At the Wolf Den at the Mohegan

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It has been ten years since guitarist Joey Allen and drummer Steven Sweet have graced the stage together in Warrant, but The Downboys are back featuring a new front man in Jaime St. James from Black N' Blue fame, and founding members guitarist Erik Turner and bass player Jerry Dixon.

Touring in support of their first album of new material in almost ten years entitled, Born Again on Cleopatra Records, Warrant have gone back to their roots.

It has been a while since I have seen Warrant perform. Last time was on the Rock Never Stops Tour with Whitesnake. I didn’t know what to expect when I walked into the Wolf Den to witness the re-birth of Warrant. I have always loved the power ballads of Warrant and I was anxious to hear how Jaime St. James would pull off singing a Jani Lane ballad. Well, it is not easy to rewrite history, and make people forgot Jani, but after hearing Jaime sing my all-time favorite Warrant ballad, ”I Saw Red,” I was sold immediately.

Warrant hit the stage at 8:15 and performed an hour and half set of all of their classic hits. Opening with "The Downboys". Sliding into, ”Sure feels Good," Warrant looked like they were having so much fun performing together again. The Wolf Den is a phenomenal venue to see a concert in an up close and personnel setting. The club has great acoustics, and a cool Indian stone background.

The band sounded really tight, and everything fell right into place with Jaime St. James singing the every classic Warrant.

I had the opportunity to ask Jaime, how if felt to replace Lane. He told me, “It is probably the most difficult thing for a band to replace a singer. I have to be at my best every night. I can't cheat. Fans are going to compare me to Jani, and I have to give it my all. I like the challenge. The response has been really great so far. Eric came up with the title of the new album, Born Again. We went into the studio and everything fell right into place. It is the rebirth of Warrant. We don't want people to think we are a Christian band, but we are re-born again. It has been twelve years since Steven and Joey have played in Warrant. The tour has been going great. We decided to stick with the Warrant songs tonight, and not perform any Black N' Blue songs.

Warrant performed a wide selection of hits from their extensive album career including, "Rainmaker", and "Hole In My Wall." They even performed two new songs off of Born Again, including a very nice bluesy version of ”Bourbon County Line", and "Dirty Jack." I really like the sound of the new material; it has a modern edge with an old school flavor.

The backbone of the band, guitarist Erik Turner and bass player Jerry Dixon jammed together, and really proved to be the foundation of Warrant. Eric had a really nice tone to his guitar, and cranked out the catchy rhythm guitar to the medley of "Sometimes She Cries," and my favorite power ballad, ”Heaven".

They even played a rare Warrant song, ”Sad Theresa." The set really flowed well, and captured the intensity of the early days. Warrant seemed like a totally new band, full of energy, and revitalized. It felt so good to hear all of the classic Warrant hits being played live again. The vibe was nostalgic for sure.

The last part of the set, ended with an energized rock onslaught of two of Warrant's biggest hits, ”Uncle Tom's Cabin", new song, ”Dirty Jack," and the anthem of the 80's "Cherry Pie."

Funny thing, visions of Bobbie Brown did not come to mind during this song this time. What transpired onstage were five serious musicians pulling together as a band, and trying to make the best music possible. It is not easy to rewrite history, but tonight Warrant took the first step in proving that they are revitalized, and ready to carve a new niche in the ever-changing music business. Warrant are making some new friends along the way, proving that a good song, and great musicians combined can survive the times. They say timing is everything, and Warrant is ready to pick up where they left off, and rewrite a new chapter in metal today.

Set List

• Downboys
• Sure Feels Good
• Love In Stereo
• I Saw Red
• Hole In My Wall
• Rainmaker
• Bourbon County Line
• Sometimes She Cries/Heaven
• So Damn Pretty
• Uncle Tom’s Cabin
• Dirty Jack
• Cherry Pie