Night Ranger July 4 2025

  Another free show at my hometown Fourth of July celebration "The Haynes Apperson Festival". This is another band I've never really followed. I knew some of their songs, I just didn't know they were theirs. Except "Sister Christian". Everyone that listened to popular music in the early to mid 1980's knew that was Night Ranger. I'm sure it was their biggest hit, but not my favorite song. As a matter of fact, it was the song that kept me from looking further into their music. I'm sorry that happened now. I missed out on a lot of good Rock n Roll music. The main reason I wanted to go was to see Brad Gillis, the guitar player. Before Night Ranger hit the mainstream, Brad was given the task of filling the shoes of Randy Rhoads in Ozzy Osbourne's band. Most people know the story, but if not here's a quick recap. 

 Randy Rhoads was a gifted guitar player that helped Ozzy start his solo career by recording two of the most influential albums in Heavy Metal history (The Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of A Madman). While on tour, Randy and a few others died in a crazy airplane crash. Leaving Ozzy without a guitar player to finish the tour. After a very short time off the Diary of A Madman tour resumed with on Bernie Torme from Ian Gillan's band for about 9 shows if memory serves me right. And then in steps Brad Gillis. I listened to many bootleg recordings over the years of shows that Brad did, and he may not be Randy Rhoads, but he is definitely a Hell of a guitar player in his own right! And he also recorded the live album "Speak of The Devil" with Ozzy covering a bunch of Black Sabbath songs. Oddly enough, across the pond in Jolly Olde England, The stage was being set for Ozzy's farewell performance. My personal opinion is that Brad should have been there along with his other former bandmates to jam with The Boss (as Zakk Wylde would say), but alas Brad was in Kokomo Indiana getting ready to play with his own band, and I was going to be there to watch. 

 Originally, I was going to go to the show by myself or possibly with my wife, get some pictures, and cut out early. But after talking to my friend Mike on the way home from the Weird Al show the night before, I found out Mike was a big fan and wanted to go to the show too. So we stayed for the whole show. And I'm glad I did. Here's the set list and some of my favorite pictures.

(You Can Still) Rock In America

The Star Spangled Banner (with Brad Gillis Guitar Solo)

Four In The Morning

Sing Me Away

Coming Of Age

Sentimental Street

School's Out

Crazy Train

Night Ranger

High Enough

When You Close Your Eyes

Don't Tell Me You Love Me

Sister Christian

 I really liked a lot of what I heard. I'm still not crazy about Sister Christian. But I'm definitely a fan of the rest.   

Weird Al Yankovic July 3 2025

  This was not a show that was on my radar. Not that I'm not a fan, I just never actually considered going to see Weird Al live. Mike bought the tickets for this one because he mainly wanted to see the opening act, Puddle's Pity Party. So I went along. Mike has came to shows with me for bands that he wouldn't normally go see, and I like Weird Al, so no problem there. Plus, there was a stop along the way I wanted to make. I am a photography nut (not that yo could tell from the shitty pics from my phone I post of the shows I've been to) and a history nerd. So I wanted to make a stop at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis before we went to the show. A cemetery with A U.S. President and Public Enemy #1. And one of the coolest mausoleums I have ever seen!

                                                                  Benjamin Harrison

                                                                     John Dillinger

                                                      Yes That castle is a mausoleum!

 After that, we hit up the Guggman Haus Brewing Company for some tasty Beer and a Coney Dog.

 Then, on to the show. Like I said earlier, The opener was Puddle's Pity Party. Now don't get me wrong, the guy can sing! He's got a great voice and he did have an entertaining show. But. I think he needs an actual band. I wouldn't pay to much to see a clown do Karaoke. Mike enjoyed it, and since he bought the tickets, that's all that matters. I guess I enjoyed it to. I'm not sure if this is the right setlist or not. Here's the setlist from his next show and it looks like the same set. And a pic.

 I'm Always Chasing Rainbows

Come Cry With Me

Crazy Train

Afraid Of Nothing

Estoy Sentado Aqui

Come On Up To The House

In The End

Stairway To Gilligan's Island

My Heart Will Go On/Enter Sandman/One

 We were sitting in the lawn and the guy next to us was getting sloppy drunk. He made the couple behind him miss most of the show. Why would you spend that much money on a ticket just to get shit faced drunk and start arguing with your adult kids that came with you. I doubt he saw any of the show. Oh well, he was annoying but didn't ruin my show. He annoyed Mike a little more and that sucks, but it didn't get to far out of hand thankfully. 

 I have been a fan of Al's since I was about 10 years old. Whenever the "Eat It" video hit MTV. It never crossed my mind that he actually did concerts. I don't know why. Any who, thanks to Mike I was about to enjoy a slice of my childhood. Here's the setlist.

Tacky

Roadie Solo

Mission Statement

Polkamania!

Drum Solo

Everything You Know Is Wrong

One More Minute

Smells Like Nirvana

Dare To Be Stupid

Medley : Party In The CIA/It's All About The Pentiums/Bedrock Anthem/My Bologna/Ricky/ Ode To A   Superhero/ I Love Rocky Road/Eat It/Like A Surgeon/Word Crimes/Canadian Idiot

Fat

Captain Underpants Theme

Now You Know

What Is Life

It's My World (And We're All Living In It)

Skipper Dan

Drum Solo (because they were 38 seconds ahead of schedule)

Ebay

Stop Forwarding That Crap To Me

White And Nerdy

Amish Paradise

We All Have Cell Phones

The Saga Begins

Yoda

 The pictures are crappy, but the show was awesome. The band was amazing. There were costume changes and movie clips and a lot of songs I've never heard. I'm going to have to look into them a little bit closer. They finished the show with some sort of choreographed chant that was quite impressive. The only thing I was upset about was that "Eat It" was not played in it's entirety. And I would have liked to hear "The Ballad Of Jed Clampett" but hey, he can't play them all. Anyway, I had a blast! Thanks Mike!

Metallica at Sonic Temple May 9 2025

 I bought these tickets for my kids for Christmas. It was not a hard decision. My daughter wanted to see Rob Zombie and he just happened to be on the same night as my favorite band! So to say it was just for them it would be a lie. It was totally for me too. Especially when I saw the rest of the lineup. It was billed as "The Heaviest Day In America". And in my opinion, they are not wrong! Overkill, Exodus, Testament, Suicidal Tendencies, Rob Zombie, Metallica, and many others!

 Three of my all time favorite bands and several others that I really like. So I was buying these tickets. Even though the week after I bought the tickets, I was laid off from my job. Oh well. I am very happy that I was able to go with my Daughter and Son-in-Law. Any time spent with them is the best. Kristeen was pregnant last year when Kaden, Cyin and I went to see the Misfits. So it was nice she could go this year and that there was someone she really wanted to see (Rob Zombie). Cyin couldn't make it this year because his wife was very pregnant and he couldn't leave her by herself. So Kaden brought another old friend of his Dustin. I had met him a few times before, he's a good kid, and I'm glad he and Kaden had time to catch up on the three and a half hour car ride there. There were a few things worrying me. I had forgot to buy a parking pass. And there were reports from the first day that there was construction in the area and parking was limited. We lucked out on the parking. Parking passes were $50. As we were headed towards the general parking area, we had noticed some cars parking on a strip of grass along the street. I saw an empty spot, whipped my car around and backed into the spot. None of the other cars had any special permit so I just assumed it was a free for all. It was a little nerve racking all night. Not knowing if the car would get towed. We shall see.  And also, Kristeen was fighting a bit of a respiratory infection and having trouble breathing. She had an inhaler which helped and said she was good to go, and she is thirty and capable of making her own decisions, but looking back now, she probably should have stayed home. I should have been more of a dad at that point and not put her in that situation. She was good standing in one place. It was the long walks that would get her short of breath. And there was a lot of walking just to get in. We had to stop a few times for her to catch her breath. It was at that point where I was getting worried. I hate seeing her like that. But she made it in and all was good.

 I know the kids don't really follow all the same bands I do, so just like last year we split up for the first part of the day and caught up with each other later. I wasn't going to make them miss any bands they wanted to see while i was watching the ones I wanted to see. So I took off. 

 Most of what I wanted to see was on the main stage. So first up... Overkill. I have some Overkill CDs in my collection and have always liked what I heard, but was not ever really a big fan. But I was not going to miss them. And good thing, because they ripped! I really only knew two songs from there set but it definitely made me want to look into them more. When I was about fourteen years old, I had heard that they had an album (it was an EP) called "Fuck You".  And as a Fourteen year old, that sounded like the coolest thing ever! I went into a local record store at the time (Around 1989 or 90) And had to try and have them order it. I had to flip through a catalog that had everything they could order, fill out a slip, and hope for the best. It never came.  I was sad. Then they re released it in the late 90's and I finally got it. And they played the title track from it today. That was one of the two I knew. So here's the setlist and a crappy phone pic. 

Scorched ( I showed up in the middle of this one)

Hello From The Gutter

The Surgeon

Bring Me the Night

Elimination

Fuck You

                                                                                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

 

 After Overkill, a lot of people left the main stage area and I was able to move much closer for EXODUS! I've been an Exodus fan for a long time. The whole Bay Area Thrash scene from the 80's just speaks to me. I wish I could have experienced it! I haven't seen them live as many times as I would have liked, this is only the second time, and I've got a great view! It was really good to see Tom Hunting healthy after his Cancer scare. Gary Holt Rules! Jack, Lee, and Rob Dukes back on the mike. This IS Thrash Metal at it's finest!

Bonded By Blood

The Beatings Will Continue (Until Morale Improves)

Blacklist

War Is My Shepherd

A Lesson In Violence (w/David Sanchez from Havok)

The Toxic Waltz

Strike Of The Beast

 

Wall of Death!

 That was heavy! And it's not letting up! I think I will just stay where I am because Testament is next!

This was the only real conflict of interests I had for the day, Armored Saint, whom I have never seen before, was starting on a different stage. And it is in my opinion that John Bush is one of the best metal singers of all time. And I usually don't care much for singers. The thing is, I like Armored Saint, but I know John Bush from his time in Anthrax. And they won't be performing any Anthrax songs today. So it just so happens, Chuck Billy is one of the other few singers that I really like. Plus Alex Skolnick and  Eric Peterson are two of the greatest guitar duos of all time! And on top of everything, they are going to be playing some deep cuts off of the album "Practice What You Preach" So I think I'm going to stay right here.

Practice What You Preach

Sins of Omission

Perilous Nation

Time Is Coming

Envy Life

Nightmare (Coming Back To You)

Return To Serenity

Into The Pit

 Now I was going to cut out early from Testament to head to the other side of the festival to catch Suicidal Tendencies who started at the same time that Testament was scheduled to end. But who can leave early when they are playing "Into The Pit"! So as soon as they played their last note, I high tailed it out of there! At this point in the day, my dogs are barking LOUD! My feet were on fire! But I moved as fast as I could because Suicidal Tendencies were a must see for me! Robert Trujillo played for ST for quite a while, and now his son Tye has taken over Bass duties. And to be honest, I was really looking for a little Father Son jam. That didn't happen, but it didn't need to. ST was amazing on their own. Mike Muir is still Cyco! This is where I caught back up with the kids also. Here's the set list and horrible pics.

You Can't Bring Me Down

Institutionalized

Send Me Your Money

Subliminal

Adrenaline Addict

Cyco Vision

How Will I Laugh Tomorrow

Guitar Player Crowd Surfing  

 

 I miraculously found the kids in the middle of the ST set. I was hoping to make my way back for Alice Cooper when ST finished up, but at this point, my feet were about to murder me if I didn't give them a break. The kids were ready for a little break in the shade too. It wasn't hot out, as a matter of fact, It was a beautiful day, but we found a shady spot on some grass and took a little break. I do regret not going in to watch Alice Cooper though. I have seen him before, and it's a Hell of a show.

                                                        Me and my little girl takin a break

 This was also a good time to grab a little something to eat. And the Blackened Whiskey and Burger Bar was calling my name! I wish I would have took a pic of the menu, but they had Metallica song themed burgers. I think I got the "Master of Burgers"  It came with chips and a drink in a "Metallica Happy Meal" box. even the container for the chips had a Metallica logo on it. Now the Collector in me was wanting to fold the whole thing up and take it home, but it was just to big. I shed a tear when I had to throw it away. I did keep the little plastic cup the drink came in, and at the bottom of the box was a three pack of guitar picks! SCORE!  The Burger was pretty good too. 

   Now rested and fed we can make it to the end of the night. Municipal Waste is one of those bands that have been on my Radar for a while now, but I've yet to pull the trigger on buying any CDs. They were good. I'm sure it would have been even better if I had known the songs. I gotta get some of their music into my collection soon. Here's what I heard

Sadistic Magician

Slime and Punishment

Breathe Grease

You're Cut Off

The Thrashin' of The Christ

Wave Of Death

Unknown Song

Restless and Wicked

The Art of Partying

Born To Party

 So now we head back into the Stadium for Rob Zombie. This is why Kristeen wanted to go. This is why I bought the tickets for her for Christmas. What I always forget to think about is that she is so short, and I bought field tickets! I hope she was able to see more than the video screens, but I doubt it, since I couldn't see very well either. It was a little crowded. I will make it up to her some time some way. Now I never really got into much of his solo material, but I loved White Zombie and was hoping for "Black Sunshine" but alas it was not meant to be. Interestingly though, while checking the setlist.fm site it says that "Creature of the Wheel" was last played September 18 2016 at Riot Fest in Chicago. I was there for that one too. Here's the setlist.

Demon Speeding

Dead City Radio and the new Gods of Supertown

Feel So Numb

Well, Everybody's Fucking In A U.F.O.

Superbeast

The Lords of Salem

The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition)

More Human Than Human

Creature of the Wheel

Living Dead Girl (Had some major tech issues here and Rob got pissed! Had to restart the song) 

Thunder Kiss '65

Dragula

                                                                   Me and my squad!

 Up next... METALLICA!!! Now this is the first time I've ever seen them on twice on the same tour. Kristeen, Kaden, and I saw them in Detroit back in November of 2023. They are still doing the "No Repeat Weekend" shows. We are only doing the first night this weekend. And unfortunately for the kids, they also only saw the first night back in Detroit. So they will be hearing most of the same set. I'm hoping for at least a few different songs, but it doesn't really matter. I'll have fun either way, And I hope the kids do too. It's Dustin's first time seeing Metallica so it's all new to him. I'm not sure why, but they were a little late getting on the stage, and to be honest, this was the worst sounding show I have ever heard them do. The mix was not that good. They played great! But the PA system and the mix was bad. It didn't bother me that much though. I still had a blast! Here's the set list with a few personal notes.

Creeping Death

Harvester Of Sorrow (2 of my all time favorites!)

The Shortest Straw (First time for me!)

King Nothing (Another first for me and with it, I have heard at least one song from every album)

72 Seasons 

If Darkness Had a Son (They played these 2 on night 2 in Detroit, so first time for the kids)

Kirk and Rob Doodle ("Devil's Lettuce")

The Day That Never Comes

Shadows Follow

Orion (I love this song!)

Nothing Else Matters 

Sad But True

Battery (They screwed up big in the middle of this song, so we got the extended version! A screw up doesn't really bother me. It makes it unique! And reminds you they are human.)

Fuel

Seek & Destroy

Master Of Puppets

Gig poster

 Another fun Metallica gig in the books. I hope there will be a few more in my future, but you never know. On the walk back to the car, Kristeen started struggling with her breathing again. Luckily there was a guy not to far from the gates with a rikshaw giving rides to your car at a hefty price, but I was willing to pay anything so she didn't have to suffer that long walk again. And she ate it up. Giving her best royal wave to the peasants as we flew past them on our way to the car. And surprise... The car was still there! We made it to the hotel a lot quicker than I thought we would. I would like to say that the rest of our trip was uneventful, but the fire alarm in the hotel went off at around 5:45 in the morning. I guess the guy cooking the bacon for breakfast burnt some. Kristeen was still not feeling good so we cut out of there early and just headed home. She set up a doctor appointment for when we got home. She's doing better now. I really do cherish spending any and all time with my kids and Grandma had a fun overnighter with the Grandson.