I really wanted to give the latest from black metal masters Darkthrone my fullest attention prior to reviewing their latest LP (and with an album cover as epic as the one found here, how could I not?), so I tried to absorb their latest effort It Beckons Us All as best as I possibly could since its release date on April 26.
Again, I don’t make us much time for black metal these days as I once might have, but there’s no denying the greatness of certain acts of the genre like Darkthrone. At this point the guys have undoubtedly perfected their craft, and it shows through on this latest record.
From the beginnings of “Howling Primitive Colonies” to the epic closure of “The Lone Pines of the Lost Planet,” there’s no shortage of the dark lyrics and menacing guitar riffs that define their sound. “Eon 3,” “Black Dawn Affiliation,” and “And In That Moment I knew the Answer” are all further prime examples of this. No doubt a must-listen for any fan of the genre.
The world just seemed like a much more simple place “back in the day.” Growing up in the ’80s, we were able to push a few more boundaries, poke a little more fun, and overall, just laugh at little bit more without being so easily “offended” (nor did we have the same kind of manufactured hate being pushed down our throats that Hollywood has tried so effortlessly to do so as of late). And most importantly, we were all capable of being “equals” without ever even knowing it at the time.
I was still just shy of preschool when the original Police Academy made its world premiere on March 23, 1984. Yet just a few short years later, I would be introduced to the series via replays of the numerous films on cable television, and seeing its eventual extensive catalog represented on the shelves of video rental stores seemingly everywhere I went. I saw a part of myself in lead actor Steve Guttenberg, who portrayed the wise-cracking Carey Mahoney, and felt it was possible to just maybe be a “police officer” too someday thanks to our similar lanky frames.
The initial seeds for Police Academy started in the mind of Producer and series creator (and one time Rewind It Magazine interviewee) Paul Masalanky, who, while filming The Right Stuff in 1983, got the idea after seeing a group of goofy cadets on the sidelines of the production. This simple moment proved to be vital, and would spawn a worldwide franchise that would eventually see six sequels and two television shows (one animated, one live-action).
In the first film, we’re introduced to said troublemaker Mahoney (Guttenberg), who after finding himself in some hot water with the law, is given the option to sign up for the desperate Police Academy that has recently lowered its standards in lieu of jail time. It’s here we’re introduced to a group of similar, bizarre misfits in the form of Larval Jones (Michael Winslow), Moses Hightower (Bubba Smith), Eugene Tackelberry (David Graf) and Laverne Hooks (Marion Ramesy), among many others (but “diversity” and” inclusion” definitely did not exist back then at all though guys. Nope, not at all).
A young and slender Kim Cattrall played the posh love interest for Mahoney, Karen Thompson, while George Gaynes played the brilliantly inept Commandant Lassard with ease. There’s also some classic banter exchanged between Mahoney and his nemesis Lt. Harris (G.W. Bailey in one of the best “bad guys you love to hate” roles ever put on screen).
By the following year, Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment was already hitting theaters (in my opinion the best entry of them all, featuring my personal favorite character “Zed” played by Bobcat Goldthwait for the first time), which was quickly followed by Back in Training (1986), Citizens on Patrol (1987), Assignment Miami Beach (1988), City Under Siege (1989), and eventually the direct-to-video Mission toMoscow (1994), each having their own varying results.
When I interviewed Maslansky back in 2021, I asked him why he thought the series had such the long and successful run that it had. He told me; “It was almost like a sitcom; you had (original Director) Hugh Wilson who came from WKRPCincinnati, and then Jerry Paris (Director of parts 2 and 3) who was of course Gary Marshall’s guy. And that’s really why we were prepared for it; we had a cast that was steady, and every year everything was just serendipitously there, and the studio kept asking to make another one because the results were just so damn good, and the cost for these pictures was not that much. It was just really a smooth operation, and I had the right directors, production managers, and just overall people in general all the time.”
All these years later, neither my love for the series, nor my respect for law enforcement, have faltered at all. And somewhere I still even have action figures from the toyline that was made for the animated series back in the late ’80s/early ’90s (maybe I’ll dig them out again someday). Hopefully the legacy of Police Academy will remain untouched and remembered for just the way it was and we’re not forced to endure yet another atrocious remake “with a message” any time soon.
Good actors deliver convincing performances. Great actors transcend and connect, evoking a wide range of emotions that linger long after the credits roll. Few actors have made more of an impact in their field than legend of legends, Jack Nicholson.
As a three-time Academy Award winner and the most nominated actor in film history, Nicholson has dominated the scene since the 1970s. But getting there was no easy feat. His ambition, drive, raw-talent, and dedication to the craft were keys to his incredible success. He also happened upon a time when Hollywood was undergoing a tremendous artistic revival.
A New Era of Film
The social upheaval and political unrest at home during the Vietnam War gave birth to the New Hollywood movement of the ’60s and ’70s, pushing the industry toward artist-driven films. This brief renaissance era introduced a new generation of filmmakers, actors, and writers who helped redefine cinema in new and exciting ways.
Their films emulated a new realism seen in similar movements in European and Asian cinema while establishing unconventional narratives, anti-establishment themes, and clever subversion of the status quo. The emerging works of directors Martin Scorsese, Stanley Kubrick, Francis Ford Coppola, Woody Allen, Brian De Palma, Sam Peckinpah, Sidney Lumet, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Robert Zemeckis (to name a few) provide a glimpse of the groundbreaking work on display in a time of fresh, emerging talents unprecedented in their numbers.
Born to Be Wild
Throughout the 1960s, Jack Nicholson worked tirelessly on stage, screen, and television across genres to little success. He then turned to screenwriting, which led to his working with Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper on the Roger Corman-directed psychedelic nightmare hippie movie The Trip (1967). His big break, however, was yet to come.
The 1969 counterculture milestone Easy Rider was at the forefront of New Hollywood independent filmmaking. Its financial success ($60 million on a $400,000 budget) stunned major studios and gave rise to the commercial possibilities of artist-driven works outside the studio system.
Among its lasting impact, Easy Rider also introduced wider audiences to a young, charismatic actor seen previously in several low-budget Corman films. Nicholson’s supporting role as a boozy lawyer accompanying motorcyclists Hopper and Fonda across the vast American landscape helped launch his seemingly unstoppable career. Easy Rider also garnered his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Nicholson remained prolific throughout the ’80s and ’90s. Audiences marveled at his iconic performance as The Joker in Tim Burton’s Batman (1989), which saw a career resurgence among a new generation of moviegoers. It was a role he was born to play and one that would cement his status as one of our greatest living actors. This is further evidenced by an exceptional career of unforgettable films from the New Hollywood age to his retirement in 2010.
The 1970s
Five Easy Pieces (1970) set the stage for Nicholson’s career choices, embodying the type of challenging films he would embrace throughout his distinguished career. This quiet character study further established Nicholson in his first major leading role. In the film, he plays aimless drifter and blue-collar oil rig worker Bobby Dupeae who returns home to visit his dying father with his ditzy girlfriend (Karen Black) in tow. His character remains an enigma of hidden complexities and failures behind a façade of arrogance.
Already a bankable star, Nicholson elevated the subversive comedy-drama The Last Detail (1973) to new heights as an as an angry, insubordinate Navy sailor assigned to escort a young Seaman (Randy Quaid) to prison for theft. The film reflected the growing cynicism of the time against the U.S. Government and its military. It was written by Robert Towne who would later present Nicholson with a screenplay for a post-modern film noir classic the actor could not pass up.
In 1974, the Roman Polanski-directed Chinatown captivated audiences with its bleak atmosphere and multi-layered Oscar-winning screenplay. As private investigator Jake Gittes, Nicholson drew additional praise in this engrossing tale of political corruption in 1930s Los Angeles. Gittes is hired by a mysterious woman (Faye Dunaway) to investigate the death of her husband, a safety engineer at the Department of Water and Power. The case pulls him into a dangerous world of conspiracy and murder, where nefarious forces battle for control of L.A. public utilities.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) remains a landmark film that became Nicholson’s greatest achievement to date. The Ken Kesey novel on which it was based had already been adapted to the stage years before and went through years of development until everything fell into place. Nicholson was recommended through Hal Ashby who directed him in The Last Detail. In the film, Nicholson portrayed headstrong lowlife Randle McMurphy—a role that encapsulated his wildest qualities.
In prison for statutory rape, McMurphy feigns insanity for a transfer to an Oregon mental institution, where he assumes time will be easier. He unwittingly enters the crosshairs of the tyrannical Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher) who is appalled by his rebellious nature and nonconformity. Their tense battle comprised a sprawling examination of the human condition; tragic, moving, and profound. It would win all five major Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Miloš Forman), Best Actor (Nicholson), Best Actress (Fletcher), and Best Screenplay.
The 1980s
Stanley Kubrick’s epic adaptation of the Stephen King best-seller The Shining (1980) easily ranks as one of the greatest horror films ever made. For Kubrick, Nicholson was his first and only choice for the lead role of Jack Torrance, schoolteacher, writer, and recovering alcoholic.
The well-known setup involves a winter caretaker position at the remote Overlook Hotel in the Rocky Mountains and its long-buried history of violence. We witness the destruction of the modern American family with wife Wendy (Shelly Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd) at the hands of the very monster who is supposed to protect them.
Nicholson’s hasty descent into madness reflects his isolated surroundings and personal demons. The hidden evilness within the Overlook Hotel is further amplified by the film’s grand cinematography and Nicholson’s gleefully insane performance. The Shining remains one of his most famous roles for good reason, he’s captivating from start to finish.
Terms of Endearment (1983) was the first of four collaborations with director James L. Brooks, which gained Nicholson his second Oscar for Best Supporting Actor as sleazy bachelor and retired astronaut Garrett Breedlove. While the story mainly focuses on the mother/daughter relationship between Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger, Nicholson shines as an unexpected grifter who brings romance and excitement into lonely wdow MacLaine’s life…for a moment.
By the time George Miller’s adaptation of John Updike’s novel The Witches of Eastwick (1984) novel hit the big screen in 1987, Nicholson was at the height of his pre-Batman star power. His wild performance as Daryl Van Horne, mysterious newcomer to an idyllic Rhode Island town, is equal only to the talent of his formidable cast, including Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Michelle Pfeiffer who portray the “witches” whose plan to conjure up the ideal man backfires.
The summer of ’89 was an event for the ages. Warner Brothers released a gothic big-budget re-imagining of the famed Caped crusader, heavily influenced by the Frank Miller and Alan Moore comics of the 1980s. Batman (1989) was a massive hit that elevated the careers of director Tim Burton, composer Danny Elfman, and all involved.
It also revamped the entire comic book genre in ways that continues today. As the psychotic Joker, Nicholson gleefully embraced the role he seemed destined to play, leading to a new generation of fans with Batman movie posters in their rooms. He would also team up with Burton again, playing two comedic roles in the madcap big budget b-movie satire Mars Attacks! (1996).
The 1990s
A long-overdue sequel to Chinatown titled The Two Jakes was directed by Nicholson in addition to starring in it in 1990, but thankfully was not a sign of things to come for the new decade as the uneven film flopped at the box office.
But A Few Good Men (1992) remains a spellbinding military courtroom drama courtesy of director Rob Reiner, writer Aaron Sorkin, and excellent cast at the top of their game. Nicholson’s mesmerizing performance as the domineering Colonel Jessup remains a masterclass of acting. Tom
Cruise plays a self-centered Navy JAG officer defending two Marines for the murder of one of their own. The case seems clear cut until Cruise’s superior (Demi Moore) insists otherwise, leading to their discovery of a conspiracy that goes straight to the top.
The bombastic Jessup easily stands out as the film’s main highlight. No one else could have so convincingly demonstrated the pettiness, arrogance, and indignation of a man believing his actions to be justified. Endlessly quoted, the thunderous courtroom finale between Cruise and Nicholson ranks among the most gripping courtroom scenes in recent memory, and for good reason.
In As Goods as It Gets (1997), Nicholson won his third Best Actor Academy Award for his role as a misanthropic romance novelist who lives a solitary life in the big city. The hugely successful romantic comedy-drama was his third collaboration with writer/director James L. Brooks. Melvin Udall suffers from a dozen unspecified disorders, unable to connect with a single person around him.
His obsessive-compulsive behavior, bigoted comments, and general unpleasantness repels all who cross his path. He soon finds unlikely solace and eventual redemption in a waitress named Carol (Helen Hunt), the only person who can stand him. Nicholson’s performance makes Udall both engaging, relatable, and human. Helen Hunt holds her own and won Best Actress for her role opposite Nicholson in this truly engaging and entertaining modern classic.
The 2000s
In About Schmidt (2002), retired insurance actuary Warren Schmidt had high hopes for his future. From youth, he felt destined for greatness and dreamed of starting a Fortune 500 company. Reality, however, is not what he imagined. His crisis worsens when adjusting to retirement life and the lingering fears that come with it. So begins the heartwarming, tragic, and often hilarious odyssey of one man’s search for meaning in his twilight years.
About Schmidt was a critical and financial success, nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Actor. In accepting the Best Actor Golden Globe for a Motion Picture Drama, Nicholson said, “I don’t know whether to be happy or ashamed, because I thought we made comedy.” In some ways it was and so much more.
The Departed (2007) remains Nicholson’s only collaboration with director Martin Scorsese and one of the finest crime films of its kind. His over-the-top performance as the real-life South Boston mob boss Frank Costello resonates because he appears to be having so much fun with it. Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon star as opposite police officers of the same coin. Damon has been groomed by Costello as an insider while DiCaprio has been groomed by a Special Investigations Unit to infiltrate Costello’s gang.
Deceit, murder, and vigilante justice round out this relentless, epic crime thriller. Famous for the visceral landmark mobster films Goodfellas (1990) and Casino (1995), Scorsese and editor Thelma Schoonmaker both won well-deserved Oscars for Best Picture, Director, and Film Editing. Nicholson’s Costello is a depraved lunatic who terrorizes his community and leaves misery in his wake. No one else could have made him such a blast to watch.
A Hard Swan Song to Swallow
Jack Nicholson’s lifetime of work has immortalized him as one of the greatest actors of all time. Since retirement, his fearless screen presence is sorely missed. There is no doubt, however, that he gave the best he could in nearly every role he took on. His significant contribution to films that challenged, moved, and entertained generations of audiences lives on.
This year, he celebrates his 87th birthday. He hasn’t been seen out in public or courtside at a Lakers game in some time. His children have stated that Nicholson prefers to remain close to home with family. In response, generations of grateful movie lovers send their best wishes to this titan of cinema.
During his AFI Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance speech in 1994, an emotional Nicholson said, “I love this work. It’s dangerous, you give your life to it. The truth is, I’m proud of all my collaborations. The work that this is about has set my life free.” He closed by saying, “All these things about age or time and everything is… you ain’t seen nothing yet.”
Up until about a week ago, I truly thought the closest I would ever come to having any contact with a member of legendary ’60s rockers The Doors would be when I saw Ian Astbury – who at one time stepped in the shoes of late frontman Jim Morrison with The Doors of the 21st Century (a.k.a. Manzarek-Krieger) in the early 2000’s – on stage with The Cult back in 2001.
But alas, as fate would have it, the chance to pick away at the brain of Doors co-founder and Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame guitarist Robby Kreiger presented itself recently, and it was impossible to resist. Krieger just recently released a new album with The Soul Savages, an instrumental effort infused with jazz, and psychedelic rock that became our initial main topic of conversation.
One of the first things I wanted to know was what fans could expect from said new album. He stated; “I hope they can expect to hear me grow as a guitar player and writer…otherwise why bother?” He continued enlightening me with his personal favorite track from the record, saying “My fave lately is “Contrary Motion,” I think it’s pretty advanced musically.”
Krieger filled me in on the lineup of the band as well; “Kevin Brandon – who has played with me on other projects in the past – plays bass (quite well I might add). And (Lenny Kravitz drummer) Franklin Vanderbilt handles drums, and Ed Roth (keyboards) was the first guy I hooked up with for this project.” As far as any touring plans might go for the group he informed me; “Depending on how much radio play, I hope so. We’ll definitely do the local (California-based) clubs like The Baked Potato and Vibrato.”
I was also curious what his relationship with former bandmate and Doors drummer John Densmore was like today, and if there were any potential plans to possibly play together again someday. He told me; “We talk quite often and I’m sure we’ll play together again.”
There were two things regarding Krieger’s work while in The Doors that I really wanted to know; what his personal favorite track from the band’s catalog was, and how he felt looking back on the post-Jim Morrison albums Other Voices and Full Circle that he and late keyboardist Ray Manzarek each shared vocal duties on. He stated; “My fav lately is “Wishful Sinful.” And we wrote that stuff fully expecting Jim to come back from Paris and record. Would’ve helped a bit to have his voice there.”
If I had to pinpoint my introduction to The Doors, it likely came via the 1987 film The LostBoys, in which Echo & the Bunnymen’s cover of “People Are Strange” plays a big part in the beginning. I was curious what his opinion of said cover was, and he declared; “Not bad! In fact I recently sat in with them at a festival in Long Beach. Was fun!” And keeping with the theme of The Doors in film, I also wanted to know how he felt about Actor Frank Whaley’s portrayal of him in the 1991 Oliver Stone film TheDoors. He responded; “I thought he was pretty good, but not good-looking enough (Laughs).”
And lastly, I wanted to know what else was on the bucket list for Krieger; “Need to have an instrumental hit like Booker T…maybe it will come from this album!”
Not since Andrew Lincoln departed the original Walking Dead series after its ninth season have I seen a show (and entire franchise) take such a steep downhill dive and overall decline in quality. But after disappointing conclusions and over-saturating the material with far too many spin-offs (all with varying results), the character of Rick Grimes (Lincoln) is resurrected and finally given his just due.
In the fist episode we learn that Rick, presumed dead after a helicopter crash in said original series, is alive and well (?) and part of the CRM, a military operation on the outskirts of Philadelphia focused on rebuilding society at a hefty cost. Rick is anything but free though as several attempts to escape back to his old life have proved unsuccessful.
Meanwhile Michonne (Danai Gurira) has been searching for her long lost love (Rick) and is shocked to find how submissive he has become once finally reunited. Meanwhile Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh), another leftover “bad guy” from the original show, holds their secret over their heads and threatens harm upon their family.
The initial reunion between the two characters, and – without giving too much of it away – the conclusion of the final episode are both some of the most gratifying moments of the show, albeit a tad on the cliche and predictable side. Nonetheless, the ending here is far closer to what fans of the very first show since 2010 had deserved over what was actually dished out on that series finale.
Like many of us who grew up watching much of the original run of Night Court from 1984-1992, I too was initially excited to hear the beloved classic show based in a New York City court house would be coming back for a reboot in 2023. But like the majority of media that’s resurrected in today’s world, I was also skeptical knowing that often times the original source material is far better left alone (Fuller House is first to come to mind). I only caught sporadic episodes of the first season of said “reboot” here though, but made a conscience effort to make it through the entirety of season two, for better or worse.
Dan Larroquette is the only cast member to return from the original series (it’s a shame the late Richard Moll was unable to appear as Bull Shannon at least once prior to his passing in 2023), and has unfortunately lost much of his “edge” in this tamed-down version of the character. Melissa Rauch is cast in the lead role as Abby, the daughter of the late Judge Harry Stone (Harry Anderson), and at times works when she’s not being too overly “Hey, look at me and the funny thing I just did!”
This particular season tackled everything from granting children’s Christmas wishes to comic cons, each with varying results. One standout episode titled “The Roz Affair” finds former cast member Marsha Warfield returning as Roz Doyle, leading to a fairly welcomed reunion between her and Larroquette (Lacretta does an admirable job as current bailiff Donna “Gurgs” Gurganous in her place). Warfield later returns for the final episode of the season centering around her wedding, yet another highlight.
Another episode titled “Wheelers of Fortune” finds Brent Spiner and Annie O’Donnell returning as the whacky Bob and June Wheeler, and add some humorous moments of their own. But then there’s also episodes like “The Dukes a Hazard,” so forced and unfunny I felt embarrassed for all those involved (even gust star Dave Foley, whose work on The Kids in the Hall and elsewhere I’ve often enjoyed over the years).
I can’t say I would give this latest version of Night Court a high recommendation per se, but there are way worse sitcoms out there these days in comparison. Give it at least a casual try if you were ever a fan of the original show and judge for yourself.
I was already aware of some prior negativity being thrown out there regarding the latest fourth entry (we’re not going to include that dreaded 2016 reboot here) in the Ghostbusters franchise, and after catching it on the big screen this past opening weekend, for the life of me I just don’t understand why.
The latest chapter finds the Spengler family (McKenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, and Carrie Coon) and Grooberson (Paul Rudd) now all fully (and rapidly) established Ghostbusters in New York City via Oklahoma after their encounters in 2021’s Afterlife (I never said there weren’t a few plot holes here). Viewers are instantly thrown into their new chaotic lifestyles, and the adventure quickly begins.
Things seem all-too routine until a random slacker (Kumail Nanjiani) sells a strange orb belonging to his recently deceased grandmother to O.G. Ghostbuster Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) in his occult shop, which just so happens to contain a trapped evil entity capable of being the catalyst to the end of the modern world as we know it.
Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts all return again from the older films, with even William Atherton reprising his role again as Walter Peck from the 1984 original (which admittedly felt a bit on the “forced” side). Blink and you might even miss the brief cameo of John Rothman as the library administrator from the first film as well. New cast members also include Patton Oswalt, Emily Alyn Lynn, and James Acaster (among others). Curiously however Sigourney Weaver does not show up here even after her quick cameo at the end credits of Afterlife.
There’s moments of nostalgia (the nod to Ray Parker, Jr. on a television set in one scene is a nice touch), but it’s never too overly sentimental. It’s far from a “perfect” film, but I honestly felt like that kid again watching Ghostbusters II up on the big screen in the summer of 1989 (back when life was much more simple). For that, I don’t have all that much to say about Frozen Empire that isn’t positive; the “For Ivan” added on at the ending credits for late Director Ivan Reitman also shows a certain touch of class by new Director Gil Kenan for sure.
If there was ever any doubt whether or not Judas Priest could still bring it nineteen albums into their career, it’s quickly answered within seconds of spinning their latest record, Invincible Shield, which hits listeners with a dose of metal perfection right from the start that simply never lets up.
I was legitimately caught off guard by the intensity of opening track “Panic Attack,” a ferocity that continues with the likes of “Devil in Disguise,” “As God Is My Witness,” and “Fight of Your Life” (the latter of which one of three bonus songs found on the “deluxe edition” of the album).
But “Crown of Horns” is without a doubt the true standout here, with some of the best guitar work from the band on the album, and probably one of my favorite songs from them overall in years. Aside from the title track and maybe one or two others, there’s really very few weaker moments to even be found here at all though.
I think it’s safe to say my love for Priest has only increased over the years, and Invincible Shield only helps reinforce this. It’s reassuring to know that Rob Halford and company are still capable of releasing such strong material this deep in to their career, a testament to the character of its core members no doubt.
The moment I first heard “Crime Scene,” the first single from darkwave duo Night Club’s new album Masochist (their fourth overall), I knew I had to “investigate” this project founded via Mark Brooks and Emily Kavanaugh further.
The video to said single features lead singer Kavanaugh bound to a chair and slinking about as she awaits her grim fate from her captor, making it hard not to route for the sexy damsel in distress. It’s probably a bit more silly than intended, but still fun and effective none the less.
The rest of the record has its typical highlights and dark spots. Album opener “Gone” features Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan, and I suppose that might be a selling point for some, though personally I cannot say I’m the biggest of fans. Other numbers like “Fatal Crush,” “Everybody Knows,” and “Black December” are all some of the standouts found here.
My expertise may not be in the electronica/synth-pop world, but I know a good thing when I see (or in this case hear) it; I’m reminded of some of the groups produced in the early ’80s such as pre-industrial metal Ministry and the more obscure Tryanglz when I hear Night Club, which by all accounts is not such a bad thing.
It’s been nearly twenty solid years now since I last saw legendary founding Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing onstage at the 2004 Ozzfest (on a bill that also saw the original lineup of Black Sabbath reunited), and about five years now since I last crossed paths with former Priest/Iced Earth frontman Tim “Ripper” Owens during the Dio Returns tour in 2019. To finally see these two icons together on the same stage with KK’s Priest, and allow my seventeen-year-old son Jacob to not only witness, but also photograph it at the Mount Dora Music Hall this past Friday, March 8, was nothing short of legendary itself.
Instantly, there was excitement in the air at the unknown venue we had traveled to for the first time ever, with the line wrapped around the building for what seemed like days. Once the doors opened, it was nearly impossible to navigate around the wall-to-wall people, but we immediately spotted L.A. Guns/former Faster Pussycat guitarist Ace Von Johnson doing his thing over by the merch tables, and took it upon ourselves to go say “Hi.”
Little did I know prior to this meeting that Von Johnson had also gotten into Black Sabbath around the release of 1992’s Dehumanizer album (coincidentally around the same time I had), which was also the very same shirt that I had on that night. This sparked an entire conversation about the late Ronnie James Dio and how amazing he was (and what an underrated album 1993’s Angry Machines truly is). But alas, I ultimately did not part ways with the literal shirt on my back, but rather settled for a photo standing together/next to it.
A mutual love for Black Sabbath’s Dehumanizer album; Rewind It’s Jesse Striewski (left) with L.A. Guns guitarist Ace Von Johnson at the show on 3/8/24.
By the time we had made it to our seats for the opening act Burning Witches, the place had already filled up nicely, and Jacob decided to just get some “practice” shots of them directly from our position (this turned out to be somewhat costly – more on that shortly). I was familiar with Burning Witches via their most recent album The Dark Tower, which for whatever reason I was never able to review despite it being sent to me at the time via their label. After seeing these five ladies live though, I kind of wished that I had.
The girls gave it their all as they plowed through powerful metal tracks like “Unleash the Beast,” “Wings of Steel,” “Hexenhammer,” “Lucid Nightmare,” “The Dark Tower,” and “Burning Witches.” I was honestly too busy low-key falling for frontwoman Laura Guldemond – who at one point left stage to run through the crowd in a frenzy – to fully take in the music. Guldemond’s stage presence was equivalent of a young David Lee Roth (albeit far more sexier), jumping and kicking her heart out the whole time (I’m pretty sure we even locked eyes there once or twice, too).
Burning Witches opening the night in Mount Dora, FL on 3/8/24.
Next up were L.A. Guns, who I have been trying to see for a long time now, but have had several missed calls (they were actually on the same bill for a 2022 Tom Kiefer/Faster Pussycat show that Rewind It covered, but cancelled at the eleventh hour). And although I have also interviewed former members like ex-bassist Kelly Nickels and late drummer Steve Riley over the years, I still needed to see original guitarist (and Guns N’ Roses co-founder) Tracii Guns live at some point, and to have him still paired alongside classic-era singer Phil Lewis was the icing on the cake.
The band were on top of their ’80s-rock game, first with Guns playing guitar over a tapped version of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Diary of a Madman” before ripping through old and new classics alike in the form of “Cannonball,” “Electric Gypsy,” “Over the Edge,” “You Betray,” “Sex Action” (with part of The Rolling Stones’ “Paint It, Black” as an outro), “Speed,” (the intro of AC/DC’s “Back in Black” also thrown in there for good measure) “Never Enough,” a tender rendition of “The Ballad of Jayne,” and finally tearing the house down with “Rip and Tear.”
Phil Lewis (left) and Tracii Guns keeping the action going with L.A. Guns on 3/8/24.
And last but not least, the mighty KK’s Priest took stage with an onslaught of original tracks and Judas Priest classics alike, beginning with hard-hitters “Hellfire Thunderbolt” and “One More Shot at Glory” before launching into the immortal “The Ripper.”
“Reap the Whirlwind” was probably one of the least effective numbers of the night, while “Night Crawler” was a welcomed addition. “Sermons of the Sinner” lead to a trio of Priest classics I was not able to hear the band play when I originally saw them all those years ago in the form of “Burn in Hell,” “Beyond the Realms of Death,” and “Hell Patrol.”
“Brothers of the Road” was epic enough on its own, but lead to a slew of more Priest staples such as “Metal Meltdown,” “The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown),” “Breaking the Law,” and of course, “Victim of Changes.” As if this was not enough, the guys still broke out two more strong ones in the form of “Raise Your Fists” and “Strike of the Viper.” As a die hard Priest fan for God only knows how long now, there was very little worth finding to complain about that night.
After the show, we ran into Ace one more time before exiting the venue. After exchanging some more pleasantries, I unfortunately had to let him down as easy as I could, and let him know I in fact could not bare to part ways with said Sabbath shirt (thanks for the guitar pic that you nailed me with during your set though – good shot, Ace!).
Metal legends KK Downing (left) and Tim “Ripper” Owens ran through both new hard-hitters and classic Judas Priest staples on 3/8/24.
