Rock the Arena II

March 29, 2017

By Christopher Cook / LifeAtStart.com Reporter

Toledo’s Savage Arena held its second Rock the Arena on Saturday, March 25th. Rock the Arena is a concert where rock bands, mostly successful in the 80’s, can play and give some of the true rock fans a great show.

Last year Trixter, FireHouse, Lita Ford, Dokken, Winger, Warrant, Ratt, and Bret Michaels performed. Though I did not attend this I can assume it was good judging by the the lineup. Warrant and Bret Micheals probably brought it to a good end surely making it worth the stay.

This year Rock the Arena II brought out some new names as well as some returning from the year before. The lineup brought 10 bands this year. Billy Morris and Sunset Strip, Trixter, Autograph, Vixen, Jack Russel’s Great White, Stephen Pearcy, Quiet Riot, Warrant, Cinderella’s Tom Keifer, and Cheap Trick. I was very excited to find out I had a ticket to go and enjoy these performances. With Trixter and Warrant returning, and then groups like Great White and Autograph performing for their first time in Rock the Arena, it looked to be a very good show ahead.

As the day started I arrived at the end of Sunset Strip’s performance and they played well for the song I heard. Trixter and Autograph played after them and I really enjoyed them. I was glad to see Vixen play and do very well. Their group is all girls except the one guy, playing piano, that they hid in the dark corner of the stage. Great White played great and definitely had one of the top two stage performances because the singer was dancing around with the mic stand.

Unfortunately Stephen Pearcy didn’t play as well as I expected, I found myself dozing off more times than not. Once Quiet Riot played I quickly woke back up and got to enjoying the music with the help of their singer, former American Idol 4th place finisher during the 10th season, James Durbin. He had a great performance and it definitely hyped me up for Warrant, the main reason I wanted to go.

Warrant was the best of the performances that I watched and they definitely knew what they were doing bringing banners and all. I left shortly after Warrant due to fatigue after staying for eight hours, though two bands played after them. I didn’t stay to listen to Cinderella’s Tom Keifer or Cheap Trick. I’m sure they played well and had people on their feet till the end of it.

The performances this year really thrilled me. Hopefully they will have a Rock the Arena III because I would love to go again. I think if you haven’t heard any of these bands and have free time you should check into going next year, or even looking them up on YouTube I promise you won’t be upset.

Any questions please feel free to contact me at: cjcook12@hotmail com

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