The last day of February brought a killer show to the Marquee in Tempe AZ. While the Marquee is a hotspot when it comes to national touring bands (Disturbed, Dragonforce, In Flames, Black Label Society, etc. have all played here in recent years), tonight was more for the local scene.
Originally three bands were billed for tonight’s show, but a fourth appeared to be added at the last minute, as I didn’t hear anything until the night of the show. Unfortunately, due to timing and details that needed to be worked out, I missed this band (whose name I never caught) and that of Axe Attack (a “tribute to classic metal”).
However, I did catch Dinonicus - a band out of Phoenix led by guitarist George Contreras. The band has been dormant for a year; fine tuning the lineup, adjusting the set list and practicing. And it all paid off – this was the first show for the current lineup, and the Marquee audience ate up every minute of it. The set was short, but it was tight – drummer Dino Castillo provided the thunderous backbeat along with bassist Mike Hernandez, while guitarists Michael “Metal Mike” Turner and George kept the riffs flowing and searing. Singer Matt “The Mojave” kept the crowd’s attention the entire time, often throwing shirts out to the fans, jumping in to the crowd himself or getting them to scream along with every word. Extremely impressive performance first time out for a band that took a yearlong break. I suspect Arizona will be hearing more and more about Dinonicus in the coming year.
While I am not the biggest Queensryche fan, I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed The Ryche’s performance. The Ryche is, obviously, a Queensryche tribute band out of Phoenix as well. However, they really go all out with their performance – drum riser with banner, video effects, etc. Norm Tate was damn close to Geoff Tate, high notes and all. “Take Hold (of the Flame)” and “Queen of the Reich” took on a whole new, invigorated life, as did “Walk in the Shadows”. For me, this brought back memories to Queensryche in their prime. Even though the last couple of times I have seen Queensryche they seem to have squeezed in the full Operation: Mindcrime disc with hint of “been there, done that”, The Ryche even added a new life to that as they performed the disc in its entirety (the band is rounded out by guitarists Dave Degarmo/Stone and Mike Wilton, bassist Mace Jackson and drummer Gabe Rockenfield). The Ryche rant up there with the must see’s of Arizona tribute bands.
