It’s been a little dead around here this year, so here’s to breaking the seal on 2025 at RocknMetalLife.com. A few weeks ago I went to see the Led Zeppelin movie and it was thoroughly enjoyable. This two-hour doc was a beautiful love letter to the time that was the first album and tour for the legendary hard rock band. The interviews with the surviving band members were very informative and got to the heart of the machine that would ultimately rule the rock world.

There was also a long-lost interview with John Bonham, who famously did very few interviews, and these segments were equally intriguing.

As you’ll see in this video, I was bowled over by how strong this band was right from its inception, even though we all feel like we know EVERYTHING about the mighty Zep. To see these guys in their glorious youth with their other-worldly skills just laying those songs on live audiences was a joyous, happy jolt.

Here’s my video recap:

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Here’s looking back at how I first heard of them in high school, the phenomenal success of Hysteria and their long-lasting life as a touring band with some new releases scattered in along the way.

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Here’s a video where I ponder the career of The Kinks and where thy fit into my consciousness.

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A big part of this review covers the opening band, Fire And Water, a three-piece acoustic outfit from Ireland that absolutely dazzled us with a high-energy, incredibly skilled set. This isn’t our show, but this is what we got and more in this clip. You can join their Patreon here.

Once again, Geoff Tate had a wildly talented band backing him and the arsenal of the Queensryche catalog at his disposal to deliver a crowd-pleasing performance. From “Empire” to “I Don’t Believe In Love” to “Walk In The Shadows” to “Queen Of The Ryche” and beyond, Geoff showcased his elite voice and whipped the packed house into a frenzy. A gonzo cover of Pink Floyd’s “Welcome To The Machine” was a guitar extravaganza.

Great, great show. Feels like my live events are slowing down a bit. I’m not holding any tickets at the moment. But this show made it clear that nothing has changed with our elites. Top shelf performance all around.

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Part of that oddball agenda was telling Mick Jones a number of years back that Foreigner would NEVER be inducted and, sure enough, this is their first nomination. They’ve been eligible by the museum’s criteria for a long while.

So, now that the guy who made that declaration is out of the picture and Foreigner is finally nominated, do I care? Not so much about the induction but a great time to go through the Foreigner catalog and remember how unbelievably consistent they were from the late 70’s to the early 90’s. Here the video:

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The foursome did a good job of capturing the look of the mighty Van Halen with Roth (Ernie Berru) wearing a sparkling robe and EVH (Derek Fuller) sporting the red/white overalls with a red bandana around the neck. Michael Anthony (Andy Catt) had the same odd-looking shirt the Mikey wore in the “Jump” video and Alex (Michael Thompson) had the trademark shades.

The song selection was all A-list stuff. “Unchained,” “Panama,” “Jamie’s Cryin’,” “Hot For Teacher,” and “Ice Cream Man” were all included as well as many other huge songs from the catalog. The Jack Daniels bottle made an appearance and DLR and EVH surveyed the crowd prior to “Pretty Woman.” A lot of the VH schtick was delivered spot-on, including Dave’s strut and the familiar posture of Edward.

The songs alone made for a wonderful night out, but the presentation made it bigger than life. Not like the original band, of course. You can’t get that stuff no more. But faithfully and skillfully executed, bringing the fun, party-time atmosphere that Van Halen was known for.

The finale couldn’t have been any better. The played the “Jump” video on the big screen while the band played the song. It was a festive feeling like you would get a big arena show. The nearly-full house reveled in the song, the band and the era.

I saw VanHalen on the 1984 tour in Orlando, Florida and that is almost certainly the best show I have ever been to. Van Halen was a live act like no other and on that tour they were absolutely monstrous. I don’t go to a tribute band show expecting to get the exact same thing, it’s not possible. But this was a fantastic ride through the good times. The last several months I’ve seen quite a few tribute bands and I’m sure I have plenty more in my future. The originals aren’t in the best of shape these days and a lot of them are gone for good. I’ll take one of these when I can get it. Fan Halen exceeded all expectations.

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Of course, Diamond Dave was great and the show featured a heavy dose of the Van Halen catalog along with his new stuff. The opening band was Cinderella and they were completely unknown to me walking into the arena. They were an absolutely fantastic live band and the sound made a huge impression on me. I got Nightsongs the very next day and have been a huge fan ever since.

So here’s my look back on another great San Diego concert, another great night of DLR live and some memories from 37 years back:

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Based Guitarist knows the band in and out and fills in a lot of the gaps in my knowledge. He’s also a rippin’ guitarist in his own right, as you can see on his YouTube channel. And if you stop by there to see him shredding, you’ll also see that Based Guitarist flies his own plane and is working on getting his commercial pilot license.

Check it out here:

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Kris records and plays live, with his catalog up on Bandcamp and lots of videos of performances and other things on his YouTube page. We start off by catching up with Kris’ current projects and then go down the Judas Priest road. Here’s the first of what I hope will be many lively discussions on the RocknMetalLife YouTube channel:

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