Dio, Anthrax & Fireball Minist

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REVIEW BY: William Dawson

Let me start off by saying I don't write reviews of concerts so if this one sucks too bad! I have been a fan of Anthrax and Dio for years but until now the only time I had seen anything live from either was when I saw Dio with Black Sabbath on the ‘Mob Rules’ tour.

The show started around 8:00pm when Fireball Ministry hit the stage. Since they are pretty new I won't waste a lot of space on them. All in all they were okay, all the songs sounded alike and the band reminded me of Nashville Pussy somewhat, just less practiced.

All right enough about them, Anthrax hit the stage around 8:45 and began rocking the hell out of the House of Blues. The place was pretty well sold out and the crowd was very into the band. The first song was “NFL” and the crowd was right there with the band all the way. Seeing these guys live explained a lot to me why they have the following that they do. Not stop energy from the band. Their set was short, just 9 songs, but what was missing in quantity was made up for in quality. I was right up front on the right side in front of the speakers and Scott Ian and although there was only minimal moshing going on (only during the last song) the crowd was really into Anthrax. (Set list below).

Now let me explain one thing before I continue, my girlfriend and I don't drink that often anymore but this night was an exception since my good friend Rich was our DD we did overindulge, and at one point during Dio's set she decided to start molesting me in the front row, not that I'm complaining mind you but it did cause me to miss 1 or 2 songs of Dio's set.

Ronnie hit the stage at about 9:30pm to a thunderous ovation from the crowd. The first song he did was called "One for the Road" (?) and he went non-stop from there. The band consisted of Ronnie (of course), Craig Goldie on guitar, and Rudy Sarzo on bass. The drummer and keyboard players' names I missed (sorry) but they all sounded great.

Now Ronnie James Dio has been called many things like legend etc, but nothing prepared me for the performance he gave that night. The best way to describe it would be to say that he honored us with performance he gave. He touched on all aspects of his career from Rainbow to Black Sabbath and beyond (sorry, no ELF). He still has the voice that he always did, and he sounded just as good if not better than on the Live Rainbow On Stage recording. This indeed was a night to remember not just because Ronnie sounded so good but because the crowd was giving everything right back to him. The appreciation coming from the crowd was driving him that night and he truly deserved it.

At one point in between songs there was a girl named Ginger who had a hand-painted denim vest that featured Dio on the back. (The guy who painted it passed away so she was wearing it as sort of an honor to her friend) She handed it onstage to Ronnie who held it up for the crowd (which got a huge pop) and then she offered to give it to him he handed it back telling her he wanted her to keep it for memories sake. A little sappy sounding I know, but if you were there you would know that it was really cool. Also, when Ronnie took a minute to shake some hands (one of which was mine) he didn't just do the typical run and slap -- he honestly shook our hands and tried to see who they were attached to as if he was really saying thanks for being here.

All in all it was a great show which left nothing to be desired, the man truly deserves the title of legend and I would highly recommend seeing this tour if you get the chance. I have seen approx 300 concerts over the years and this was definitely in the Top 3.

SET LIST:

FIREBALL MINISTRY:
5 songs that all sound alike

ANTHRAX:
NFL
Caught in a Mosh
Safe Home
Antisocial
Keep it in the Family
What Doesn't Die
Death Rider (new song?)
Only
Indians

RONNIE JAMES DIO:
One for the Road
Sign of the Southern Cross
Stand Up and Shout
Drum Solo
Don't Talk to Strangers
-?
-?
Man on the Silver Mountain
Guitar Solo
Long Live Rock ‘N Roll
Man on the Silver Mountain
Rock ‘N Roll Children
Gates of Babylon
Holy Diver
Heaven and Hell
ENCORE:
Last in Line
We Rock
Neon Knights
Eye (new song off Master of the Moon?)

Thank you Ronnie for a concert to remember!