A very special package is currently touring Europe - The Rods & Dio Disciples. Dio Disciples is Scott Warren (keyboard), Craig Goldy (guitar) and Simon Wright (drums) who all played in Ronnie James Dio's band for years. After Ronnie James Dio passing away May 16th 2010 the guys decided to keep the memory alive by playing Dio's songs and so they hooked up with singers Tim 'Ripper' Owens (Beyond Fear, ex-Judas Priest, ex-Iced Earth) and Toby Jepson (ex-Little Angels). On bass (and backing vocals) James Lomenzo who many metal fans know from his time with White Lion or Pride & Glory / Black Label Society or Megadeth.
The Rods were founded in 1980 and released 6 full-length albums til 1986, now in 2011 a new album is in stores. But they still have a lot of fans, even some who weren't even born when the band released Heavier Than Thou, their last studio album in 1986. David 'Rock' Feinstein and his mates stormed the stage and opened up with Hurricane. Right from the start David Feinstein and bassist Garry Bordonaro were always in action.... Posing... switching sides. Many young bands don't put on such an energetic show. They didn't waste time talking, delivering classics like Evil In Me, Let Them Eat Metal, Born To Rock, etc. Gerry Bordonaro took over the lead vocals at Devil's Child and Waiting For Tomorrow. "Are some wild dogs here? Any wild dogs her?" David Feinstein asked and continued "I see one wild dog... Let's do some howling!" And they kicked of Wild Dogs. The fans of The Rodss were going crazy. A little later drummer Carl Canedy got the chance to shine and with songs like Nothing Going On In The City, Crank It Up and Power Lover they closed the show.
After a short break it was time for Dio Disciples! Tim 'Ripper' Owens and the other disciples entered the stage and kicked off with Stand Up And Shout. Right from the start the place was on fire, when they continued with Holy Diver everybody was singing along. "Are you alright? We are here to celebrate Ronnie James Dio! Ronnie gave us a lot of advice. Something's we can't tell you, but one thing we can tell you... Don't talk to strangers!" Mr. Owens told the fans and so they headed into Don't Talk To Strangers - including a short drum solo by Simon Wright. After that classic ex-Little Angel Toby Jepson took over... "Let's go to Egypt!" were the first words Toby said to the audience. The British singer stayed close to the vocal line, but did it his own way. "I'm here to celebrate the greatest rock singer who ever lived, coz he was the king of rock'n'roll!" Jepson introduced the next Dio tune and Craig Goldy's guitar kicked off. Time to travel back in time and to present something from his days with Rainbow. For Catch The Rainbow / Stargazer Tim 'Ripper' Owens came back and joint Jepson on vocals. At the end of the song Toby left the stage and Tim checked the set list or tried to as it was turned upside down. "You're alright? We did some Dio, correct?" Mr. Owens asked. And the audience confirmed that, "We did some Rainbow, correct? What else is there? Black.... Black...." And when the fans shouted "Sabbath" they headed into Neon Knights. Simon Wright and bassist James Lomenzo delivered the rhythmic basis for Craig Goldy's guitar and Scott Warren's keyboard play. It was obvious that they all enjoyed playing these classic tunes. Another Dio tune from Holy Diver should follow, this time they picked Straight Through The Heart. During the song Toby Jepson returned to share vocal duties with Tim Owens, it takes to great singers to sing what Ronnie James Dio did on his own. "Excellent!" Toby Jepson commented the fan response and continued "It was an almost impossible task to pick the songs. There is a couple we knew we have to play, this is one of it!" The sonic journey continued with Children Of The Sea which Tim sang while Toby left the stage for a moment but returned for the end of the tune. Dio's Killing The Dragon was next in line and presented by Mr. Jepson. During the last moments of the song Tim came back while Toby started introducing the band. Tim finished the introduction and led into The Last In Line. Another one they did together, afterwards the Ohioan left again. "You are ready to do a bit of singing? For me? For us?" the Brit asked and was obviously satisfied by the response he got - and everybody sang along Long Live Rock'n'Roll. And to honor Ronnie James Dio they changed the line to 'long live Ronnie James Dio' at the end of the song when Tim was back. The Akronite sang the next two tracks - Rainbow's Man On The Silver Mountain and the Black Sabbath hymn Heaven & Hell. It seemed that they finished the song, but after a break they sped up and delivered a faster version of it with the Brit taking over the final part. Then they thanked the fans for coming out and went off stage.
But they had to return for some more. The fans wanted more and the disciples delivered! When Scott Warren played the unique keyboard part everybody knew it was time for Rainbow In The Dark. After Tim did this one Toby returned. Ripper asked Toby "What do we do?" and Toby answered "We rock!" and for the final tune they shared vocal duties one more time.
The band delivered a great show and it seems like they are playing together for ages. Well, partly they do, but the new ones fit in perfectly. It was great to hear the songs live and hopefully the Dio Disciples will keep playing show and keep the legacy of Ronnie James Dio alive. Thank you very much for a great night full of classic tunes!