Westminster, Colorado
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Concert review: Trixter shines about as bright as a night lite at Grizzly Rock
Posted on October 14, 2012
by Tom Walsh
Trixter had the good fortune, or bad depending on the way you look at it, to be one of the last hurrahs of hair metal. Although they formed in the early 80’s and received plenty of attention through the last half of the 80’s they really didn’t gain commercial success until 1990, and we all know what happened in the 90’s. That’s right…..hair metal imploded and the Seattle grunge scene rushed in to fill the void.
I remember seeing Trixter at Red Rocks back in 1992 or 1993. They were becoming fairly well known by then and were touring with Warrant and Firehouse. While all three bands still had the pretty boy look with the high hair only Trixter stood out in the way they dressed. It was almost like they saw the grunge movement coming because while Warrant and Firehouse were still decked out in leather and spandex the guys in Trixter hit the stage in blue jeans and flannels. I know, almost the classic grunge style dress right? Like I said it’s almost like they knew!!
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Anyway, they put on a pretty good show with tons of energy, flair and they looked and played like they enjoyed being on stage, ending their set with either “Line Of Fire” or “Give It To Me Good”…..I can’t remember which.
I’m gonna veer of topic for just a sec and then we’ll get back to the review at hand.
I love…that’s with a capital LOVE Grizzly Rock. It’s a decent sized rock bar for rock fans with great drink prices and a killer staff. There is a kind of laid back atmosphere there and the sound system friggin’ rocks whether it’s a DJ spinning music or a live band on stage jammin’ out. The décor screams rock n roll and the smoking patio is a nice addition for those of us that still smoke. I have seen some good shows, and some great shows there and if you like rock n roll it’s is a great place to go see some awesome national acts (like the Rev Theory/Otherwise show coming up). But not even the greatest of venues bat one hundred percent all the time.
Back to the review:
The opening band was a cover band that goes by the name of Weekend Medicine and I’m sorry to say they just didn’t do it for me. Most cover bands I’ve seen in the past hone their craft until they can comfortably represent the original songs. After all, a cover band should strive to play these songs like the original band plays them so we, the audience, can enjoy the songs without shelling out exorbitant ticket prices to see the original bands that play said music. Sadly Weekend Medicine should not be on stage but behind the counter at a butcher shop because they butchered almost every single song they played. Seriously, I couldn’t even figure out what the songs were on a couple tunes until they were half over. They played a pretty eclectic set no doubt trying to tap into the party vibe that is almost always present at “The Rock” but man they fell way short. The drummer was off….or was it the band that was off from the drummer, the bass lines were sloppy, one of the guitarists was turned down so low you could barely hear his leads and the singing was so-so. Probably the best thing about this band was the short guitar player on stage left. At least he showed moments of shredding. Honestly the whole set left a bad taste in my mouth and when they whipped out an awfully played cover of a song I can’t stand anyway I had had enough. I’m not usually in the practice of ripping bands this bad but if you’re gonna play at a place like Grizzly Rock, opening for a fairly famous national act no less, you need to get your shit together…..Pure and simple.
Oh god I could not wait for Trixter to take the stage and kick things in to gear.
Trixter is pretty much the same guys from back in the day with the exception of P.J. but even he has been with the band since 1988. So the guys you see on stage now are the same guys that did the “Blood, Sweat and Beers” tour with Warrant and Firehouse.
When Trixter got on stage my first thought was that can’t be the original guys. The singer looked way too young to be Pete. He looked like he could have been the vocalist for any number of current bands with his short hair swept up from both sides creating a kind of faux Mohawk, his mirrored shades hiding his eyes and his style of dress reflecting the younger rockers of today, skinny jeans included.
With the first words out of the singer’s mouth I knew it was Pete and my jaw dropped at how absolutely young he still looked. In fact the whole band looked pretty young. Gone were the pounds of hair atop their heads but they still exuded a youthful exuberance when they hit the stage.
Trixter whipped out some of their older hits mixed with some of their newer stuff, and while it was nice to take a trip down memory lane with their older songs I found their live show lacking. It wasn’t the fact that they were playing in a different or smaller setting but more along the lines of how they came across. It’s not the size of the venue its how you use it.
Maybe it was the size of the crowd that night or maybe the guys in Trixter were put off by something else entirely but to me their show seemed fake and plastic. Their smiles seemed forced and even the pointing out of individual people in the crowd conveyed a sense rehearsal, or just going through the
motions. Their music was decent enough but their whole approach to interacting with the crowd was a little disconcerting, and I don’t think I’m the only one that noticed this. Some people in the crowd rocked out for the entire show and had a great time and if you were there you might have had just as much fun rocking out, but I think if you were to look closely you may have noticed the same things I did.
Honestly the best part of the whole show was when Trixter ended their set with “Give It To Me Good”. By now you probably think that I couldn’t wait for the show to be over and that’s just not true. I was waiting to be impressed by a band that thoroughly impressed me years ago. That finally happened on the last song of the set.
“Give It To Me Good” sounded just like it did all those years ago and I loved it! Pete’s voice has not changed much over the years and he belted out that song like he was still in his twenties. Steve’s guitar, P.J’s bass, and Marks drumming were all spot on for the last song and for the first time that night they all looked like they were having a good time. Maybe they were truly happy to be playing a song that really put them on the map. Maybe they were happy to be playing the one song that everyone recognized and sang along to, or maybe they were just happy to be getting off stage. I’m not a betting man but if I had to wager I would place my bet on the latter.
Trixter still has it in them to play some kick ass rock n roll and they take care of that part just fine, but all the same I think I’ll sit their next show out, and to be honest I really wish that wasn’t so.
Food for thought: What I said about Grizzly Rock earlier is absolutely true. If you want a great rock club where you can kick back, get your drink on, hang with friends in a relaxed setting and get treated to great service from friendly, smiling staff then check it out sometime. Show or no show it’s still a great place to hang.
Peace!
For more on Trixter please visit:
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Photos from the show
All Photos Copyright © 2012 Interstatelive.com
Trixter
Pete Loran of Trixter. Photo by Paul Edmisson
Trixter on stage at the Grizzly Rock. Photo by Paul Edmisson
