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  • ProgPower USA 2024 in Atlanta Resumes On Day Two

    ProgPower USA 2024 in Atlanta Resumes On Day Two

    Kristin Starkey

    The journey to attend ProgPower USA XXIII (PPUSA) began in August of 2023 in my initial conversations after meeting my friend Christina. She made a comment about a Monsters of Rock Cruise (MoRC) shirt I was wearing and how the 2024 sailing would be her first time on that cruise.

    Soon, our conversation shifted to had I ever been to PPUSA? My answer was, I had never even heard of it. After more conversation and hearing how Christina had been to all twenty two previous festivals, I knew I needed to check it out. Upon further research I discovered that:

    “ProgPower USA is a progressive and power metal festival held annually in the United States since 2001…The festival’s band selection process focuses on quality over quantity. In addition to the emphasis on the power and progressive metal genres, the festival has branched out into other genres with the inclusion of the “oddball” slot that does not fit the normal motif.

    ProgPower USA gives bands that have never performed in the States a chance to perform in the country. The festival has been described as a cultural experience for fans with autograph signing sessions, guest appearances, reunions, and meet-and-greets. The festival has hosted over 70 bands’ USA debuts…”[1]

    After meeting some of Christina’s PPUSA friends and hearing their excitement as they talked about years past and how much they were looking forward to this year’s event, I could sense the same feeling of a family community within the PPUSA community that I have experienced with the Monsters community.

    When the planets aligned for me to not only attend PPUSA, but cover the event, my travel arrangements were made within the hour after said planetary alignment. This year’s event was again held in Atlanta, GA, September 4-7, 2024, at Center Stage, a mid-sized concert complex comprising three separate venues.

    The 2024 lineup was stacked with bands that it would be my first exposure to, and I specifically chose to go in ‘deaf and blind’ so I can experience these bands in their live, raw sound.

    Venue Staff

    Before I begin to describe the awesomeness that this festival experience was for me, I want to express thanks and gratitude to the behind the scenes staff who make this event happen, specifically the stage production staff, the sound and lighting team and the security group.

    I also want to mention the great job that the venue food and beverage staff, the box office staff, fellow photographers, and the ProgPower USA staff did as a whole. There is tireless dedicated work before, during and after an event like this and there is no way it can be successful without the people who make it happen. I know the effort that goes into making this event run smoothly is considerable.

    I spent a bit of time familiarizing myself with the event website where a detailed daily schedule was posted before the event and I compliment the team on keeping things running on time and smooth for the entire event.  

    On the site I felt the Promoter’s note (Glenn Harveston) solidifies my thought that any song played is THE song any given person there came to hear being performed live when he wrote “…you will see new bands.

    You will see old friends. You will see bands that make you question my sanity. You will see bands you think suck, but others think are awesome…”[2]. I for sure saw a ton of new bands, and for that reason alone I think makes it worth stepping out of your comfort zone in life to experience new things.

    Temperance

    Due to my work schedule I was not able to attend the first day of the event or my knowledge of new bands would be that much greater. However, at my hotel in Atlanta, in the late evening hours I did encounter many obvious first day festival attendees.

    We metalheads roll deep and conversation ensued between a few of us and already new friends were made. After arriving at the venue and making my way to the seating and floor area and being totally unfamiliar with the venue, I found a slightly elevated section at the back of the floor area in front of the seats. The first band I was exposed to was Temperance and the amazing operatic vocal range of Kristin Starkey.

    Temperance

    An Italian modern melodic power metal band, I was more fixated on the power behind amazing Kristin’s vocal delivery. While the words melodic and power metal do not seem to go together to the uninitiated, this band made it work and certainly captured my attention. The day and my festival experience was off to a fantastic start.

    Temperance

    Earthside was up next and they were a little too atmospheric for me. I decided to check out the rest of the venue after getting a few photos of the band performing.

    Earthside

    Each band is given a minimum of an hour to play, with progressively longer sets as the day goes along, so I knew I could pop back in and I did at the end of their set as I always appreciate seeing the fan reaction and Earthside was shown a lot of fan love at the conclusion of their set.

    There were TV feed in multiple places in the venue’s lobby so one was never far from the action. Of the three venues inside the one building, the vendor room was set up in the smaller of the two in the main section. This was also where the autograph sessions would take place throughout the weekend.

    Earthside

    After the Earthside set concluded, I went into the main performance area to get a good look at it in the light. With an open floor area surrounded by elevated stadium style seating with a capacity just over one thousand, it truly was an intimate setting where literally any and every seat in the house has a great sightline views.

    Earthside

    As I was waiting for this set to begin, I noticed more and more people on the floor brandishing blow up swords I sensed there would be a lot of raised swords in the air from my vantage point and I elected to find a seat a couple of rows up and on the stage right side.

    Twilight Force

    Twilight Force took the stage and here is where I first questioned Glenn’s sanity. I saw band members dressed like Robin Hood characters and could not snap enough photos.

    Twilight Force

    It took me a few minutes to realize it was Kristin Starkey on stage again and just delivering vocal power unlike anything I have ever heard before, well, at least before today. I had never heard of the term ‘adventure metal’ but there it was when I looked the band up after their set:

    Twilight Force

    “The group describes themselves as “adventure metal,” in part due to the use of costumes, props, and demeanor onstage. The band has cited early role-playing games like Heroes of Might & Magic and table-top role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons as inspiration for their appearance.”[3] 

    Twilight Force

    I felt like their set was an adventure – like I was fighting the dragons in my life and having an army of metal brethren by my side. It was the most visually stimulating set that I witnessed this weekend and after their set, Glenn’s sanity was no longer in question.

    Leprous
    Leprous

    Next up was Leprous, a Norwegian progressive metal quintet that surrounded themselves on stage with a mass of piped in smoke/fog, which made it difficult to get decent photos. After the fact, once I was home and had a chance to go through my photos I realized while difficult at the moment of clicking the photo, the smoke/fog actually gave the photos a really neat visual effect.

    Leprous

    The technicality of this band’s music is completely off the charts, as some of their earlier catalog makes use of an eight stringed  guitar, which allows for a wider tonal range and  non-standard tuning. I made a mental note that I needed to dig deeper into this band’s discography.

    Dark Tranquility

    Swedish melodic death metallers Dark Tranquility closed out as the headliner for my first day in the PPUSA realm and the second day of the festival. I had heard of this band before but had not knowingly heard any of their music.

    Dark Tranquility

    After the fact, I discovered Dark Tranquility are considered one of the pioneering bands in the melodic death metal genre and after my experience I can describe their musical sound as balance of aggressive ferocity and melodic emotion. Their set was my first instance of seeing a mosh pit break out on the floor.

    Dark Tranquility

    They had the entire crowd captivated and I was mesmerized by the tonal harmonic melodies created by the twin lead guitars that just seemed to fit well with vocalist’s Mikael Stanne use of genre expected harsh, growled vocals. It certainly made for a wide musical range for the various bands that performed this day.

    Dark Tranquility

    At the conclusion of this day’s events I elected not to attend the after show party in The Loft upstairs. I used the walk back to the hotel to reflect on what I had witnessed this day. The new bands I had been exposed to, and the depth of the love fans have for this event and each other.

    Leprous

    At festivals, I love to people watch and see the moment when a fan is overcome with emotion at a certain part of a song and this happened numerous times today. It is those memories that help me appreciate the planets aligning for me to attend this year and to call it a successful first day for me at this year’s ProgPower USA 2024 event.

    For more photos of the day’s festivities, go here.  

    [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ProgPower_USA

    [2] https://progpowerusa.com/media/PPUSA-XXIII-Mini-Program.pdf

    [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_Force

  • The Chief Metal Officer’s Year in Review

    The Chief Metal Officer’s Year in Review

    Photo-Randy Cook

    No one knows exactly what their future holds, and when January 1st rang in the New Year I had no idea that 2022 was going to be the most epic concert year that I have ever had. This calendar year has afforded me the opportunity to see some musical legends and my favorite bands, and to have been approved with photo credentials for more shows than I have ever been credentialed for.

    Photo-Randy Cook

    I discovered new bands that expanded my musical horizons even further. I met many new rock friends and shared time with friends old and new at shows throughout the year, across the country and on the high seas.

    You might ask me if I am able to pick a single favorite show or band out of my epic year’s adventures. My first answer would be that every single show I saw kicked ass in its own right. Then I started debating if I could somehow quantify each show across multiple variables to see if there was in fact a mathematically proven top show of the year.

    I kept getting stuck debating on what weight would each variable hold, and how out of town shows would potentially skew results as it does add an extra level of excitement to travel for a show which usually involves going to a new venue.

    Photo-Randy Cook

    After some contemplation, a new Excel spreadsheet and a few conversations with my concert going brethren, I came to the conclusion it is a personally subjective outcome and that traveling for a show would indeed skew the outcome. I counted too many variables between the ones that I came up with and the suggestions of my friends added in and returned to my initial answer that EACH. AND. EVERY. SHOW. KICKED. ASS!

    2022 summarized numerically:
     37 shows
     26 credentialed shows and 2 shows I was able to bring my camera. 2 shows I got denied (both
    Iron Maiden) and 7 shows I didn’t try for credentials.
     169 band performances
     6 different states
     14 different cities
     18 different venues and 2 cruise ships
     11 new venues I had never been to

    My first show of the year was in early February at the sail away party for my annual excursion on the Monsters of Rock Cruise. Axeman extraordinaire Adrien Vandenberg was the headliner and it had been over thirty two years since his last performance in the United States. I was astounded at his jaw dropping playing ability as a teenager in the mid-1980s and to see and capture with my lens this man absolutely shredding right in front of me were moments of pure joy. And this was just the first show of the year!

    Photo-Randy Cook

    He also played twice on the Monsters of Rock cruise so three times within less than a week I witnessed a true master of his craft at work.

    Photo-Randy Cook

    The Monsters of Rock Cruise was beyond awesome seeing forty two performances over five nights and alongside a good friend who is a Jedi behind the lens and one of my photography mentors (Obi Wan). New friends were made as have been every music cruise I have ever been on. One as a result of me going “Hey, that is a cool t shirt – can I take a photo?” Even though I now abstain from indulging, that conversation has me an honorary member of the “Heavy Metal Beer Club”. Just that simple exclamation and question has led to a great friendship with a great metal and beer loving couple who live in Arizona.

    Photo-Randy Cook

    Many great bands were seen onboard, some newly discovered as well as many I was very familiar with. This was also my first exposure to the Van Halen tribute band Nerd Halen. I shot their meet and greet photo experience and I had in front of the front row access for part of their pool stage show that both Obi Wan and I were still talking about weeks later and we both proclaimed as our favorite show of the cruise. I cannot wait for the cruise in 2023 as it is an incredibly stacked lineup.

    Photo-Randy Cook

    A week after the cruise returned I flew out for my first ever visit to Las Vegas for my tenth time seeing Metallica and was a promised metal quest fulfilled for the Chief Metal Maiden’s first Metallica show. That the show was in Sin City was an added bonus! Thankfully no bail money was required.

    Gretta Van Fleet was one of the openers and it was my first exposure to their music beyond what I had heard on terrestrial radio. I would for sure like to see them again and as a headliner. Crazy to see one of my local friends out there at the show, but we metalheads roll deep and travel for what we love.

    Photo-Randy Cook


    Two weeks after Metallica I went with another friend and Jedi behind the lens photography mentor (Lord Nikon) to see Tesla at the Strawberry Festival. While I was not credentialed for this show, their security does not check for cameras so I brought mine, shot the whole show from my seat and ended up posting over a hundred shots.

    Photo-Randy Cook

    The Cannibal Corpse show was my friend’s teenage daughter’s first ever concert (and her idea for them to go) and a people watching old mine. I witnessed a very interesting ‘exchange’ (that needs to stay unwritten) between a guy and his wife/girlfriend during one of Cannibal Corpse’s more anatomically graphical songs. Um, if you catch me at a show ask me about this story lol. Thankfully, while my friend’s teenage daughter also witnessed this said unmentionable exchange, I am beyond certain she had absolutely no idea what the band was singing about and I confirmed after the show that she is not scared for life.

    Photo-Randy Cook

    The Cult sounded phenomenal and Ian Asbury still has an amazing voice. A one hundred percent amazing show in a nearly acoustically perfect venue. I so look forward to seeing them again.

    Cruise to the Edge was an absolute blast, Obi Wan and I worked as part of the meet and greet photography team. We had a balcony cabin (my first time ever on my seventeenth overall and sixth music cruise) and woke up to paradise out the sliding door each morning. My first time ever with “Production” credentials. Which means there is no three song limit from the photo pit (which is the norm with media credentials) and I shot on stage with the bands at various times for the first time ever. Initially that was a terrifying experience as I took each and every step up there carefully, as I did not want to trip over a wire and bring the show to a halt. Shooting on stage turned out to be the most exhilarating experience I have ever had doing concert photography.

    Photo-Randy Cook

    A special shout out filled with much appreciation to the Spicy Ginger for having us along on board. Overall I saw forty six performances (including the sail away party), Obi Wan and I each did four meet and greet shoots and again, new friends were made.

    Photo-Randy Cook

    Jackyl was a fun show and also a people watching gold mine given the venue. I have always loved this band and every time I have seen them live they put on a great, very highly spirited rock n roll show, and this night was no different. 

    Shooting the Pussy Riot show was an experience. To say I was expecting an actual band to play, when the emcee of the night said we were minutes away from Pussy Riot hitting the stage and me only seeing a table at the back of the stage with a laptop on it I turned and asked Obi Wan “Where’s the drum kit?”

    Let us just say I have a newfound enjoyment of electronic music after seeing this show. It was very hypnotic, sensual and angry all at the same time. It was a heightened crowd and ‘band’ as the show was the headliner show of the local Pride Festival. The major abortion ruling had just rippled through the nation earlier that day so hence my description of the anger I felt from the band but they used that to bring solidarity to the crowd and it was just a powerful evening in many ways.  

    Photo-Randy Cook

    Def Leppard/Motley Crüe/Poison/Joan Jett at Wrigley Field was an out of this world show, trip, and experience. For the review I wrote as a fan in the stands I came up with what I consider as my best title ever with “Pour Some Shout at the Devil on Me”.

    A shout out of appreciation to my boss for the tickets, as much as I thought Motley Crüe kicked ass, I, the Chief Metal Maiden and those around us were in agreement that Poison stole the show.

    Photo-Randy Cook

    Volunteering to photo the Girls Rock St. Pete end of camp concert was an unexplainable experience for the fact that some of these girls had never picked up an instrument before the Girls Rock camp started a week ago and here they were on stage performing to a packed courtyard at Jannus Live.

    Photo-Randy Cook

    Obi Wan and I each submitted hundreds of shots and the reception and pure gratitude we received in return has us both anxious to volunteer again and photo as much of next year’s camp as possible in addition to the finale concert. This is a great organization and there are chapters all over the country. Girls Rock!

    Photo-Randy Cook

    Lord Nikon, his wife and another friend did a road trip to see Tom Kiefer Band/LA Guns/Faster Pussycat at The Ranch in Fort Myers. It was a huge venue inside with a bar along the wall all the way around and a giant ‘dance’ floor in the middle as it was apparent from all of the signed guitars on the wall it was mostly a county music venue.

    Conversation on the drive home included both how great the show was as well as how cool that venue was, how great the sound system there was and we all vowed to keep an eye on their event calendar.

    Photo-Randy Cook

    Anthrax/Black Label Society/Hatebreed – Before we even went into the show I was in the presence of the Holy Quartet of Jedi photographers (Joel, Steve, Mark, Lord Nikon). While I and several other photographers were not approved to photo Black Label Society somehow we all got to shoot the whole set, while we all had the normal three song limit for the opener and headliner).

    Photo-Randy Cook

    With the stage height only coming up to my waist at the House of Blues in Orlando, I got some of the best shots of any show I have ever photographed during their set (you should see the Holy Trinity’s collective jaw dropping shots – Lord Nikon did not photo).

    It was a killer show and a fun, literal at the last minute road trip with Lord Nikon as I did not even get the approval that I was credentialed until 3:30 PM the day of the show and then had to make the trek from Tampa over to Orlando as doors opened at 6 PM. So worth it!

    Photo-Randy Cook

    More appreciation goes out to the Spicy Ginger as she invited Obi Wan and I to the Monsters on the Mountain festival. Over the three day period I saw twenty eight performances, did five meet and greet shoots and met one of the most interesting, friendly and personable guys ever.

    Photo-Randy Cook

    For simplicity and to protect the identities of the innocent, I will call him Sparky and let me just say, within a few minutes of getting in for a ride in his (I have free candy but I am not a serial killer stalker) van, meeting and chatting with him it was like we had been friends for decades. I cannot wait to hang with you again Sparky! It has been great to keep in touch with you and follow your cross country adventures.

    Photo-Randy Cook

    Obi Wan and I hope this festival returns to Gatlinburg again next year so we can put a day on either side of the festival to explore and photo the area. For this trip we didn’t arrive until after 2 AM the morning of the festival (Friday), each ‘worked’ almost forty hours and had an airport pick up at 5:15 AM on Monday. Such a fun trip and Sparky was only one of the new friends I met.

    Photo-Randy Cook

    Seeing Paradise Kitty and The Iron Maidens in Milwaukee was the record breaking show for the year and it was not even September yet. This was my twenty sixth show of the year, breaking my previous record attained in 2014.

    The Maidens sounded awesome and even played the hardly ever performed live “Rime Of The Ancient Mariner” which clocks in at over thirteen minutes. The Kittens rocked the house and the whole night again solidly proves that Girls Rock!

    Photo-Randy Cook

    What I called and considered the Tour of Biblical Proportions, Testament/Exodus/Death Angel absolutely obliterated the ground in and around Jannus to where I witnessed a portal to Hell open up in the mosh pit.

    Another people watching gold mine show, this was another show where I had to remind myself that I am not skilled enough to headbang and take (good) photos at the same time.

    Photo-Randy Cook

    Iron Maiden in Chicago was the longest wait in between ticket purchase date and the show date I have ever had to withstand (non-pandemic related or rescheduled). Ten months since the charge hit my credit card to the time the Chief Metal Maiden, two of our ‘Lake Bluff Bubble’ peeps and I entered the United Center for what was all three of their first time seeing this legendary band. To say it was an awesome show was an understatement.

    The set list was pure brilliance, a great time was had by all in our group and I still had the local Tampa show to look forward to in two weeks.

    Photo-Randy Cook

    The Iron Maidens at OCC Roadhouse had the same people watching gold mine qualities as this venue always has. This time here my view was from side stage as we were allowed to photo the whole show from inside the crowd and the Maidens put on another stellar performance. They really mixed up the deep cuts of their set list from only a few weeks ago.

    Photo-Randy Cook

    Iron Maiden in Tampa I guess technically was a longer wait from ticket purchase to the show but you get the idea it was a long wait. This show was a reunion of three buds, Timbro, The Foz and it and was Timbro’s son’s first ever concert. We reminisced about how Timbro’s first concert was with The Foz and I back in 1987 (Motley Crüe and Guns n Roses).

    The sound quality of this show was far better than in Chicago and to where I would say the best ever sounding show I had ever seen at that venue.  Four of my last five shows were Iron Maiden related, and three of them were in October so instead of Rocktober I referred to it as Maiden Month. One other item to note was this show was the 139th and final performance of the ”Legacy of the Beast’ tour that started in 2019 and of course was pandemic delayed.

    I had attended the opening night of the North American leg in Sunrise, FL in 2019 and got to close out this tour with a treasured, highly detailed, ‘Easter egg’ filled Iron Maiden event shirt commemorating the tour itself. Only time in my life I have ever bought four shirts at the same tour (three online, saving that hour long wait in the merch line) and for the one I got in Tampa, when I popped out quick during one of the songs and came home with fabric gold! 

    Photo-Randy Cook

    Twist of the dial with a (mostly) reggae show in Virginia. While the trip also included a Lightning hockey game and some sightseeing, the chance to catch an out of town show was high on the list and much appreciated. The show was super chill with some extremely talented musicians. A nice change of musical pace. Definitely more reggae shows in my future.

    Photo-Randy Cook

    The Scott Stapp show was the other where I was not photo credentialed for but still was able to bring my camera. I had won tix for a section in front of the VIP section (SVIP – a new higher priced category I had not yet heard of) and this eventually got me on the rail up front. Scott still has his amazing voice, it was perfect weather for an outdoor show, and I got some great shots.

    Photo-Randy Cook

    Seeing W.A.S.P. in Orlando was the culmination of a teenage dream so many years ago to see them live. Life and their tour dates never matched up until this tour was announced and not quite as long of a wait as Iron Maiden, but we bought the tix back in January.

    An epic road trip which finally introduced Lord Nikon to The Foz and the show was beyond epic in itself. This time I only have to wait a mere seven days to see them again!

    Photo-Randy Cook

    W.A.S.P. in Chicago may be the epic adventure of the year. Lord Nikon’s connections back home got us tickets to the sold out show on the first of the only back to back stops on their tour.
    Then prior to the Saturday show he and I both got to watch a bit of the W.A.S.P. sound check and also check out the Arcada Theatre.

    He and I agreed that this was the coolest venue either of us had ever been to. Then we got to hang out for the Armored Saint sound check before returning to the venue a few hours later for the sold out show we originally bought tickets and planned
    the trip for. It was concert history for me as it was the first time I had seen the same band for three concerts in a row and my third time seeing W.A.S.P. within a week.

    Photo-Randy Cook

    Cannibal Corpse once again decimated and laid waste to Jannus and by far it was the darkest show I saw of the year as one of the opening bands literally had the crowd chanting “Hail Satan.”

    There were dozens of people there proudly displaying their face corpse paint and upside down crosses on their foreheads. Thankfully this show was on a Saturday night so it was not too long before I could get to church and repent. I saw all four bands and did not understand a single word being sung. That is awesome!

    Photo-Randy Cook

    Jinjer was freaking amazing– I had never heard a band sound so good at Jannus. P.O.D. certainly has me as a new fan after hearing more beyond just their radio tunes. To say that Tatiana mesmerizes me is an understatement and my review of the show spawned this literary gem of me describing her on stage.

    She transitions from that super sweet girl next door with a smile that will melt your soul to an alluring succubus that will rip your f*cking heart out just for the fun of it. I already yearn for my next Jinjer show.”

    Photo-Randy Cook

    I would say it is hard to put into words the experiences I have had this year, but here we are almost thirty three hundred words later. All I can say is wow! What an amazing year.

    My favorite show of the year? It has to be seeing Metallica in Las Vegas. It is Metallica. It is Las Vegas. They finally hit double digits in my overall count. A promise was fulfilled to the Chief Metal Maiden for her to see them for her first time. The week leading up the show was a whirlwind tour of the city and part of the Grand Canyon. The show itself was absolutely awesome as those guys are still kicking ass.  

    Photo-Randy Cook

    Months prior when I bought the tickets  Ticketmaster received much ire from me as we should have had great seats, but one of the infamous Ticketmaster SNAFU errors put me back in the queue at the time of purchase. Still, it was freaking Metallica in Vegas and if tomorrow they scheduled another concert there I would find a way to make it!

    Serious contenders for show of the year has to include Anthrax/Black Label Society/Hatebreed (for the photo experience I had). Both Iron Maiden shows (Tampa for the sound quality, but also for the band to put out what I think is their best ever event shirt). Def Leppard/Motley Crüe/Poison/Joan Jett (for the epicness of the whole trip, the venue and the show).

    Photo-Randy Cook

    Tom Kiefer Band/LA Guns/Faster Pussycat (for how fun the adventure was and how killer all three bands sounded) and the second day of Monsters of the Mountain which had me seeing a Ratt iteration for the first time since 1991 and Queensrÿche kicking ass. I could add in several more shows here – seriously, the whole year kicked ass.

    Photo-Randy Cook

    All three festivals I attended (two of them cruises) were the funnest times ever (I say that about every music cruise). Great people, great friends, great bands and great destinations. Good times.

    My favorite newly discovered band is Nerd Halen, by far. I got to see two of their shows and I shot their meet and greet sessions on the Monsters of Rock Cruise and at Monsters on the Mountain.

    Photo-Randy Cook

    Their performances are musically so spot on accurate, entire Van Halen career spanning and with the mixed in comedic gold of lead singer Hal Sparks I was laughing my ass off and headbanging through both of their shows.

    Photo-Randy Cook

    Both of their shows left Obi Wan and me still talking about it days and weeks later, and they were months apart. After getting to spend some time with them in and around the meet and greet shoots I count them all as new friends and say that they are the nicest, most humble guys you could possibly meet.

    Photo-Randy Cook

    What a year. And 2023 is already looking pretty kick ass as at the time I conclude this I am booked on three more music cruises, have tickets to three shows and my friends and I always have eyes and ears out for announced tours.

    To see my favorite concert photos of the year go here.

    To see the list of shows and bands I saw in 2022 go here and start with show number 255.

    C.M.O.

    \m/

  • Head Banging on the High Seas on the Monsters Of Rock Cruise (MORC)

    Head Banging on the High Seas on the Monsters Of Rock Cruise (MORC)

    (Photo-Randy Cook)

    After returning home from the Monsters of Rock Cruise (MoRC) on February 14th, I had spent a solid four and a half days after work organizing my photos into a daily chronological order. I was able to post a photo gallery of my favorite shots from each day as a daily best of before leaving for another concert related trip. I wrote four pages of notes for this on the way to my first ever visit to Las Vegas to see my tenth Metallica show and wrote this review up through the cruise’s second day on my way back. For the fourth year in a row of my MoRC reviews, I say it was the funnest week ever and I already cannot wait for MoRC 2023!

    (Photo-Randy Cook)

    Before saying anything about all the fun we had I must give thanks and props to the team behind the scenes for making this year’s cruise go on as planned after the cluster f*ck we experienced with Covid preventing us from sailing in 2021. As Covid re-surged in the weeks leading up to this year’s cruise I was in doubt it was even going to happen. Sure there were band cancellations in the weeks and days leading up to sailing but the MoRC team worked diligently to fill the holes and it turned out one of the very last bands (Nerd Halen) added to the mix put on what I thought was the stand out performance of the cruise for me!

    (Photo-Randy Cook)

    An additional shout out goes to the other behind the scenes teams who work night and day so we cruisers can have a safe outing on board. Between the stage hands and the security team none of this would be possible without their efforts and this being my fourth credentialed time on this cruise I have gotten to know several people on these teams and want to make sure their efforts to keep the schedule on time and venue entry unchaotic are well known. Thank you everyone!

    (Photo-Randy Cook)

    Sadly this year my cabin mate Ben, who I had met on my first MoRC in 2018, was not able to attend and I was in sort of a scramble to fill his slot in the cabin and help him recoup some of the costs involved. Thankfully my longtime friend Brian (B Man) was able to secure the necessary time off of work and for the third time in my four MoRC’s I would get to experience the wonder of this event from someone who had no idea what they were in for!

    (Photo-Randy Cook)

    This was also the second year I was invited onto the photo experience team where I would be taking the meet and greet photos of the cruisers who wanted to get a photo of themselves with their favorite rockers. This year that also included volunteering working the door entry for the private pre-cruise sail away concert, checking in cruisers and directing them to the private area we had at the Magic City Casino in Miami. Attending the pre-cruise party also ensures that we are already in the city of departure the day before, therefore alleviating any day of travel related issues of getting to the cruise port in time for departure.

    Vixen (Photo-Randy Cook)

    B Man and I arrived at the Casino and got to the concert area with just a few songs left in Rhino Bucket’s set. We spent that time searching for familiar faces for me so I could introduce B Man and also picking our spots and sightlines to photo the next two bands from the crowd. I knew I had at least a half hour of Vixen’s set before it was my scheduled volunteer time at the door and I would have about the same time, a half hour to see headliner Vandenberg once my volunteer time was completed.

    Vixen (Photo-Randy Cook)

    I was so excited to see Vandenberg as I had been a fan ever since my teen years when I had heard his “Burning Heart” song released in 1982. B man and I both got some great shots of Vixen and Vandenberg, then after the show I found out that Vixen bassist Share Ross had announced that she is “taking a hiatus” from the band and her replacement, Richie Kotzen’s wife, Julia Lage, came out and played several songs. This I would have loved to witness but B Man had my back, showing me several photos of the time I was away. After the show on our drive back to our hotel, I could already hear the excitement in B Man’s voice over what we just experienced, me knowing he still had no idea what he was in for starting the next day.

    Vandenberg (Photo-Randy Cook)

    As in prior MoRC years, the embarkation process was a breeze and the next thing you know, we are feet onboard the ship heading to do a luggage drop off before exploring the ship. Next step is to try and recall the fastest way in between the various venues where the bands would be playing as there is often set time crossover where one must decide which band you want to see more.

    Enuff Z’Nuff (Photo-Randy Cook)

    Thankfully this was the same class of ship as prior cruises so I was already familiar with the layout. Onward to our first show of the cruise, Enuff Z’Nuff was the first of what turned out to be forty two shows seen this year. Then it was time for the photo experience team meeting so we knew what to expect of us before, during and after each of our scheduled shoots. Since we all had been on the team in prior years it was more of a catch up session with the photogs that had not been able to attend the sail away show the night before.

    (Photo-Randy Cook)

    As I have done in prior years I will share personal highlights of each day and the performances I saw or else I would be here writing for weeks on end there is so much to do and see on MoRC. I will end this with a chronological order of the bands I saw on each day.  Seeing old friends and starting to make new ones always seems to be the highlight of the first day as all of my MoRC friends live in different cities or even countries. I have made some lifelong friends on these cruises, as we are all there for the same reason, and MoRC is the only time I get to see them.

    Beasto Blanco (Photo-Randy Cook)

    In the days prior to sailing away the day 1 set time schedule was released and I knew the highlight for me this day would be seeing Beasto Blanco again. They were one of my ‘discovered gems’ of a band from the 2018 MoRC and I had been yearning to see them again ever since. Their set was a must see for me! What turned out to be utterly amazing was that our photog group got let into the venue ahead of the fans while the band was just starting their sound check. The band sound checked for rather a long time and we got to photo the whole sound check as well as the first three songs from up front once the show started.

    Beasto Blanco (Photo-Randy Cook)

    It was an awesome experience as the band members interacted with each of us photogs and left nothing on the table once their show started – giving it their all with a kick ass performance. Other musical highlights for me this day include seeing MoRC staple band Kix and my 2020 ‘discovered gem’ H.E.A.T. By the time B Man and I sat down for a late night snack of pizza we had seen seven shows already and now B Man had a better idea of what to expect in the days ahead.

    H.E.A.T (Photo-Randy Cook)

    As expected, the breakfast of our second day aboard was filled with conversation between B Man and me about how killer the previous day was and pouring over the schedule for the day to see who all we would see and figure out the best times to try and acquire food between shows. This day was also the first of my three scheduled photo experience sessions.

    Kix (Photo-Randy Cook)

    Today I would be doing the photo shoot for Lillian Axe. As a photographer and a fan, these photo sessions give us extra time to hang out with the band as I organize who will be where in front of the backdrop and take a few practice shots to get my camera settings dialed in as once the doors open up, it is a steady stream of cruisers who want to get their photo with the various bands.

    Lillian Axe (Photo-Randy Cook)

    Once the photo session was done, B Man and I headed to the stage on the pool deck to get the day’s rocking started. After the first three songs with Crazy Lixx performing I take a wander to the second level of the pool deck to get a few test shots from the opposite railing just to see how they would come out so I could plan for future bands whether this was a good vantage point to photo from. Even though every MoRC I have been on has been the same class of ship the pool stage set up has been different on all four cruises so it is always an experiment of where to shoot from once we exit the photo pit.

    (Photo-Randy Cook)

    This was also the day of our visiting CocoaCay island in the Bahamas and while I did get some great shots of the island from the ship we opted not to get off the ship. Mostly because there was some killer rock in the hours ahead but also because B Man and I already live in an island paradise so I am used to seeing palm trees and crystal clear blue water at the beach.

    Crazy Lixx (Photo-Randy Cook)

    This day’s musical highlight for me was seeing Slaughter. I have been a fan of this band forever and I finally got to see them on the 2020 MoRC and was blown away back then about how great they sounded – many times over the years, these lead singers from the 80s start to lose their vocal range over the years and rely on the crowd to carry certain parts of songs but man, Mark Slaughter still has that golden voice and their set in my opinion was near perfection.

    Salughter (Photo-Randy Cook)

    They played every single one of my favorite Slaughter songs and started off with my favorite, ‘Mad About You’. The rest of the day musically for me was a mix of new bands I had never even heard of before (Nestor and Firewind – again, this is where my ‘hidden gems’ are discovered) and bands I have previously seen (Winger, Dangerous Toys and Jeff Scott Soto.

    Dangerous Toys (Photo-Randy Cook)

    I had just seen Soto play in Tampa with Trans-Siberian Orchestra back in December). This day was also a good example for B Man of why food had to be acquired on the run as it was a non-stop rock schedule for us, taking in nine shows this day.

    Winger (Photo-Randy Cook)

    Prior to this cruise I had taken the photo experience photo I had gotten with Beasto Blanco back in 2018 and merged it side by side with one of the favorite photos I had taken of them and got it printed out in the hopes of getting it autographed. Wouldn’t you know, that as B Man and I approached the pizza location for a late night snack, there are three of the five Beasto Blanco members just sitting there relaxing and I approach them and inquire if they thought they would be there for at least five minutes, if I had time to go and retrieve the photo for them to sign.

    Beasto Blanco (Photo-Randy Cook)

    They said sure, no problem and in a tear off I go. It was a surreal moment upon my return as I got to chat with Chuck (rhythm guitarist and main vocalist), Calico (both lead and backup vocals) and Chris (lead guitarist) and share my story of how I ‘accidently’ discovered them onboard in 2018 and was blown away from the first note of their show I saw back then. They had quickly become one of my favorite bands in those years since. All three of them gave me props on the portion of the photo that I took and gladly signed my print and it already has become one of my most cherished autographed items of rock memorabilia that I have.

    Beasto Blanco (Photo-Randy Cook)

    Our third day started off much like the prior day did. Breakfast conversation started with how killer the day before was and then we started pouring over today’s schedule to see who all we could see and again, try to figure out when there would be time for sustenance to keep us going. Again today I had another photo experience shoot, this time with Nerd Halen. After the fact, let me just say oh my gosh these guys were hilarious. I did not get to see their first set onboard and really knew nothing more about the band than they were a Van Halen tribute.

    (Photo-Randy Cook)

    The hilarity involved as cruisers came up and I heard several yell out “NERD” as they approached the band, much like ‘Ogre’ did in the “Revenge of the Nerds” movie. It was a really fun time doing their shoot and I got to spend quite a bit of time with Caleb, their guitarist, at my next photo experience shoot on our last day. More on that to come.

    Nerd Halen (Photo-Randy Cook)

    Another note, one of the security guys later in the day mentioned Nerd Halen’s lead singer was a voice actor in his son’s favorite cartoon and that made B Man and I look up who it was and we discovered their lead singer is Hal Sparks, who has had parts in many moves, and one of my all-time favorites “Dude, Where’s my Car?” B Man and I made it a point right there that we HAD to see Nerd Halen’s second show the next day.

    (Photo-Randy Cook)

    The musical highlight for me this day was seeing Vandenberg.  This man is such a guitar virtuoso it is amazing to watch his fingers fly over the frets. After being a fan for more than thirty years, here I am seeing him play a second time in the past four days! This day I also saw a second performance in as many days with Winger, Lit, Dangerous Toys and Crazy Lixx. During the H.E.A.T performance this day I had to laugh because of my photo positioning for part of their show.

    H.E.A.T (Photo-Randy Cook)
    Vandenberg (Photo-Randy Cook)

    Their lead singer, Kenny Leckremo, came out literally almost naked for this set and there was a more than once where I had a great shot of the action on stage lined up only to have his, um, junk, get in the way – as we photogs would close in for a shot, he seemed to close the distance between us and what we were trying to photo. So I stepped back to re-position myself and photo from a different angle. I know I was not the only photographer who encountered this and I do not think it was overly intentional as that is a very high energy band and Kenny is all over the stage as he sings. I also had a little bit of a ‘time mishap’ this day.

    Vandenberg (Photo-Randy Cook)

    I had mentioned prior about band sets overlapping and somehow I guess I forgot how to tell time and missed two thirds of the allotted time in the photo pit to photo Dangerous Toys. I totally cannot explain this one – was I busy getting more ice cream or something – how the frick did I momentarily lose the ability to tell time – I can laugh about it after the fact but I was a little bummed at the time I did not get the full three songs to photo them from up close.

    Vandenberg (Photo-Randy Cook)

    During our late night snack this day, we were sitting next to someone who had a killer beer and heavy metal related shirt and I asked if I could take a photo of the shirt and struck up a conversation with the person wearing it. I have met so many great people on board these cruises from conversations that start this exact same way – a comment about a shirt – and met this wonderful couple (Arthur and Andrea) from Arizona who travel the country doing reviews of breweries as the Heavy Metal Beer Club.

    Lillian Axe (Photo-Randy Cook)

    As a personal project a few years back I had documented establishments around the country that had metal themed menu related items and it segued our conversation even further, me offering to share my list. We have been in contact multiple times after the cruise already, and I am looking forward to seeing my new friends again, either with a meet up at a metal themed brewery coinciding with a concert somewhere or even if it has to wait till MoRC 2023.

    (Photo-Randy Cook)

    Our fourth day onboard we decided we would take a stroll into Cozumel where we had docked earlier before we had even woken up. Breakfast conversation again centered around highlights for both B Man and I from the day before and we had the Nerd Halen set at 3PM highlighted as one we could NOT miss.

    Ted Polley (Photo-Randy Cook)

    While we were strolling around the port shop area we encountered the entire Beast Blanco entourage and then ventured our way out of the port shop area into ‘town’. I thought it was funny how as we walked past the locals and they hawk their goods, be it tours, t-shirts, Cuban cigars, or whatever, it was always their last ‘offering’ after we walked past that made me laugh. “Good ganja or primo marijuana” was the offer and while it made for some funny conversations with them as we kept walking, we did not take them up on any of their offers as we had no time to dally, rock was waiting for us back onboard.

    (Photo-Randy Cook)

    It is literally impossible for me to pinpoint a musical highlight on this day – there simply were too many to choose from today.  But I will have to say that a performance that left B Man and I still talking about days after the cruise has to take the highlight show of the whole trip. Nerd Halen was the most entertaining show I saw on this cruise. Amazing musicianship, mixed with witty, nerdly funny humor with a foundation of all things Van Halen including the Sammy Hagar years.

    Nerd Halen (Photo-Randy Cook)

    I was able to be in the photo pit for the first three songs, then made my way to the next level up directly across from the stage for their next few songs, then ventured on the same deck to a view above the back of their stage. This view gave me the vantage point of seeing how literally every single person on that pool deck and the deck above watching and listening was thoroughly enjoying the show and got me a point at by drummer Jeff (The Professor) Page who recognized me from the photo experience shoot the day before. He had turned around to address the crowd gathered above and behind him and he spotted me. This is a band that I seriously cannot wait to see again live!

    (Photo-Randy Cook)

    Other musical highlights this day included seeing Alice Cooper, the headliner of the cruise, as well as second shows for Beasto Blanco, Faster Pussycat, Kix, Nestor and axe man extraordinaire Mr. Vandenberg. When the full schedule of the cruise was released, seeing Beasto Blanco on the pool deck at 11 PM on a Saturday night sure seemed to be a highlight as a must see and the experience was nothing less than incredible.

    Nestor (Photo-Randy Cook)

    Alice Cooper put on a must see theatrical show and the set list spanned across all of his anthemic hits with a set that lasted well over an hour (the normal set times for bands onboard was 45-60 minutes).

    Alice Cooper (Photo-Randy Cook)

    For Alice Cooper, B Man and I were seated in the second row of the balcony in the ship’s theater, near center but right behind legendary rock photographer Mark Weiss. He (Mark) came to his seat ‘double barreled’ (having two cameras) and B Man and I made a noted point right then and there to go to his socials after the show and see what he posted from basically the same vantage point we had. I will say I was happily pleased with the shots I got at that distance as several from that show were among my favorites of the entire cruise.

    Tokyo Motor Fist (Photo-Randy Cook)

    After the fact and once I had gone through my photos, after seeing the photo that Mark Weiss posted from that show, I had a shot which was literally a split second after his and I got darn near the exact same shot he did. I laughingly say that his was framed a little better but in no way are my words here of any sort of comparison to the legend behind the lens, more like holy sh*t I got close! Once again this day ended with late night pizza and another conversation with our new friends from the Heavy Metal Beer Club.

    Alice Cooper (Photo-Randy Cook)
    Nita Strauss (Photo-Randy Cook)
    (Photo-Randy Cook)

    Musically the highlight for our final day for me was once again seeing Slaughter perform that same set list magic and I captured one of my top favorite cruise shots. Sure, it would have been nice for Slaughter to mix up their set list some, but that first go round was perfection for me so absolutely no complaints.

    Geoff Tate (Photo-Randy Cook)

    Second shows from Geoff Tate (where he played the entire ‘Empire’ release from Queensrÿche), Lillian Axe and Soto. During the Lillian Axe set, bassist Michael “Maxx” Darby recognized me in the photo pit  from the photo experience shoot, and played to my lens quite exclusively for my three songs up there.

    (Photo-Randy Cook)

    This being the day of the Super Bowl, the game was shown on the pool deck screen and we on the cruise had our own halftime show consisting of some kick ass tunes as Black ‘N Blue hit the pool stage the second halftime started. Near total physical exhaustion succumbed as I heard the last notes of my last show onboard after going nonstop for the last five days but the experience is so worth the recovery time once we get back to dry land and the reality of regular life.

    Mark Slaughter (Photo-Randy Cook)
    (Photo-Randy Cook)

    Sadly there comes a time when this fun had to end and B Man and I walked the Promenade deck as the ‘see you next year’ party took place and of course we took the opportunity for one more stop at the pizza place and you can guess who was there, our Heavy Metal Beer Club friends. I would say it is always sad to say good bye to friends but we MoRCers do keep in touch as we all share the same passion so I want to hear about the shows my friends go to and they want to hear about my adventures.

    Electric Boys (Photo-Randy Cook)

    That is one thing that is so awesome about a cruise like this is that we are all there for the same reason – a brother/sisterhood of rock and this is such an immersive experience as you are continually surrounded by the same people who you are watching and cheering for up on stage. B Man and I did take in a few of the other activities the ship has to offer, like mini-golf and ping pong. I visited the soft serve ice cream stand WAY too many times, but I also walked over thirty miles during this five day period (those numbers are from B Man’s watch app, but there were not many times when he and I went in different directions so I know my total is very close to his).

    (Photo-Randy Cook)

    I would like to take a moment here and give a shout out to my peeps who I got to hang with, to my new peeps that I met this year, and specifically to two of my peeps who unfortunately were not able to join us this year – Allyson and Ben – you both were missed and I look forward to rocking out with you next cruise!

    (Photo-Randy Cook)

    For as much work as there is on the backside of the cruise for me, organizing photos and documenting which bands I saw and such it is so worth the effort as the cruise is literally nonstop fun from the minute you step onboard.

    (Photo-Randy Cook)

    And of course this write up took me an additional week as Metallica did not check with me about my schedule before they announced last October their February show date in Las Vegas and that was a trip I had to take, but that is a whole story on its own. I highly suggest for any rock  concert going fan who has never done an event like this – do it – you will not regret it, in fact you will want to go on MoRC again the next year, and then again each and every year after. Booking starts soon for MoRC 2023!

    Bands I saw listed by day.

    Sail away party:
    Vandenberg, Vixen, Rhino Bucket

    Day 1:
    Beasto Blanco, Kix, Electric Boys, H.E.A.T, Enuff Z’Nuff, Rhino Bucket, Ted Poley

    Day 2:
    Slaughter, Tokyo Motor Fist, Dangerous Toys, Winger, Eclipse, Lit, Nestor, Firewind, Crazy Lixx

    Day 3:
    Vandenberg, The Quireboys, Buckcherry, Faster Pussycat, Richie Kotzen, Geoff Tate, Winger, Lillian Axe, Lit, Crazy Lixx, H.E.A.T, Dangerous Toys

    Day 4:
    Beasto Blanco, Faster Pussycat, Kix, Alice Cooper, Nestor, Vandenberg, Nerd Halen

    Day 5:
    Slaughter, Geoff Tate, Black ‘N Blue, Pat Travers, Soto, Lillian Axe

    More Photos From the MORC From Randy Cook

    Ritchie Kotzen
    Taime Downe
    Buck Cherry