Dio concert review; April 6th, 1997 by Scot

The following is a review of a Dio show of the third US leg of the Angry Machines, originally posted on Black Sabbath mailing list.

From: SmClayton@aol.com
Date: Tue, 8 Apr 1997 12:41:28 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Ronnie James Dio - Wichita, Kansas 6 April 97

Just a few notes on the show while they are still fresh in my mind. The guys played for over and hour and a half. They were in excellent form. The crowd was very animated, and everyone seemed to enjoy the show. Ronnie was in his usual top form. Vinny was excellent also, and seemed to be very INTO the tunes, even caught him singing a few. Tracy G still doesn't impress me much (t hough he has improved since last I saw him), he just can't seem to handle the Campbell solo's (not to mention the Iommi one's).

Song list went as follows, but in no particular order. Holy Diver, Rainbow in the Dark, Don't Talk to Strangers, Last in Line, Mistreaded, Man on the Silver Mtn, Catch the Rainbow, Long Live Rock and Roll, Double Monday, Dying in America, Heaven and Hell, Mob Rules, Straight Through the Heart. Keyboardist was playing off-stage about 8 ft in front of me, and seemed to add quite a bit to some of the tunes.

Briefly met Ronnie after the show. My girlfriend Cari (who is pregnant) told Ronnie that the first time she felt the baby move was when she was listening to Holy Diver and put the headphones on her belly. He smiled his big trademark grin and said that he's sure it would be OK anyway....and of course laughed. He asked whether we know if it was a boy or girl, Cari said that we're not sure but if it's a boy, we'd planned on naming it Ronnie James after him. He smiled again and very modestly said that we should name it something that means something to us, etc. Cari stated that is what we wanted to do.

He had taken her jacket to sign the back, so he stated that he would just keep the jacket and trade it for her "FIRST BORN"! We all laughed at that one. (This is actually her second and my FIFTH!) He then signed her jacket Love and Magic - Ronnie James Dio. He shook her hand, hugged her and gave her a kiss. He then assured me that everything would be alright with the baby. I told him that they really kicked ass, and I enjoyed the show alot. He thanked me, shook my hand and said that they'd really enjoyed it (they sure looked like they did, especially playing Wichita, KS!). He wrote on my business card "To Scot, Magic Babies - Ronnie James Dio.

We had previously met his wife Wendy (Dio) during the show (she was stage right during most of the show, about 8 ft or so from me), shook her hand, and said hello. She seemed really nice also. They waved at each other several times during the show (how cute!). She seemed to really get into the tunes that they played, especially considering how many times she must have heard them. All in all, I would recommend seeing him this tour, and they seem to be in very top form, and well worth the money, etc.

Later...
--Scot
"They'll take your Diamonds, then give you Steel" - Ronnie James Dio