Thursday night, October 14, 2014 my assignment was to attend The Vince Neil and Great White concert at Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa, Florida. The concert hall is located on the second floor above the casino and the facility was gorgeous! A quick stop at will call to get my credentials, then up the escalator to the second floor. The room had stadium seats and and open floor with chairs. There was a pit for photographers and full length curtains framing the stage from the ceiling to the carpeted floor. The crowd was at capacity, seating 1,500 comfortably in the venue which is only a year old. The staff was courteous and very helpful to the photographers unique needs for storage of their gear while they work. We were treated like guests which isn’t the norm.
The starting time of 8:00pm was prompt and Great White hit the stage on time. They were extremely tight and lead singer Mitch Malloy was spot on with the vocals and engaging the audience. Their set was complete with hits and ended with “Save Your Love,” my favorite “Rock Me,” and finishing with the Ian Hunter cover “Once Bitten Twice Shy.” I was very impressed how the crowd reacted to their set and I was getting anxious for a little Motley Crue coming up. This crowd will really loose it when Vince hits the stage.
Mitch Malloy – Lead Vocals
Mark Kendall – Lead Guitar
Audie Desbrow – Drums
Scott Snyder – Bass
Michael Lardie – Rhythm guitar/Keyboards
The wait for Vince Neil seemed to wane on and on. The fog machines were clouding the stage, the roadies were doing sound check, and even the tour manager was on stage doing sound check on the drum kit. Finally the stage went dark and the voice of Samuel L. Jackson could be heard reciting Ezekiel 25:17 from the speech from the movie Pulp Fiction, “The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.” The lights came up and Dana strum, Jeff Blando and Zoltan Chaney were in there positions. Vince Neil enter center stage and the place exploded as they broke into “Dr Feelgood.”
All of the top Motley Crue hits were payed and the audience was glad to help out Vince on the vocals singing alone with every song. At the half way point, it was time for Jeff Blando to shine, Vince left the stage and Jeff started a guitar solo going into ‘Whole Lot Of Love” by Led Zeppelin, complete with him playing his guitar with a cello bow, ala Jimmy Page! Seeing the fans were up for more, he started the Ronnie James Dio song “Heaven And Hell,” singing the vocals. The crowd was in a frenzy when Vince returned and sang
The show was a great success and everyone in attendance appeared to have had a great time. This venue is one I look forward to returning to.
Band:
Vince Neil – Vocals/Guitar
Jeff Blando – Guitar/Vocals
Dana Strum – Bass/Vocals
Zoltan Chaney – Drums
Setlist:
Photographer and Editor/Founder of AllMusicMagazine.com. My love of live music has taken me to incredible experiences with the top bands of all time in stadium shows to the smallest venues with equally inspiring musicians. Using the medium of photography and my publication, these memories will last forever.
