Nazareth at The LongBranch Saloon in Williamstown, PA:

"...Dan McCafferty was like a Scottish schoolmaster - in complete control of this rowdy rock and roll classroom !"

The lights dimmed and a sea of lighters filled the black night as Scottish bagpipes played a tantalizingly long intro. Then the "Lights Came Down" on Williamstown - Dan, Pete, Darryl, Jimmy, and Ronnie took the stage and rattled the walls of the LongBranch Saloon. I must say, the live version of "Light Comes Down" sounded more intense than its studio rendering. They immediately shifted gears and took us back 26 years in time with "RAZAMANAZ" - a real treat.

Dan was in particulary excellent form - I was awestruck by his vocal power - he seems timeless. His vocal register is out of reach for many people - amazing. Wearing white shirttails and a leather vest, Dan McCafferty was like a Scottish schoolmaster in complete control of this rowdy rock and roll classroom! His in-between song comments, as usual, were classic. Dan McCafferty is simply a natural, born to entertain.

Jimmy hung out at the left side of the stage - closest to where I was standing. While Dan has those amazin' chords (vocal, that is), Jimmy lets his axe due the talking. He was switching between two guitars, one them appeared to be a Fender Strat. Most notable was his intro to "Whiskey Drinkin' Woman", [a song dedicated to the "women in the audience"]. And, as was pointed out in an earlier review, his playing style is reminiscent of vintage Eddie Van Halen - particulary the "tapping".

Pete was stealin' the show on the right side of the stage - definitely one of the more animated bassists out there.

Towards the end of this torrid set came the familiar back beat of the anthemic "Hair of the Dog". After the first two verses, Dan got his talk-box modified bagpipes into action during the solo - very cool. Dan then divvied the crowd into two sides with the right singing "Now you're messin' with a" and the left singin' "Son of a Bitch!" .

The encores were "Beggar's Day" and "Love Hurts". About 325 hard-core fans were in attendance. Much to my surprise, I ran into an old schoolmate whom I hadn't seen for at least 10 years. We reminisced about the times back in school when we were into RAZAMANAZ.

The after-show proceedings were just as cool as the show itself. I first chatted with Pete who signed my "Hair of the Dog" CD "Rock on, Tony". When I mentioned the NAZ website, Pete immediately brought up Tom Weber's name and the great job he is doin' with the site. I told Pete he should travel with a laptop computer and monitor the happenings on the NAZ website. He responded by saying he has a computer at home and his first problem is "learning how to turn it on" - that's prankin' Pete for ya!

The real treat was meeting Dan - our conversation ranged from the rumours of opening for Deep Purple, to politics [we shared our dislike for 'Slick Willy Clinton'] to the prospects of opening for Guns and Roses. Dan's response to the GNR question was that they [GNR] had to get an album out first. He also said that they would consider opening for GNR if the situation ever presented itself. My old schoolmate and I then posed for a picture with Dan.

All in all, a memorable evening. The major newspaper in the area, the Pottsville Republican, covered the show with both a reporter and photographer. A follow-up article will appear in either Friday or Saturday's paper: http://www.pottsville.com.

- Tony Piller (TPi2102956@aol.com)

 

 
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