November 19, 2003
Crazy Donkey, Farmingdale, NY
Review by Keith McDonald
It was rather common for bands from the 80’s, especially hard rock bands like Ratt
to have member changes, which of course has led to a slew of reunion tours over the years.
Some were very successful, some were not. Now, Ratt was one of the few bands that
didn’t have a member change before they elected to call it a day in the early
90’s. I guess it was in the late 90’s that only three original members, Bobby
Blotzer, Warren DeMartini and Stephen Pearcy reunited to release an album of rarities
called Collage. Juan Croucier decided not to tour and Robin Crosby couldn’t due to
health problems.
What ended up happening was a tour and an imploding of the Ratt name. For a time there
were two Ratt's touring, one with original singer Stephen Pearcy and the other with Warren
and Bobby and new singer Jizzy Pearl. After an ugly lawsuit, only Warren and Bobby’s
version of Ratt is allowed to use the name. That brings us to the Crazy Donkey in
Farmingdale, NY.
The band, which now features ex-Motely Crue guitarist/singer John Corabi on rhythm
guitar, ex-Vince Neil bassist Robbie Crane, and ex-Love/Hate, LA Guns singer Jizzy Pearl
rocks on. Kind of confusing. Yet, when they hits the stage around 10:00, there was just
the music. The band pulled out a unique set list that wasn’t just their hits. Sure
there were the customary ‘Lay It Down’, ‘Lack of Communication’ and
“Back For More’ that makes a Ratt show a Ratt show. But they did a great job of
mixing other songs that included the Aerosmith cover “Mama Kin’ and lesser heard
songs ‘Over The Edge’ peppered with ‘Lovin’ You Is a Dirty Job’,
‘Way Cool Jr.’, ‘Round and Round’ and the set closer ‘You’re
In Love’. Warren DeMartini clearly stole the show with his electrifying guitar work
and Jizzy did an adequate job handling the vocals.
It would be nice to see the remaining original members put aside their differences and
get back to making great music, but until then, we have both versions and that both do a
good job.