Stryper / Boomstick
The Beaumont Club, Kansas City, MO
October 22, 2003
The first band up,
Boomstick, was pretty good. Although I'm sure they get this all the time, they have that
King's X vibe. But just because they are a 3-piece band with a black bass player, and great vocal harmonies doesn't necessarily make 'em so. Guitarist, Michael Doss played some great solos during their mini-set. With influences like Nuno Bettencourt and Jeff Scheetz, he jammed. Had a little crowd participation with their song "I Wanna Be In A Boy Band". They closed out with a little ditty of popular old school metal anthems like "Back in Black" and "Bang Your Head".
Up next was my favorite metal band back in 80's, Stryper. I can remember back in April of 1987, going to see them on the To Hell With The Devil tour with Hurricane. That was my first "real" concert, and I'll never forget it.
After a quick intro that almost made me think Cradle of Filth was coming out on stage, "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" came over the speakers. If the volume of this opener was any indication of how the rest of the show was going to sound, our ears were in for a treat. I think they had the speakers and amps on overdrive. It was loud, but hey...IT'S METAL!! From song # 1 until the last song, the crowd was singing all the classics like "Soldiers Under Command", "Makes Me Wanna Sing", and "Loud and Clear". They played a few songs from each of their releases, but I noticed lots of material from Soldiers Under Command and To Hell With The Devil. They also played two new songs, "For You" and "Something". For not really "being a band" for over 10 years, they haven't lost it. They even threw out the Stryper mini-Bibles like the old days. Robert Sweet is one of the most animated drummers I've ever seen...well, besides Tommy Lee. His bass drums literally shook you and after a few songs, he broke his snare. Lucky he had a spare. Robert was also the master of headgear. He was either wearing goofy hats or covering his head with a towel. After all the songs, he definitely looked exhausted just hanging over a cymbal. Oz Fox is just a metal monster on the guitar. He and Michael make a great guitar duo. Michael could still scream those high notes and held 'em forever. Insane!! With his brave new haircut, Tim Gaines looked like a kid playing the bass. Before they closed the show, Michael said a prayer for the audience and all that....and...well, it was just surreal to only hear the subtle buzzing of the monitors between pauses. The entire bar was silent, something non-typical of the Beaumont Club.
Wow, was that ever a cool show. Thanks for the nostalgia! Just a little suggestion to the road crew...please try and concoct a way to keep the backdrop from falling down!
