Night Ranger – Florence, Ky Review & Photo Gallery
DV8, John Waite, and Night Ranger rocked the University of Cincinnati Medical Center Stadium in Florence, KY Saturday Night. Cincinnati’s favorite rockers DV8 opened the show on the main concourse stage, and provide an excellent set of classic tunes including Aerosmith, Boston, Shooting Star, Styx, and more recent songs from Kid Rock, Evanescence, Shinedown & many more. DV8 did a great job warming up the growing crowd at UCMC Stadium.
John Waite took the stage around 7:30 P.M. and dished out a great set of songs from his outstanding career with The Baby’s, Bad English and more.It was great to hear so many of Waite’s songs that I never got to hear live. John Waite’s voice is in fine shape. His voice hasn’t changed at all over the years. The great surprise of the night was seeing Keri Kelli (Alice Cooper, Pretty Boy Floyd) playing guitar for Waite’s band. Kelli got a chance to shine with a killer guitar solo, and really added a heavy & rocking flair to John Waite’s songs. John Waite’s set list included the songs, “Change”, “Missing You”, “Back On My Feet Again”, and “Best of What I Got”. John’s encore feature an A cappella version of “When I See You Smile”, and a rocking cover of “Whole Lotta Love”.
Over the last couple of years, the one band that has become a must see act for me is Night Ranger. Each and every time I see Night Ranger live, the band delivers an energetic set of outstanding tunes. Saturday night was no different. From the first moment Night Ranger took the stage, they owned the night. Brad Gillis, Joel Hoekstra and Jack Blades impressed me with their guitar acrobatics. Gillis and Hoekstra were absolutely killing it Saturday Night. They might just be one of the best guitar tandems in rock and roll today.
Of course I can’t talk about Night Ranger, without mentioning Jack Blades & Kelly Keagy. Both Jack & Kelly are such tremendous vocal talents. It is rare that a band has not one, but two exceptional singers. Night Ranger plays up to those strengths in all of their songs.
Night Ranger’s set included the songs “Lay It On Me”, “Sing Me Away”, “Four In The Morning”, “Coming of Age” (Damn Yankees), “Crazy Train” (Ozzy Osbourne), “Growing Up In California”, “Rumours In The Air”, “Secret of My Success”, “Sentimental Street”, an extremely rocking version of “Eddie’s Comin’ Out Tonight”, “High Enough” (Damn Yankees), “Boys of Summer” (Don Henley), “When You Close Your Eyes”, “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me” and an encore of “Sister Christian” and “(You Can Still) Rock In America”.
Night Ranger’s show was an absolute blast, and my only disappointment is I will have to wait several months to see them play again. Don’t miss Night Ranger if they come to your town. You can check out Night Ranger’s 2013 tour dates here!
Rock on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!