Raiding the Rock Vault, Thursday December 5, 2019

Comprising cast from the multi-award winning Las Vegas show, this is the first time Raiding the Rock Vault has been in the UK. The concept is the telling of the tale of the history of rock n roll through key songs from the late sixties till the 80s, so …classic rock! Tonight’s cast included Todd Kerns of the Slash band, Paul Shortino Of Rough Cutt, Tony Franklin of the Firm and Blue Murder, Robin McCauley of MSG and Survivor, Michael T Ross of Lita Ford, Megan Ruger of the Voice, Jason Boyleston of the Paul Rodgers band, Jay Schiller of Yes and Asia and Rowan Robertson of Dio. The concept is Rock by real Rockstars as you can see. Signposts through the chronology are provided by occasional ‘Top of the Pops’ style information snippets on screens, although ironically I’d say most of the audience remember a good proportion of the 80s and probably the 70s too and know a lot more about the material and the musicians on stage already. Kicking off with The Who’s ‘My Generation’ from 1965 Todd Kerns on Vocals cut a striking figure with his height and waist length black hair. Known as the bassist for Slash he has a mean set of pipes which may be a revelation for a UK audience, although he is a Canadian Hall of Famer known for his work there. Backed with the collective firepower listed above including Tony Franklin on bass it was quite an impact. Paul Shortino took the lead for the Door’s 1967 ‘Light My Fire’ and showed off the deep tones of his lower register. With 1969 Robin McCauley also shone taking the lead for Hendrix’s ‘All Along the Watchtower’. Shortino was soon back and his antics to the Rolling Stones got the feeling going that this is an entertainment experience beyond just a jam with famous musicians. Indeed with frequent costume changes it’s definitely more than that.

The riffs of ‘All Right Now’ signalled the heavy zone of the 70s and the heady mix was too much for one female member of the audience who rushed to the front for a dalliance with McCauley until he jokingly ordered her back to her seat, We then got a lovely version of ‘Stairway to Heaven’ with all three male leads doing the vocals and Rowan Robertson doing a fine job on the double necked guitar. It was with the barnstormer ‘Smoke on the Water’ representing 1972 that we really got going and Todd Kerns got everyone on their feet. Segueing to ‘Space Truckin’ we were now firmly into early metal. I was a bit disappointed not to see the British Glam Rock Scene by way of the Sweet, Slade and Suzi Quatro recognised – instead, and no less awesome. we had Queen and ‘We Are the Champions’ with McCauley taking on the daunting role of competing with Freddie Mercury, not an easy thing to do, but along with Shortino who made a lovely job of the ‘Of the World’ high note they carry it off. The first female voice was Megan Ruger of the Voice who showed off her prowess in the higher register in Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 number ‘Dreams’ in a top hat honouring Stevie. Also very strong versions of Aerosmith’s ‘Dream On’ and the second Led Zep of the Night ‘Kashmir’ bring the 70s to a close.

By the time we hit Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer’ we were completely into 80s party mode with dancing an obligation. Pat Benatar’s ‘HeartBreaker’ was very heavy instrumentally which I really enjoyed, although the vocal was pitched a little higher than the original. Todd Kerns made ‘Separate Ways’ by Journey look easy against the background of beautiful playing from the whole crew. It’s hit after hit and with party records like ‘Eye of the Tiger’ there was really no looking back. Heart’s ‘Alone’, Whitesnake’s ‘Here I Go Again’, Foreigner’s ‘Juke Box Hero’, AC/DC’s ‘Highway to Hell’ and Van Halen’s ‘Jump’ brought proceedings to a close by which time the audience were screaming for more. They were left craving, as the only encore is a Happy Birthday to Todd Kerns who couldn’t physically carry all the presents he was given by the audience earlier in the meet and greet which was amusing to see. The audience is, however, reminded that they can catch the performance again, the next night and Saturday December 7th as well.

In some ways Subterranea was a strange venue for a rock n roll musical, but the talent and material on offer meant that no one could go away from this without a smile on their face. With the opportunity to meet your favourite musician too it would be unsurprising if we don’t see more of these in the UK, perhaps with the bigger US style show with dancers and lasers, but in the meantime catch them while you can, you still have a chance to go tonight.

Dawn Osborne