At The Palladium Upstairs, September 8th, 2017

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Fan Photos By George Dionne

It's a funny thing when you realize the cliche of how time flies is always proven to be an accurate statement.

What feels like just yesterday, I bought the WARLOCK album Triumph And Agony at my local record store, on cassette no less. I adored this blonde warrior goddess singer named Doro Pesch fronting the band with a passion generally reserved for the music I was listening to at the time.

Now I look around and suddenly 1987 is 30 years gone. I've bought all the CDs, DVDs, been a member of her official fan club and wore that T-shirt featuring the Triumph And Agony cover art until it was almost literally hanging by a thread. Hell, a signed yet slightly battered poster for the Angels Never Die album that I got via the fan club years back still hangs on the back of my room's door.

But in the three decades of my DORO fandom, I've never been able to see DORO live in concert. So you can imagine how excited I was to find out back in May of this year that not only was DORO doing a US tour, but that opening night was going to be in my neck of the woods, relatively speaking.

My concert buddy on this night was George as we are both what you would call "old school metalheads". Any of the live photos you see with this article were taken by him. After getting in to the venue late because of the somewhat overly touchy feely security check (the security guy should've bought me dinner first at least), we settled in to watch the first of two opening bands, FOREVERS' FALLEN FATE.

We missed about 1 1/2 songs waiting to get in but the band was playing with full fury throughout their set. Being unfamiliar with the band, I can't say that I really got into their set. I did quite enjoy their song "Iron Will" though, and will likely check them out more fully online.

The second band was BLACK TIRP and they were definitely NOT my cup of tea. I don't like the death metal sound in the first place or at all really, so their set (which I think was only 3 songs, but who can really tell?) boiled down to being an assault and battery on my eardrums, and not in a good way. While the band seemed to go down with others, for me it was time to get a drink.

I know that after a three decade wait, another hour delay in seeing DORO in concert might be a small price to check off an item on the music bucket list, but the wait seemed especially interminable. Then, at long last, it was SHOWTIME!

Officially billed as Doro Pesch - The Voice Of WARLOCK Celebrates 30 Years Of Triumph And Agony, Doro and her band (longtime members Johnny Dee, Nick Douglas and Luca Princiotta) were joined by WARLOCK guitarist Tommy Bolan for this special event and it was a lights out awesome affair!

In the interest of full disclosure, there was a bit of a sound problem with Doro's mike during the show but I'm blaming that on whomever the sound guy was. The band powered through that and this was a killer night of music.

Taking the stage by storm with "Touch Of Evil", Doro was a whirling dervish throughout the set. If you were trying to get a decent shot of her with a camera, you did not have an easy job because she was always moving and working the stage, blonde mane whipping this way and that as she sang out one incredible line after another. She not only delivered a powerhouse vocal performance but worked the crowd into a frenzy with each exhultation. The band was on fire as well. I thought Tommy Bolan might just blow out the speakers (or my ears, whichever came first). His playing throughout (much like the rest of the band) was immense, but his brief guitar solo before the band jumped into "Cold Cold World" was excellent.

While the running order was jumbled up for obvious reasons, they played the entirety of the Triumph And Agony album. I was in my glory hearing these songs I've loved for so long in person. Listening and watching as Doro sang "I'm alive and well in this living hell, I've survived it all now its time to tell" from "I Rule The Ruins" was a moment I won't ever forget. Any attempt at objectivity got tossed aside during "All We Are" as I quite enthusiastically joined in with the fist pumping anthemic chanting confirming that as always "we are all, all we need".

Once the entire album had been played, I was a little taken by surprise when Doro basically told the crowd to make requests from the first two WARLOCK albums. This portion of the set list started with perhaps my favorite early WARLOCK song "Burning The Witches". It was also when I got the only photo of the night that came close to being worth a damn (still not good enough to use with this article, but for personal use it is acceptable.) The song was quite exhilarating to be part of in concert, the chorus being maniacally chanted by the crowd. Throughout the night, Doro would extend the microphone into the crowd as people would get a bit of a moment as they screamed out the lyric.

This night was all about WARLOCK's music so there wasn't really any Doro solo material other than the "Wacken Hymne (We Are The Metalheads)" song which surprisingly I'd forgotten all about. It actually had me thinking I was hearing a new song before I finally placed it from the dark recesses of my mind. The night closed on a cover of (my favorite) JUDAS PRIEST song "Breaking The Law" which is always a thrill to hear Doro perform.

I have to say that I was disappointed by the size of the crowd. It ended up moving the show to the upstairs portion of the venue. But what impressed me is how Doro came out like it was one of her European packed house shows. The energy never wavered and you felt like you were just swept along for the ride. Those that were in attendance did the metal community proud with their enthusiastic support of the performance.

When the show finished and the house lights came up, the band left the stage, but Doro stayed and spent some time signing and taking photos with the fans. She signed copies of the set list, ticket stubs and in the case of one happy fan, namely me, his copy of the Triumph And Agony CD booklet. "Doro Pesch" scrawled across the lower part of the booklet does make it look even more magnificent than it already did, I am unashamed to say.

It took all these years for me to see it for myself and immediately I wanted more! Doro Pesch held court on this night of musical celebration and fans were only to happy to "dance" the "Metal Tango" with her. There was triumph aplenty to be had, with agony nowhere to be found, as the chant of "Doro! Doro! Doro!" filled the room before fans inevitably spilled into the night, their musical thirst slaked by the one true Metal Queen.

Set List:

• "Touch of Evil"
• "I Rule The Ruins
• "East Meets West"
• "Three Minute Warning"
• "Kiss of Death"
• "Fur Immer"
• "Cold, Cold World"
• "Make Time For Love"
• "Metal Tango"
• "All We Are"
• "Burning The Witches"
• "Fight For Rock"
• "Wacken Hymne (We Are The Metal Heads"
• "Hellbound"
• "True As Steel"
• "Breaking The Law" (JUDAS PRIEST cover)