Devil horns of plenty
A full Manchester Academy One waited patiently for the big voice of Ronnie James Dio savouring the prospect of his classic album 'Holy Diver' being played in it's entirety. The late start to the 'Evening with Dio' suggested Ronnie was going to play through to the end without a break. Previous 'Evening With' concerts I have been privy to usual start with an album played from start to finish followed by a break and then select cuts from their back catalogue. Dio bucked the trend by opening with the Rainbow rocker 'Tarot Woman' followed by the equally surprising 'Sign of the Southern Cross' and 'One Night in the City'.
A white screen lowered to show a rather crass introductory film to the 'Holy Diver' album. 'Stand up and Shout' kicked the night into a frenzy followed immediately by 'Holy Diver' itself. The atmospheric introduction was dropped in favour of keeping the energy level high, which was an excellent choice. The underrated 'Gypsy' was a highlight of the evening, perhaps being played live for the first time in many a year. The classic rock musician's merry-go-round saw Doug Aldrich back into the Dio fold on guitar after leaving to join Whitesnake. Ex-Ozzy bassist Rudy Sarzo looked like he'd been drinking from the elixir of youth because he hasn't aged a day since 1981. Keyboardist Scott Warren does his best to rock-it-up, or at least as best you can behind a keyboard and ex-AC/DC drummer Simon Wright seems happy as the regular Dio skin pounder, relishing the fact that he gets the opportunity to play a drum solo in every show.
The sound became very bottom end friendly during 'Straight through the heart', that was rectified after a couple of songs however Doug's guitar sound was a little scratchy and only half distorted. The 'Holy Diver' album ended to an emphatic cheer from a largely over thirties audience revelling in the bastion of classic metal. So large is Dio's back catalogue covering, not only his own band but two of the greatest rock bands of all time, he has the choice of some of the all time great songs of the past thirty years. 'Long live rock and roll', 'Gates of Babylon' and the epic 'Heaven and Hell' caused the crowd reaction to reach deafening levels. 'We rock' finished off a great performance and a superb set proving that down-tuned guitars and screaming vocals aren't always needed to create high energy levels.
At only two hours the 'Evening with Dio' was a little short only running in approximately twenty minutes longer than a normal Dio set. It was good to hear Ronnie unearthing such tracks as 'Tarot Woman' in favour of the usual 'Neon Knights' however it would have been nice for him to perform two sets rather than just the one. The old fashioned insistence of drum and guitar solos is frustrating for fans who'd rather hear 'Children of the Sea' or 'Stargazer' instead. Even with such great cuts as these being omitted from the night, Dio can still perform a memorable set full to the brim of excellent tunes. It is a shame the likes of Iron Maiden manage to pick up new fans whilst Dio relies on the same devotees turning out each year. The crowd are passionate and devoted to the leather voiced metal lord and maybe with some more consistent song writing on future releases he will start to pull in new fans. The 'Evening with' concept is a good idea for the likes of Dio and hopefully other bands with long careers will follow his example. I for one would slobber at the idea of a three-hour Iron Maiden set.