RATT Concert Review – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena – 7/10/2010 (BLOG)
Written By Mike Arnold
On Saturday July 10th, 2010, Concert Blast was invited to cover The Scorpions farewell concert from their current “Get Your Sting and Blackout Tour,” as the tour stopped in Nashville, TN.
With Tom Thompson on vacation and James Downing attending another show in Memphis, Concert Blast photographer Brian Hasbrook and I attended the show. Here’s the Concert Review for opening act, RATT.
Ratt - Stephen Pearcy
80s hard rock favorites RATT opened the show to an estimated crowd of 6,000 in attendance. When RATT took the stage to flashing lights and noises blasting through the PA system, the crowd became immediately on their feet and remained there for most of the night.
RATT - Stephen Pearcy and Warren DeMartini
RATT opened their set with, “You’re In Love” and followed with “Lay It Down” while lead singer Stephen Pearcy slowly walked around while pumping his fist on the small portion of the large stage they were given by the headliner. Stephen sported red leather pants and a blue jean jacket with multiple patches.
The night continued with songs, “Lack Of Communication,” “You Think You’re Tough,” “Slip of the Lip” (a crowd pleaser), “I Want A Woman,” and “Wanted Man.” The crowd enjoyed all of the songs, but when the band kicked in with “Back For More,” the arena came alive and Stephen Pearcy seized the opportunity to get the enthusiastic rockers to sing along.
RATT - Warren DeMartini
Lead guitarist Warren DeMartini stepped to the edge of the stage for a few of his clear and precise riffs to begin the song, “Way Cool Jr,” which included dual guitar leads with Warren and rhythm guitarist, Carlos Cavazo. Stephen announced the next song is from their latest CD, “Infestation,” a song called, “Best of Me.”
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RATT - Carlos Cavazo
As the show continued, Warren De Martini began multiple guitar riffs for the song, “Lovin’ You’s A Dirty Job.” Another song from “Infestation” came next called, “Eat Me Up Alive.”
RATT - Bobby Blotzer
Stephen Pearcy introduced the band members which also included drummer Bobby Blotzer and bassist Robbie Crane. I believe Robbie had the best stage presence and took advantage of as much of the stage as they were allowed. Stephen followed the introduction by saying some magic words, “How about some Round and Round?” The crowd erupted as the band started “Round and Round” to close the set.
Ratt - Robbie Crane
The low point of this song was Stephen’s lack of his vocal ability to hit the high notes, although up until this song, his vocals were superb throughout the evening. The high point of this song was the crowd didn’t seem to care as nearly every person in attendance was singing along with the band. The dual harmony guitar leads in the song, provided by guitarists Warren DeMartini and Carlos Cavazo, put the icing on the cake. The band said goodnight as the crowd cheered until the band members left the stage and the house lights and PA music came on… No encore.
This was my second time to see RATT in concert and it seemed that Stephen expressed himself with much more unnecessary profanity than he had done in the past. The other draw back of the show was the sound system seemed partially used for their set and the sound mix wasn’t set completely right until the last few songs. Due to this, I will take away 1 point for profanity, 1 point for the sound mix, and 1 point for the arrangement of the set list. Therefore out of a 10.0 Concert Blast Scale, I will give RATT a 6.5. From the conversations I had with the people that sat around me, they seem to agree with me from all of my view points. The other thing the fans added was they would have liked to had seen RATT with more stage access instead of the small portion they were given. I can’t take anything away from them for that, because they get what the headliner allows them to have. Although I only rated this show as a 6.5, dedicated RATT fans would love this concert.
Written by Mike Arnold
Tags: 2010, Back For More, Bobby Blotzer, Brian Hasbrook, Bridgestone Arena, Carlos Cavazo, concert review, Get your sting and blackout tour, Mike Arnold, Nashville, ratt, Ratt Concert Review, Robbie Crane, Round and Round, Stephen Pearcy, The Scorpions, TN, Warren Demartini
CONCERT BLAST EXPERIENCES
I was at the show and agree with you on all but 1 point. You should cut Ratt some slack when it comes to the sound mix early on. It was Ratt’s first night on the tour with Scorpions. If you get a chance to see this show again Ratt’s sound will be perfect. As far as Scorpions, they were the best sounding live band I have ever seen and I have seen 300+ shows.
9 times out of 10, the sound quality/mix for an opening act will be quiet different than it would have been if they were the headliner. I’ve heard this happen too many times to think it’s a concidence.
I have to disagree about the sound for them if they were headlining. I saw them in Myrtle Beach at the HOB on 7/13 and the mix was terrible, you could barely hear the bass drum at all. Only played for 1 hour and left the stage with no encore as the headliner. I have seen Ratt so many times since 1984 that I have lost count and this was by far their worst performance. What makes it so much worse is that I saw Ted Nugent 6/26 at the HOB and at 62 he made these much younger musicians look old in comparison. Ted played non-stop for 2 hours and never slowed down. Maybe Ratt has just lost the fire and is only touring for the money instead of the love for the music.