Dio concert review; April 5th, 1997 by Brent Steinshouer

The following is a review of a Dio show of the third US leg of the Angry Machines, originally mailed to me.

From: Brent Steinshouer (BrStein@concentric.net)
Subject: Dio show Ogden Theatre 4 Apr 97 Denver
Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 01:02:46 -0600

Here are my views on the Dio concert on Saturday,April 4th 1997:

No single word can sum up such an entertaining event. The entire expierence is what makes going to a Dio concert so incredible. The anticipation of seeing Dio perform again had me pumped! As usual the show lived up to my expectations. From my memory Dio usually comes to Denver when it is cold...and it was.

The Ogden Theatre is a small venue but it was jam-packed with Dio fans from across the years. This was a show where I wasn't one of the older headbangers. I'm just now 30 and I saw many that were well over my age. The musicianship was very good. The old Rainbow and Black Sabbath tunes that were played sounded VERY good. RJD can still shred a microphone (can Ozzy hold a tune in a bucket?) and proved it again Saturday night. His vocal range and power are awesome. He truly is a singer.

The show ended just before midnight for a total of 1 1/2 hours of kick-ass Heavy Metal. Wish the band could have played for six hours just to hear all the material. I had a fairly good standing position in this general admission show. The stage was simple with a tapestry of Angry Machines behind the drum kit. Didn't need an elaborate stage set because the music was top-notch. Vinny's drum solo was quite good... showing off his speed and skill. A similiar solo to what I've seen him do before. Tracy G's guitar solo was the olny portion of the show I wasn't impressed with. The solo didn't seem to have much soul to it. Some cool grinding riffs but overall I would rather have heard another song played.

I was too intent on the show to realize that a small mosh pit had formed some 15 feet behind me. I've never moshed to Dio before so I had to take the opportunity. So during the final encore of We Rock (I was singing We Mosh to myself) I jumped in the pit with a dozen or so other tired moshers. Was a cool finale to an excellent Dio show.

Ronnie James Dio is a true entertainer. I was fortunate to see his concert and hope that once again he comes back to Denver promoting yet another fine album of his musical masterpieces. I hope Ronnie can still belt out some power vocals from his wheelchair when he reaches that age. I'll be right there watching and listening and headbanging with the rest of you!

"My Eyes" - Dio / Lock Up The Wolves, 1990