Johnny Lee Middleton
We were among the fortunate to see Savatage perform one of three U.S. warmup gigs before they head off to Europe for a headlining tour. This was the second time in two years that Savatage warmed up at Tuxedo Junction in Danbury. Savatage is touring in support of its new release, The Wake Of Magellan, due out in January.
The band was welcomed by screams of delight by the Sava-fans in attendance. This is the second consecutive album and tour with the current lineup: Jon Oliva (keyboards/vocals), Zak Stevens (lead vocals), Johnny Lee Middleton (bass), Chris Caffery (guitars), Al Pitrelli (guitars), and Jeff Plate (drums). Although the new record won’t be available in the US until early next year, it was obvious that most of the audience has already picked it up on import.
The band used us as guinea pigs to work out the bugs in the act and it’s doubtful that anyone cared. Savatage rocked from the moment they hit the stage. Zak Stevens threatened that “If you guys keep behaving like this, this is always gonna be the first damn stop!” The crowd went nuts, after all this is the second year in a row that they opened their world tour in Danbury. We were treated to a wide variety of songs from their sixteen years of existence. From “Edge Of Thorns” to “Blackjack Guillotine”, they played each song with a vengeance. For their first warmup show they sounded excellent. The band played and sang brilliantly. They displayed a lot of emotion and power in their playing and seemed like they had a great time on stage together. They joked in between songs and chatted non-stop to the crowd.
Zak’s vocals were full of passion and it was cool to hear his rendition of the song “Hall Of The Mountain King” which was originally sung by Jon Oliva. He and Jon traded vocals on the song “Gutter Ballet” which sounded incredible. Jon's vocals and keyboards left a chill down your spine. Chris Caffery and Al Pitrelli each played their share of leads and their guitar work was brilliant. Johnny Lee Middleton and Jeff Plate held a tight and thunderous rhythm section.
Savatage played close to two hours and then made the time after the show to greet fans. It made the night that much more special. They mentioned that they want to tour the States and we can only hope that they will. The fans in Europe are in for a real treat because if this was only a warmup, then they’re gonna get blown away!
More shots:
Chris Caffery
Jon Oliva
Zak Stevens, Al Pitrelli and Jon Oliva
Photos by John Perry
Review by Stephanie Perry
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