing and powerful to watch and his voice more amazing than ever...blending in with Oz’s makes some very sweet (I know, bad pun) harmonies indeed. Guitarist Oz Fox...fierce...it seemed to me as if he is faster and bolder than in those wayback days. It’s with drummer Robert Sweet that you see that this is not your 80's Stryper. Gone is the cage o’ drums and cymbals that he’d climb in and out of. Pared down instrumentally as it were then...he still rocks hard. While I have nothing to use as comparison for new bassist Tracy Ferrie, he did an admirable job of taking stage with a group that have played together for so long.
Now, this tour, Reborn, is in support of their newest release, a cd coincidentally entitled Reborn. And while they did play several tunes from it...the rest of the set consisted of a well thought out list of songs from their vast library. At one point, vocalist Michael Sweet tied the group’s better known songs into “a set within a set” by including running commentary about the history hooking each song to the first. Sounds a little schmaltzy maybe, yes? Probably a bit more tongue-in-cheek, really. But hey...it worked for me!!! As did the whole show. I give it a 5 (out of 5 possible) guitar pick rating!!!!
For all things Stryper online...check out their website at: http://www.stryper.com/ .
