By Avinash Mittur
April 13th 2013, Whisky A Go Go, Hollywood CA: It’s been eleven long years since Lizzy Borden last headlined in their hometown of Los Angeles. The band’s always been a bit of an odd bunch among the many metal bands of the ‘80s; they were just a bit too heavy for the glam metal crowd, and the more traditionally minded metalheads couldn’t see past the teased hair and thick pile of makeup. Lizzy Borden’s studio records consistently suffered from awful production, whether they were low-fi or overly glossed up. After all was said and done though, a ton of very great songs remained. Lizzy Borden dropped by the Whisky-a-Go-Go in Hollywood to celebrate their thirty year anniversary and those great songs, and gave the crowd an enjoyable set that more than likely left them happy. With help from fellow Los Angeles metal flag-bearers White Wizzard, this proved to be a very fun show, and a great way to spend a Saturday night in Hollywood.
Due to other commitments and an interview with White Wizzard, I ended up missing the local openers. The Whisky has been known to stack on openers that really don’t fit the show’s bill, and it’s safe to assume that this show was no exception. I did enter the venue well in time for White Wizzard though, and I was treated to one hell of a set as a result. It was a gutsy move opening with a new track, ‘Torpedo of Truth’, but it kicked the set off in high velocity fashion and was perfect for showing off the band’s present lineup. Vocalist Joseph Michael whipped out ear-splitting power screams like he’d been doing them for decades; the poor guy didn’t have nearly as much luck working the stage. The band had barely any room to move, and attempts to move around from Joseph and guitarist Jake Dreyer resulted in the two knocking into each other more often than not. Jake and Joseph always did their best to have fun with the fans in the front row though, and everyone in the band often sported big grins. Joseph in particular was always offering a big, friendly smile and his goofy interactions with Jake and bassist Jon Leon were really quite entertaining to see.
White Wizzard fans already know that Jon and drummer Giovanni Durst are among the baddest rhythm sections in L.A. but the guitar team surely wowed the crowd on this night. Jake and his foil Will Wallner let loose rapid fire solos like no tomorrow, and gave the older songs a turbo-charged upgrade. Out of the older songs played, ‘Flying Tigers’ saw the biggest improvement thanks to these two but ‘Torpedo of Truth’ was obviously the biggest indication of the pair’s abilities. If the latter track was a sign of things to come, White Wizzard fans are in for a real treat with their upcoming record, The Devil’s Cut. As for this set though, it was tough to ask more out of a much too short support gig and it proved to be a wonderful primer for the classic American metal to come.
White Wizzard Set List:
1. Torpedo of Truth
2. 40 Deuces
3. Flying Tigers
4. White Wizzard
5. Over the Top
6. High Speed GTO
After a short wait, Lizzy Borden took the stage to their mid-era track ‘Master of Disguise’. The real fun began with ‘Notorious’ though, with everyone in the crowd chanting the ‘hail Caesar!’ refrain. The band followed that up with ‘Red Rum’, which took on a whole new level of energy and catchiness live. The song was tuned down just a bit, but the song became quite a bit heavier live and in this writer’s opinion, much better than its studio incarnation- all of the older songs received a similar sonic treatment. Lizzy’s voice was in fine form, arguably stronger than it was all those years ago and drummer Joey Scott added a dose of extra double bass to the vintage tracks. Sadly, the guy ran into a bit of microphone trouble in the middle of the set. The show ground to a halt for a few minutes, and killed the fantastic momentum that had been built up. Luckily the band continued the rest of the show with little interruption. The set closing pair of ‘Me Against the World’ and ‘American Metal’ had the crowd singing along with the huge choruses, but for me the highlight of the entire set was the near power metal of ‘There Will Be Blood Tonight’. I was very surprised to find out after the show that it was a newer track from the band- kudos to those guys for writing some pretty killer recent material.
It’s impossible to talk about a Lizzy Borden show without mentioning the props and visual stunts. These included Lizzy smashing through a small television screen, a bucket of blood and a gruesome murder of one of the band’s dancers among other shenanigans. The visual attractions never distracted from the music, although they did come off as just a tad cheesy at times. Lizzy commanded the crowd with ease, inducing chants again and again. The guy wasted few words onstage, which was a nice change of pace after seeing a few too many frontmen screw around and waste time. Guitarist Dario Lorina and longtime bassist Marten Andersson were also strong presences, frequently trading spots onstage and ably adding powerful gang vocals to the songs. Dario in particular added a youthful energy to the stage, and his thick and heavy tone added much to the older tracks. Given that the set was only about eighty minutes or so, the three instrumental solos came off as a bit unnecessary however. I’m sure that many fans would have also preferred the band to play more of their own songs in place of the two covers in the set, ‘Rebel Yell’ by Billy Idol and ‘Born to Be Wild’ by Steppenwolf. Despite these complaints, the set was a very fun one overall. Getting to hear so many vintage Lizzy Borden tracks given a modern day makeover was worth the entrance price alone.
Lizzy Borden Set List:
1. Master of Disguise
2. Notorious
3. Red Rum
4. Loving You is Murder
5. Rod of Iron
Bass Solo
6. Tomorrow Never Comes
7. The Perfect Poison
8. Under Your Skin
9. Rebel Yell (Billy Idol cover)
10. Visual Lies
11. Outcast
12. We Only Come Out at Night
13. There Will Be Blood Tonight
Guitar Solo
14. Me Against the World
15. American Metal
Encore:
Drum Solo
16. Give ‘Em the Axe
17. Born to Be Wild (Steppenwolf cover)
For only $15, this was a very enjoyable night for fans of old-school American heavy metal. Hardcore Lizzy Borden fans were especially in for a treat. A set list that spanned the breadth of their career and inspired performances were surely enough to please longtime Lizzy followers, but the free meet and greet after the show was the icing on the cake. Shows are often more about merely the sets themselves- seeing the band stay an extra couple hours into the night to take photos and sign albums was a very cool sight to see, and certainly made this show especially memorable for quite a few people. A very solid Lizzy Borden set and an outstanding one from White Wizzard added up to a couple hours of killer music, and a very fun night out for this metalhead.