Unfortunately for all of us, including the bands and the rest of the world, the previous night's show in Santa Ana, CA was cancelled due to the "Attack On America." I'm not sure if the Denver gig on 9/14/01 was cancelled or not and the show on 09/15/01 in Odessa, TX was cancelled for reasons other than the tragedy according to the band. On 09/24/01 the band cancelled their upcoming European tour, this time because of the tragedy that occurred on 09/11/01, out of respect for those who are suffering and to keep everyone, including the Legion, safe. They have promised to schedule a big tour for early next year. Since I don't know about Denver, this review is probably written about the last show of the "Poets And Madmen" tour until sometime next year. There was massive American pride represented that night, along with solace and at least a few hours of semi-forgetfulness, for the bands and the audience.

Next up was "Surrender," also from "P&M," and again Jon Oliva was carrying the lead vocal. The song itself combines a lot of pace changes, with a soft, sincere vocal overtaken by a massive metal attack. I loved it on the album, but live it was just plain amazing! There are so many good musicians out there in hard rock and metal bands and the SAVATAGE musicians rank WAY up there. Don't ever kid yourself that SAVATAGE is not a very hard rock/metal band because of their concept albums. They TOTALLY rock! The long instrumental bridge was outstanding and the axe attack was still there. But, there is kind of a different dynamic between the members of the band now. Jack Frost spent the majority of his time playing right next to Oliva at his keyboards, while Chris Caffrey and Johnny Lee Middleton were at the far end of the stage and Daymond Jiniya stayed right in the middle. It's possible that Chris and Jack face off during guitar solos more if they're on a bigger stage than the one at the venue they played that night, but I noticed Chris and Johnny Lee were doing the face offs like Chris and Al used to do. This in NO way affects the music, it's just different. The entire band has a great time on stage and that comes across big time. This new version of SAVATAGE has indeed gelled well.

Johnny Lee Middleton		Chris Caffrey

At this point, Jon Oliva greeted the audience and asked if anyone was interested in the "old stuff," which of course sent up major cheers from the crowd. He said they were going to do a medley of title tracks from previous albums. They started with "Handful Of Rain" and were off and running. This is when Daymond Jiniya took over most of the lead vocals and this guy is good, let me tell you. I think I mentioned drama before. Since this is a very emotional song anyway, boy does he emote! Moving back and forth from almost a ballad with a percussion hook, to major guitar riffs and a heavy, bass driven instrumental during the chorus, it was one hell of a start to the ride they would take us on.

	Daymond Jiniya

With no break, the instrumental changed and the opening strains of "Wake Of Magellan" brought a cheer from the crowd. This song has a major axe attack happening and had an even longer instrumental jam than the album. Caffrey and Frost did some really great guitar work here and Caffrey's riffs were just awesome. This was a true medley and before the end of "WOM" we were into the opening riffs of "Dead Winter Dead." This is one of my favorite songs and I listened rather than writing things down. Jiniya and Oliva shared the vocals on this song and the driving instrumental made you just HAVE to move. I was on a bar stool and couldn't sit still. Again amazing guitar work and a major instrumental bridge just rocked the house. I was liking Jiniya better with every song. He was constantly pulling the crowd into the songs while he was singing. Considering the situation, he did a fine job of getting people into the music and forgetting everything else. 

	Jack Frost

Travelling back a few years was another one of my favorites (among countless favorites by this band), "Edge Of Thorns." Beginning with the keyboard hook punctuated by one guitar chord, this was another immediate audience favorite. Everybody was singing along, especially the chorus, with the final words ". . . But I don't think about you any more." Jiniya was encouraging this and pointing the mic at the crowd for that last phrase. This song has VERY intricate guitar work during the bridge and all I can say is WOW! I'm always so impressed by really excellent guitar playing and there was plenty of that all night!

As the final keyboard notes if "EOT" faded, the intro to "Sirens" brought a big response from the crowd again. Oliva was back on lead vocals and there was some serious guitar wailing happening on cue. The chant of "Sirens, Sirens" was enthusiastically coming from both the stage and the audience. I'm not that into this particular song, but there was a great dynamic going. Since "Sirens" is the first song on the first album on Atlantic, this was a heavy metal knock down, drag out, kick ass number from the old days. Oliva's vocal was still perfect for this song almost 20 years later!

	Jon Oliva

With major drum, bass and guitar emphasis at the beginning, "Unusual," from "Power Of The Night," was up next. This album goes back to 1985, so it was definitely leaning toward the metal side of SAVATAGE. The vocal takes the front seat on this song, rather than the instrumentals, and I honestly don't remember for sure who sang lead, but I think it was Daymond Jiniya. I seem to remember some high drama coming from this one. BIG guitars led into the next song, "Strange Wings" from "Hall Of The Mountain King." I think this was one of the favorite albums, at least of this audience, by the way it and a later song were received. Harmonies from Jiniya and Oliva gave this song a big push too. It wasn't a very long song in comparison to many of the others, but it did its part in getting everyone totally into what was happening on the stage.

Before the next song, Jon Oliva dedicated it to his brother, Criss Oliva, who was killed by a drunk driver in October of 1993, and to all the victims of the WTC and Pentagon tragedies. The song, "All That I Bleed" from "Edge Of Thorns," the last album Criss ever performed on, is so inspirational, both lyrically and musically, it brought a lot of people to tears, including me. The song opens very simply with just a keyboard accompaniment to the lead vocal and is incredibly beautiful. As it breaks into the chorus with the full band swelling with the keyboard, the lyrics "Lord bring on the night/ Wrap it all around me/ Let it hold me tight/ Soak up all that I bleed . . ." and absolutely tremendous guitar riffs, it was impossible not to be moved. Even as I listen to it now on the album, it still has the same effect. If you can find this song and it's lyrics, listen to it closely.

You will be equally moved, even if it's not live. 

In a TOTAL turnaround, the introduction to "Morphine Child," from "P&M," quickly changed the atmosphere. This song actually has some pretty intense lyrics as well, but the way it's performed live is very hard to describe it's so awesome. This song was the highlight of my night at least! Opening with a quiet guitar riff punctuated by the entire band pounding on it three times before heading off into the first heavy guitar melody, it was time to wake up! Another guitar melody took over as the lead vocal began, which I think was done by Oliva. The actual verse is fairly quiet to start off with, but soon moves into massive sound and unbelievable harmonies. This was the first time we saw the ENTIRE band sing and boy was it worth the wait. 

	Jeff Plate

Percussion plays an important role in this song, as well as backing the harmonies pretty much by itself. There is so much happening on the album on this track and live it was even MORE! It totally rocked out, unbelievable guitar solos had me on the edge of my seat, and then there were the harmonies, with the almost choir like harmony in the middle of the song before it got back to the cadence type music of the main melody. The famous counterpoint harmonies that have become a trademark of SAVATAGE were done every bit as good, if not better, live as they are on the album. It really was amazing to watch how it was done with only six guys singing all these different parts and keeping them going under the next new line layered on them. Jiniya introduced each new part, then various band members joined him as more and more layers were added. I think this is the ONLY time I've seen Johnny Lee Middleton sing, paired with Jack Frost. The crowd was WAY into the song too. This particular song is so good that if you don't already own "Poets And Madmen" you should buy it just for this! In addition to all the music stuff going on, there were amazing lighting effects, including lots of strobes, happening as well. I don't think I've even mentioned the great lighting during the SAVATAGE portion of the show, but it was done very well - especially considering it was a club gig and not a bigger venue.

But I digress. This is a review of the concert not the venue. After "Morphine Child" got tons of screams and whistles the band moved on to "He Carves His Stone" from "Edge Of Thorns." This is another pretty cool song that I forgot to write anything about other than the name, but trust me, it was done well. Next there was a solo by Jon Oliva and Chris Caffrey that led into "Chance" from the "Handful Of Rain" album. This one also starts quietly and Jiniya was back on lead vocals. An instrumental bridge that builds and builds, as amazing guitar work again comes to the forefront, gets this song back to heavy rock. It changed again to a different melody and tempo with full harmonies, but I don't think the entire song was performed. I don't remember counterpoint on this one, but it's on the album.

This time out was the title song from "Gutter Ballet," which starts with simple keyboard, adds in a couple guitar chords and some percussion, then gets a major beat driven hook before the vocal chimes in. There's a lot happening instrumentally behind the vocal and it's really hard to describe. Suffice to say the instrumentals were, as usual, above par. Jeff Plate was tossing his drum sticks high in the air and catching them on the way down during all of this. Another crowd favorite, they sang along with the whole song while they bounced their way through some major big instrumental bridges. Jon Oliva did the vocals on the verse part of this one, while Jiniya did the chorus. As the last notes pounded out, everyone on stage stood up and it was over. Jon Oliva introduced all the band members, giving the new members their proper due and they left the stage - for a few minutes. 

I have a couple other comments about the band I'd like to share here. It was a VERY hot and muggy night in Phoenix, which in itself is unusual for this time of year, but SAVATAGE put everything they had into that show. They were all soaked with sweat when they came off the stage, but as they pounded down water they still took the time to sign autographs and talk to people. The club owners were having a fit because it was after 1:00 a.m. and they're supposed to officially close by 1:00, but that didn't stop Jon Oliva and Chris Caffrey from waiting until the last of the fans got a moment with them. The rest of the band members had already disappeared by then, but there was no way Jon was leaving until he had the chance to sign something for everybody waiting. I was the last person to talk to Chris and then we got out of there before they removed us bodily. This band has been around for a long time and they are WILDLY popular in Europe and Japan - the USA seems to have overlooked them for some reason - but they are just regular guys. No egos, no "Look at me, the rock star!" They're SO nice and so easy to talk to and they appreciate their fans. I know a bunch of younger groups who could learn something from these guys - from attitude to musicianship!

This show took place at the most terrible time in modern American history, yet the band(s) were dedicated to giving everyone a little pleasure at a time when we almost felt guilty for it. But, as we've heard so much in the days since, life goes on and we have to live. I can't think of a greater tribute SAVATAGE (and the other bands) could have given to the victims of 09/11/01 than the concert they put on for the rest of us poor, stunned people that night!

Savatage

Live at the Bash on Ash
Tempe, AZ - 9/12/01

by Mary Ellen Gustafson

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