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On stage: Various Artists - Tribute to Ronnie James Dio



- All star band - July 2010 - Bochum (D) -











- Tribute to Ronnie James Dio - July 12th 2010 - Bochum (D), Zeche -





Markus Bischoff

Holger Auer

Marco Wriedt

Marin Kesici

Doro Pesch

Martin Kesici + Doro Pesch

Volker Krawczak

Christof Leim

Dirk Hackenberg

all stars

all stars

Everybody was shocked to learn that metal icon Ronnie James Dio was diagnosed with stomach cancer and we all wished him the best. Then the Heaven & Hell tour dates were announced it seemed to be a good sign, but May 16th the legend passed away. First it were just rumors, but then Wendy Dio confirmed that Ronnie lost his fight against cancer. The metal world was devastated! Soon after the first tribute shows / activities were announced, all to the benefit of 'Stand Up And Shout' Cancer Fund. Torsten Sickert had the idea to do a tribute show in Bochum and asked some musicians to participate - and so this tribute show came to life.

Right after the soccer world cup, on a hot summer night fans from all over Germany - and even from abroad - come to join the party, a party held to honor one of the biggest voices in rock. Many of the involved musicians had personal experiences, but it was the music which should do the talking.

A black curtain blocked the view at the stage, then slowly was pulled up and gave view onto the stage. The opening song was Dream Evil which was presented by Axxis members Marco Wriedt (guitar) and Harry Oellers (keyboard), bassist Markus Bischoff (PushUp) and drummer Tim Husung who was the only one doing the whole set. Drums and keyboard been moved to the side of the stage for a huge backdrop where pictures of Ronnie James Dio, album covers and other images were shown to support the show. On vocals one of two unknown singer, later we learned more about them, but at the opener Holger Auer (These Days) was a nobody who surprised the fans with his great performance. Next in line was Hungry For Heaven where Klaus Vanscheidt took over the guitar. While at the first song the guys seemed to be a bit nervous they soon forgot about it. Due to the changing line-up it always took a moment and for Rock'n'Roll Children another unknown singer entered the stage - and also delivered a great performance. He shared the stage with Metal Hammer chief editor and Sinner / The New Black guitarist Christof Leim who's guitar play added some heaviness. Before they headed into Stand Up And Shout Dirk Hackenberg (Nightlife) thanked everybody for coming and for paying tribute to Ronnie James Dio. After Don't Talk To Strangers it was time for another singer, this time it was Martin Kesici. The Star Search winner always showed his love for metal, tonight he sang Heaven & Hell. Ferdy Doernberg (Axel Rudi Pell, Rough Silk) had taken over the keyboard for Don't Talk To Strangers and was now joined by Klaus Vanscheidt and an unknown bassist. Well, the bass was played by the monitor sound guy who should that he can't just handle the sound board. Between the songs the fans were singing "Dio, Dio, Dio" - and then We Rock and Last In Line, the later sung by Dirk Hackenberg. For Egypt (The Chains Are On) the line up changed again, this time ex-Running Wild guitarist Bernd Aufermann entered the stage, Klaus Vanscheidt played bass and Harry Oellers were back on the keyboards - and metal queen Doro Pesch took over the mic. After Man On The Silver Mountain she told the crowd that she was on tour with Dio twice - in 1987/88 and on 2000 - and last year played a show opening for Heaven & Hell. She surely has some great memories from the tours... And so she seemed even more emotional... No way to pay tribute to Mr. Padavona without playing Rainbow In The Dark and Holy Diver. For the title track of the Dio debut Martin Kesici returned and shared vocals with the blond singer. Their voices work well together, perhaps they should think about recording something in future... Halber Liter drummer Tim Husung got time to show his talent before another cast entered the stage. For guitarist Axel Rudi Pell, bassist Volker Krawczak, keyboarder Ferdy Doernberg it almost looked like it's a solo show of the blonde guitarist. That Mr. Pell is a huge fan of Richie Blackmore is no news and so we could expect some songs from the days Dio and Blackmore had teamed up. Scotsman Doogie White walked on stage and told the audience about his first 'Dio live experience' - a Rainbow concert in 1976 in Edinburgh where they presented a new song - Kill The King. But they didn't that one, they started into the Rainbow era with Mistreated, a song Blackmore wrote together with David Coverdale and which was sung by RJD on tour and which can be found on 1977's On Stage album. Axel Rudi Pell impersonated Richie Blackmore that night incl. the stage acting and it seems that he was totally lost in the music, perhaps even in memories.. Still I'm Sad followed, afterwards Doogie White thanked all the boys and girls in the crew who made this possible, but also the fans for coming out at a hot summer night. And with Temple Of The King they ended the set, paying tribute to the king of metal. Another short break and as a kind of encore all musicians entered the stage to do Stars, the Hear'n'Aid song which Dio initiated. It seems that the guitar / vocal parts were done quite spontaneously...

Torsten Sickert



Afterwards organizer Torsten Sickert spoke to the audience, telling the crowd that was a hell of a job to organize a concert like this in such a short time, but that the response showed it was the right decision. He also explained that there were some misunderstanding about the schedule with Michael Bormann and that just 2 days ago he called some friends to join in and introduced the unknown singers - Dirk Hackenberg and Holger Auer. Why Manni Schmidt wasn't there he didn't say and that Kai Hansen called just a couple of hours ago that he can't make it. It's a pity, but it was a great show anyway. He also thanked some members of the crew: Ralf Speitel (F.O.H. sound), Holger Maré (lights), Peter Hablick (backliner) and monitor sound engineer Dirk Schoppen. And so the show ended with Long Live Rock'n'Roll which the whole cast performed and which inspired some of the singers to change the lyrics to honor Dio.

Thanks to everybody who made this possible, it was a great evening and it shows that metal fans still stand together and support their heroes and in this case their cause as money is donated to 'Stand Up And Shout' Cancer Fund. Hopefully there will be more shows like this, even if it's a helluva job, and that we don't have to wait until another icon passes away!




Claudia Ehrhardt

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           ©2008-2010 by Claudia Ehrhardt • E-Mail: contact@ice-vajal.com





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