'Wanted Man' Performance From MONSTERS OF ROCK CRUISE October 1, 2016

Geezer Butler on bass. Stevie Stevens on guitar. Matt Sorum on drums. And some guy named Frankie on vocals (and occasional bongos). The band's name is Deadland Ritual and they had their debut gig at the Troubadour Club last night. Thanks to a friend who hooked me up, I was there. Considering I had missed, for one reason or another, four or five concerts in the past few weeks, I was relieved to finally get out to a gig no matter who it was. I had no idea going in who Deadland Ritual was or that they were even playing, haha. But with Geezer Butler and Matt Sorum involved it figured to be some hard rock-metal type music. After the opening blast of "Symptom of the Universe", the singer declared simply "We are Deadland Ritual and we play heavy metal". Okay...duly noted. Instrumentally, the band was tight. Geezer is legend, natch, and I was really impressed with how Stevie Stevens has kept up his chops. He played better than I remember him playing with Billy Idol in the 1980s. The singer Frankie was okay...even good in spots. But something didn't quite click. He looked like a heavy metal George Michael. Maybe it was nerves...I mean, he's playing with big time musicians. Maybe he'll grow into the frontman role. But hell, just to be in a small club with GEEZER BUTLER a mere few feet away...everything else was gravy. The set lasted 75 minutes or so...no encore. Deadland Ritual songs with a few choice covers thrown in..."Symptom of the Universe", "Neon Nights", "Sweet Leaf", "Rebel Yell", "NIB", "War Pigs".