This past week has been fantastic for Nita Strauss! According to Billboard, Nita Strauss has just become the first solo woman to score a top 10 as a lead artist on the Mainstream Rock Airplay chart in nearly 26 years as her “Dead Inside” single landed at No. 10 on the list. Congratulations Nita Strauss!
This past Saturday night, Nita Strauss brought her guitar wizardry to the HQ venue in Denver, Colorado. I arrived right about door time wondering what the venue was now going to look like. It was formerly called 3 Kings Tavern, a small venue with a bar and pinball machines. The new owners took out the machines to make more room for concert goers. There are a few tables and it’s kind of dark, nothing to get excited about. The stage is the same as before, even with the floor and small. The three bands had everything set up on stage and ready to go. It was a tight fit.
The 8:00pm starting time came and went. Not quite sure why, but the first band got started around 8:25pm. A local Denver band called, Nine Tenths of the Law was the first band to start the evening. Their sound is described on their FaceBook page as, “The Crushing, Heavy, Harmonic Premier Metal Band.” Their set was cut short because of time, but that didn’t stop them from pouring out their music for the few people that were there. Indeed they were heavy.
Nine Tenths of the Law are:
Shannon Bogguess – Guitar
Jacob Althoff – Guitar
Jason Jones – Bass
Set List:
1.) Long Road
2.) Blood Drunk
3.) Possesion
4.) Habitual
Up next touring with Nita Strauss is Black Satellite, a hard rock/metal band from New York City. They started their hard hitting set with their newest release ‘SONNE’. It was tough to see in the dimly lite venue, but then again listening to vocalist Larissa Vale was enough for me. Her powerful vocals poured out over the small crowd. They moved through their set with songs, ‘Endless’, ‘Void’ and ended their set with ‘Valkyrie,’ from their 2017 debut album Endless. My first time seeing them and I enjoyed them.
Black Satellite are:
Larissa Vale – vocals
Kyle Hawken – guitar
Set List:
1.) SONNE
2.) Endless
3.) Void
4.) I don’t Wanna Be Me
5.) Valkyrie
The stage was set for Nita and the guitar tech was making a final check, bassist Christopher Dean was with him as well. Meanwhile the fog machine was on full and filling up the stage. The lights started flashing and intro music started, after a few moments, Nita made her way into the fog and started jamming. She started her set with the song ‘Power Rangers’. Standing only a few short feet from her, as I waited a bit for the fog to clear and see her well enough so I could start taking pictures. By now the 75-80 people in attendance, were trying to see Nita through the crowd. A front spot light was posed at Nita. With the ceilings only about ten feet tall and the fans in front of the stage, my view was obstructed and I only saw her partly. Nita shredded her way through the first 3 songs. She was occasionally going to the back of the stage checking her amps as bassist Christopher Dean, was doing the same thing. During the fourth song, the speaker above and right of my head started crackling and then went silent. If anyone notice but me, I couldn’t tell.
Nita powered through her set with songs, ”Summer Storm’ and ‘The Quest’ with drummer Josh Villalta doing a killer drum solo. Then Larissa Vale from Black Satellite came out and joined Nita on the song, ‘Feed My Frankenstein’, a popular Alice Cooper song. The crowd loved it and let both ladies know it! Next, from Nita’s 2018 album Controlled Chaos she played the song ‘Pandemonium’ and closed out a night of shredding with the song, ‘Our Most Desperate Hour’ from the same album. The small crowd showed their appreciation for Nita, she poured out every once of energy she had. It was such a pleasure to finally have the chance to see her live.
The band:
Nita Strauss – guitars
Josh Villalta – drums
Christopher Dean – bass Guitar
Set List:
1.) Power Rangers
2.) Mariana Trench
3.) Alegria
4.) Lion Among Wolves
5.) The Stillness at the End
6.) Summer Storm
7.) Feed My Frankenstein with Larissa Vale
8.) The Quest / Drum Solo
9.) The Show Must Go On
10.) Pandemonium
11.) Dead Inside
12.) Our Most Desperate Hour
Follow Nine Tenths of the Law here:
Follow Black Satellite here:
Follow Nita Strauss here:
I have been dabbling in photography since I was a kid. Box cameras, instamatics, then 35mm film cameras. In the late 70’s I went to a concert and took pictures, no one cared at first. That came to end in 1980. When the first digital cameras came out, I got more interested and serious about photography. For years I did nothing but landscape and even started selling my work with some success. In May of 2014, I walked into a small concert venue and asked about photographing a band that was going to play there. Little did I know then how my life was about to change. My 2 passions, music and photography turned into a wonderful journey. 7+ years later, I have meet artists from all over the world, photographed bands from over 20 different countries. I am living the dream of being a concert photographer. To this day, when I step in front of the stage to cover a show, I still get as excited as a 5 year old on Christmas morning!
