This is somewhat of an odd review in that all three bands did not share the same stage in one evening. A Rising Force had a pre-launch party and a record release party on two different nights. I’m grouping them together because I feel all these bands deserve recognition.
Fuzzrd Just like A Rising Force is a relatively new band. They are from the Minneapolis area and opened for the pre-launch party. They are a very solid heavy rock band very much in the vein of bands like Seether, Shinedown and Disturbed. They possess fantastic musicianship and solid original songs. They currently have several videos that you can watch on YouTube including ”Pins and Needles”, “Life Turned Black” and “Monster Carnival”. This was the first time I had seen them, and I was very impressed. If you’re looking for new music to check out, add Fuzzrd to the list.
A Rising Force Has just released their sophomore LP, Eclipse. they’ve lived through a lineup change and death of a friend who owned their record label. All in the last few years. Their first release Undertow was a great first release. The original singer at the time who is now left, Mark Westlund had a very Robin Zander type of sound to him. It made them sound a little more pop. They had a hit with their song “Love and War”. The band was starting to really get noticed and Mark decided to leave. Rather than disband, the remaining members, Lane Allen on drums, Brian Lorenson on bass and Leni DiMancari on guitar felt they had something special and decided to dial it up a notch. They intentionally made the decision to go heavier. By doing so they looked for the perfect singer and found him, his name is David Reed Watson. At the same time, they realized they should bulk up the instrumentation with another amazing guitar player. They added Billy Shlump formerly of a local shit band whose name is not worth repeating.
They went into the studio and created a solid second album titled Eclipse. They are a lot of fun live and Leni is an exceptionally gifted songwriter. Some of the highlights of their live show is when they perform tracks from the new album. But they don’t forget where they came from and have recreated the songs from their first LP. They will be on tour this summer with several different bands including Tesla. On this one specific evening, they opened for The Ron Keel Band which to me it was a great double bill. as many of you know when I write these reviews, I try to give you a feel for how a band sounds which is not easy. They are very much in the genre of the bands I mentioned above with a little bit of Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Whitesnake and Rainbow for proper perspective. But they are not at all a classic sounding band. They are a great hard driving rock band with a fresh sound. A Rising Force deserves your attention!
Headliner on the second evening was the metal cowboy himself, Ron Keel and his band. Ron has been around since the 80s. He initially started a band called Steeler and went on to form Keel. they had some very big hits in the 80s.
As time went on like all of us, we change as we get older. Not only do we become wiser but perhaps some of our musical choices change. I feel this happened with Ron. And it was in a good way because I feel that he is now in a place that showcases his talent. He has an incredible band with him, and they could be the hardest working band in the country. Some people say he is turned into a country artist, and I would argue that in the same way I would say that BlackBerry Smoke is not a country band. The Ron Keel Band is a good time rock and roll experience.
it is my opinion that the newer material that he has written and recorded is some of his best work to date. It fits right in with what he’s trying to convey to audiences. this may sound silly to some of you reading this but I’m very prideful to be an American. I know many of you are reading this from other countries and I do not want it to sound like I somehow think being an American is better than being from someplace else in this world. But it’s been very hard to be an American with everything we have currently going on in our country. I felt prideful the other night as I sat and watched them hand out American flags on Memorial Day. He played a lot of his newer originals, cuts from Keel, like “Right to Rock”. and sprinkled in some cover songs that were very much American and very much southern rock. This included songs by Lynyrd Skynyrd, .38 Special, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Atlanta Rhythm Section.
It was an amazing night of music. I’m looking forward to seeing all these bands play again. I walked away from each one of their sets feeling good. I don’t know about you, but that’s what I’m looking for when I go see a band play live. I want to be entertained, enjoy the concert and walk away with a smile on my face. How can you ask for anything more? The Ron Keel Band Is another one that deserves your attention. Don’t be surprised if you end up falling in love with the music he’s created and becoming a fan almost instantly.
