Sounding the 805
They gathered in their masses
By Chris Mastrovito 09/03/2009
If “Rock and Roll Is Dead,” as Lenny Kravitz argued in his 1995 single, the Ventura music community is at least giving it some CPR and a shot of adrenaline. After a huge letdown by the last-minute cancellation of would-be headliner Marilyn Manson last Thursday, the Ventura Theater shook it off on Saturday and showed that local rock still draws. The anticipated show, featuring local tribute bands to rock legends Dio and Black Sabbath (Ventura’s Holy Diver and Warning!), was a monster success, attended by an impressive and surprisingly eclectic segment of the Ventura music community, who showed up to pay tribute to an old ritual: 4/4 drum beats, loud overdriven blues-based guitar riffs, killer solos and vocalists who can wail your wig off. Spotted in the audience were Delaney Gibson, Travis and Amanda Marsh and representatives of dozens of local bands, including Cheetahsaurus, Ill Repute, The Calamity, Le Meu Le Purr, Deadbeat Sinners, Secret Wars, Land ’n’ Sea, Love’s Secret Domain, Mentacide and Franklin for Short, all banging heads and mouthing lyrics in unison to the anthems of two of the most influential heavy metal bands of the ’70s.
In both cases, the impressions were spot-on, and in the case of Warning!, the Black Sabbath tribute, also delightfully over-the-top. Aaron Johnson’s Ozzy Osbourne impersonation is near-perfect and downright hilarious as he races about the stage giving peace signs and clapping incessantly while blissfully unaware (perhaps with reference to present day Ozzy) that he is not actually in Pompeii. What initially appeared to be butchery of the lyrics to legendary songs such as “War Pigs” and “Iron Man” — in which verses were sung blatantly out of order — was actually intentional and part of the disoriented Prince of Darkness persona. But even when the novelty of the impersonation wore off, one was left with lingering awe at the staggering accuracy of the covers performed by Tony Cicero (drums), Jeff Hershey (bass) and Armand John Anthony guitar.
Holy Diver, the Dio tribute, is significantly more practiced, having played together for several years, and is by contrast far less satirical and caricatured. (All of the members sported their own actual hair.) Lead singer Joe Retta, while dressed somewhat more like Glenn Danzig, possesses a vocal style that is uncannily similar to Ronnie James Dio, and from an arena-length distance, one would be hard-pressed to tell him apart from the real thing.
The early birds were treated to the original music of Ventura’s All Seeing Eyes, displaying a refreshing blend of throwback ’70s glam and New York-style proto-punk. Fans of T.Rex, Sweet (which is currently fronted by Retta) and the New York Dolls are pleasantly surprised by the young band’s grasp of that too-often-overlooked era in music before glittered garb and unabashed sleaze gave way to synthesizers and oversized blazers. The F-ing Wrath, while perhaps the odd band-out in terms of its heavier and more thrash-metal-influenced sound, was nonetheless appropriate in proving just how much Black Sabbath’s earlier, darker side has influenced the next generation of heavy bands.
In the end, the Ventura Theater did surprisingly well for a show that did not feature a touring headliner. (Take that Marilyn Manson). The show went off without incident and there was a palpable sense of an audience that was refreshed. Perhaps the resuscitation of rock and roll is best achieved by summoning the ghosts of its past who are most qualified to remind us what we’re missing.
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