Dio concert review; Nov 7th, 1996 by Atomic Chaser

The following is a review of the first Dio show on the Angry Machines tour, written by the Atomic Chaser. Republished here with permission from the author. I had to edit the layout a little bit for better outlook on web, but all the information is still intact.

From: Suette Franck (happyjoy@themall.net)
Subject: Dio Ventura Show, Nov 7, 1996
Date: Thu, 14 Nov 1996 19:12:24 -0800

DIO ROCKS VENTURA THEATER
'STAND UP AND SHOUT!'
By Tony Sison aka The Atomic Chaser

On November 7th 1996, DIO kicked off their 1996-97 "ANGRY MACHINES" Tour in Ventura, California, at The Ventura Theater. On this night, Ronnie James Dio, Vinny Appice, Tracy G., Larry "Bones" Dennison, and Scott Warren rocked the Ventura Theater to the ground! Thousands of fans gathered in anticipation to see one of the true legends of rock n' roll perform, and what they got was a performance that they would remember for a lifetime.

At 9:45 p.m., the house lights dimmed, the stage curtains parted, and the crowd was chanting, "DIO,DIO, DIO,DIO". From out of the smoke-filled stage, charged Ronnie James Dio opening the show with "Jesus, Mary and The Holy Ghost". The crowd went bezerk! Ronnie's voice never sounded so good. From the get go, Ronnie took full charge, mesmerizing thousand of fans into a chaotic frenzy! The blitzkrieg continued with "Straight Through The Heart" from the 'HOLY DIVER' album. I could not help but notice how sharp and tight the band was. New member, bassist Larry Bows, fit right in with the rest of the band. There was a lot of talk before the show about how Larry would perform; after this night, I think Larry erased all the doubts that anyone may have had. You did good, my friend!

The set continued with "After All" from the underrated BLACK SABBATH album, 'DEHUMANIZER'. The pace was fast and furious, as the band ripped into "Evilution" from 'STRANGE HIGHWAYS'. By this time, the crowd had gone completely insane! I was simply in awe with Ronnie's voice. Like the Pied Piper, his voice hypnotized the masses. Truly, Ronnie James Dio is in a class of his own. From the new album, "Big Sister" shot out and went over very well with the fans. Ronnie then took the crowd on a ride with the rockin' "Stand Up and Shout".

Just when you thought the onslaught would slow down, the band cleared the stage except for Vinny Appice; it was time for his drum solo, and, let me tell you, this God Of Thunder displayed his mastery of the drums to perfection! With each beat that he hit it made my heart skip a beat. Monstrous! After the breathtaking drum solo, the band came back to the stage and exploded into "Holy Diver". This sent the crowd on fire! If you thought the crowd went crazy on this song, when the band went into "Heaven and Hell", I thought the Ventura Theater would crumble. There was not a person sitting down, even the folks that were in the back were stomping their feet. The band then introduced another Sabbath tune "I" from the 'DEHUMANIZER' album, which is one of my personal favorite songs written by Ronnie James Dio, so you could say I was singing along. Another song from 'ANGRY MACHINES' was up next in the form of "Hunter Of The Heart", a song that sounded just as good live as on the album version.

Ronnie then took the crowd back to the days when he was in RAINBOW and belted out one of the finest blues rocking songs ever recorded, "Mistreated". Halfway through the song, the band faded into the background and guitarist extraodinaire Tracy G. stepped up to the spotlight and delivered a guitar solo that reached into your soul and literally ripped it apart. Everyone in the crowd was just floored! The notes that he hit were mind-shattering! Tracy G.'s guitar must have set-off the movement detectors at CalPoly for sure!

On this night, each member of the band was right on target. The other new member of the band, keyboardist Scott Warren played to perfection. His sound adds another dimension to DIO that compliments the band really well. At the end of "Mistreated", Scott delivered some truly astonishing sound effects, which added a mysterious element of eeriness to the whole feel of the song.

Just when the crowd thought they could handle anymore, Dio ripped into "Rainbow In The Dark". This song got the crowd moving. From there, the band went into the show finale "The Last In Line", which put the crowd into mass hysteria! The show wasn't over just yet. The band came back on stage with a three-song encore, first up was, "Don't Talk To Strangers", then came another song from their new album, "Institutional Man". Finally closing a night that was pure magic, with the monstrous "The Mob Rules".

After the show had ended, the crowd was still crying out for more. On this night DIO definitely made an impact on everyone that was there, I was surprised that the venue was still standing! With this being the first show on the tour, Ronnie James Dio had definitely made a statement, and that is, "Be prepared to witness a show that will ROCK YOU OFF YOUR FEET!". Take it from me, this show will make you 'Stand Up and Shout!'. You have been warned.

To Ronnie, Vinny, Tracy, Larry and Scott, I wish you the best of luck on the tour.

The Atomic Chaser