What a night!!!! Every now and then we get to witness a special night like this
and no place does it better than Count’s Vamp’d!
The line was long, and wound around the building in anticipation- doors opened at 8pm and the crowd was eager to get in and out of the cold desert weather. I found a spot in front of the stage along with a few other photographers and fans waited for the show to start as the venue filled to capacity, a rarity on a Wednesday night. With the curtain open we could see all the last minute preparations that were taking place, and soon it was time to get this show started!
Walking out onstage to start the show it was EDDIE TRUNK from the Sirius Trunk Nation Show who intro'ed the band and got the night started.The event had a stacked line-up starting with one of my favorite guitarists JEFF BLANDO. Jeff not only plays a killer guitar but he is also a great singer! Joining Jeff as part of the house band was PAUL DRENNAN from Blandini and 38 Special on bass guitar, and behind the drum kit was WILL HUNT from Evanescence & Slaughter.
Jeff Blando strapped on his guitar and with Will and Paul warmed up the crowd with some classic rock with Whitesnake, Zeppelin and more. In the corner you could see GEORGE LYNCH in the shadows as he grabbed a guitar and played along in the background. After about 20 minutes Eddie Trunk came back out and introduced DANNY KOKER, the owner of Count’s Vamp’d, and it was time for some good old school rock n roll with
Danny singing classics “We're An American Band”, Bob Seger's, “Travelin' Man” and (to me} the highlight of Danny’s set was a badass version Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs”. Danny nailed the song and along with Jeff’s guitar playing this really set the bar pretty high for the rest of the performers. A funny moment during the set was when Danny turned to Jeff and asked "whats next on the setlist" and Jeff responded "I don’t know because I can’t see the list without glasses"! At this point both Danny and Jeff pulled out their glasses and said “It’s a bitch getting old”.
Once again Eddie Trunk returned to the stage and introduced the next guest -GEORGE LYNCH. This set up some epic guitar playing as we got a chance to hear both Jeff and George rip through classic Dokken and Lynch Mob songs, starting with “Unchain the Night” and “Into the Fire. Jeff’s singing was spot on with “It’s Not Love” that had the crowd joining in and singing along. George did an extended solo, and showed why he is one of the best classic rock guitarists out there. Next was “River Of Sensation” and closed out the set with the Lynch Mob classic “ Wicked Sensation”. It was a treat to see Lunch play live in such an intimate room.
Trunk came out and introduced another special guest as the Mindfreak himself Criss Angel came out and introduced his friend STEPHEN PEARCY from RATT. Stephen came out at the start of “Your In Love”, and looked and sounded better than the last few times I have seen him play - every part of what a rock star is all about. Stephen's set also
included “Lack Of Communication”, “Back For More”, “Lay It Down” and
closed out with the Ratt classic “Round and Round”. A solid show by Stephen
and we look forward to seeing him again.
It was time for Trunk to introduce the evening's final guest performer and it was none other than the partner in the Full Throttle Saloon and lead singer and guitarist for Jackyl, JESSE JAMES DUPREE. Trunk told the crowd that Jesse would not be performing with his chainsaw as TSA did not allow him to bring it on the plane and did not consider it a musical instrument, as Jesse disagreed with them - it was! With his unique singing voice Jesse rocked out to songs such as “Down On
Me”, “I Stand Alone” and a dead-on version of AC/DC’s “Back in Black” and then followed with “Have A Drink On Me”. Jesse is entertaining and a fun show each time we have seen him perform.
Once again, a fantastic show with some amazing celebrity musicians and in the best rock club in Vegas, Count’s Vamp’d.
Jeff Blando's Music Mob Photos by Harold Mountain / JustAFanPhotos
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