The Rocker and I beared witness and experienced two great and powerful rock bands this past May 6th at the world famous House Of Blues on the Sunset strip. The L.A. based rock quartet known as MARDO, a band that is primed and ready to take on the world by storm! The other band, the legendary KING'S X the band that VH-1 recognized as one of the "Top 100 Rock Bands Of All Time".

First up, MARDO. Now, when we saw these guys last year they were a trio. Since then the band has evolved into a quartet. Mardo is now powered by, Aron Mardo - bass and lead vocals, Robert Mardo - drums, vocals, Coley Read- guitar, vocals, Sonny Sly - keys, vocals .The boys opened up their ball bustin' set a little pass 9:30 pm, like an M-16 packed with a full metal jacket set on rapid fire! Wow! We thought the guys rocked the first time we saw, but this night Mardo was out for blood and they made sure they went in for the kill. Featuring songs from their self-titled debut in the form of, "Here She Comes" and "Poor Paul", it was non-stop rock as they introduced new songs from their highly anticipated second release, " The New Gun", which hits the streets on June 13th. The new album was produced by Grammy winner Les Pierce, with "Lolita Live and Learn ", as well as a groove laden rocking cover of, The Temptations: "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone”, that induced the crowd into a erotic bump and grind. The band's chemistry was like white on rice and the energy they gave off was felt throughout the HOB like a shot of adrenaline. Even though half of the crowd might not have known or heard of Mardo before, we can guarantee you this, THEY DO NOW! All The Rocker and I have to say is that if you get the chance to see a MARDO performance, do so, it will be a rock and roll experience that will have you buzzing for days! One thing is for sure, they will GET YOUR ROCKS OFF! To Rob, Aron, Coley and Sonny big thanks for a killer show and for once again allowing The Rocker and I to jam out to your music!

After a brief pause in the action, the house lights went dark and the curtains opened, the mighty KING'S X proceeded to rock the venue to the ground! Doug Pinnick, Ty Tabor and Jerry Gaskill showed why they are one of the greatest bands to ever rock this world! Aside from performing songs from their latest release, 'OGRE TONES', with, "Sooner Or Later", "Freedom" and "If", the trio served up crowd favorites like, "Summerland", "Black Flag" and "Dogman". The Rocker and I have seen King's X a number of times already and we would have to say this was one of the band's more subdued outings. Not on a musical level, they were dead on perfect, as always. But it was in the crowd size. Though it was a good turn out it was not, a great turn out. Oh well, C’est le vie. One of the evenings highlights was on "Goldilox". Instead of the band singing the song, they turned the mics to the crowd and had them sing! Singing the song perfectly! So good, that it garnished a smile and applause from the band. Two rocking performances by two great rock bands! MARDO and KING'S X!