The Dead Daisies played the final U.S. show in of their Resurrected tour last Sunday night at the Roxy Theatre, the famed rock club on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip. It was a packed house and the place was hotter than hell. There wasn’t a dry pair of armpits in the crowd; it smelled like rock n’ roll.
Brian Tichy of The Dead Daisies
Roxy Theatre
September 10, 2023
The opening act, The Bad Moods, played a rousinghalf-hour set, and after about a minute into their set the audience’s enthusiasm had clearly been piqued.
With a small drum kit planted within a few feet of the people in the front row, Chico Diaz hit the skins with authority, laying down a tight rhythm while making frequent eye contact with the room. Singer Josh Kennedy and bassist Jordan Hoffman seemed to feed off the crowd’s energy, working the stage despite the limited amount of space allotted. Included in the bands short, yet memorable set were two strong covers: Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers “I Need to Know” and “N.I.B.” from Black Sabbath.
The Dead Daisies hit the stage at full-tilt, opening the show aptly with “Resurrected”, delivering the type of pulverizing sonic onslaught they’re known for. Singer John Corabi, who had returned to the Daisies earlier in the year (replacing Glenn Hughes), sang powerfully and with conviction. It had been five years since they had played the Roxy and the L.A. crowd gave a lot of their love.
Guitarist Doug Aldrich, whose offstage manner is laid-back and calm, unveiled his onstage rockstar doppelgänger, playing his guitar with a physicality that always makes him a focal point wherever he plugs in. Ex-Whitesnake bassist Michael Devin, the newest member in the group, provided the rhythm and groove along with background vocals. Devin is a high-energy performer and added visual excitement on stage left.
Brian Tichy’s drum solo was a jaw dropper. There are few in the business who play with the power, dexterity, and impeccable timekeeping as this drummer. Moreover, he is amazingly animated and fun to watch.
The 18-song setlist, in this reviewer’s opinion, was unexceptional. As strong as the last two albums(Holy Ground and Radiance) were with singer/bassist Glenn Hughes, those songs are better sung by Hughes than Corabi. With so many solid Corabi-penned songs in the Daisies discography, having three Hughes-era songs on the setlist didn’t work very well.
Whether in a stadium setting with thousands of people or a club like The Roxy that maxes out at around 500, this five-piece band is a take-no-prisoners powerhouse. And The Dead Daisies members and ex-members are like family by virtue of the different bands they’ve played in together. Aldrich, Devin, and drummer Brian Tichy played in Whitesnake as one example. Revolution Saints is another group where there is familial crossover.
On their set closer, Devin and Corabi switched off vocal parts on the Whitesnake bruiser “Slide it In” much to the fans’ delight.
