Stephen Pearcy
December 9, 2003
Crazy Donkey, Farmingdale, NY
Review by Keith McDonald
Photos courtesy of Debbie Cuccia and Bobby Graw
It's been a little while since Warren DeMartini, Bobby Blotzer and
Stephen Pearcy settled their lawsuit that allows only Warren and Bobby to
use the name 'Ratt' when touring. That left vocalist and founding member
of the band, Stephen Pearcy, out in the cold. Both Stephen and Ratt have
toured extensively since then giving fans two versions of the popular 80's
hard rock band. Some people look at that as a good thing while others see
it as not. As long as we get to hear the songs that made Ratt one of the
bigger bands to come out of the 80's, I'm happy.
Ratt, with Jizzy Pearl on vocals, had just played a club just a few
blocks down the road only a few days ago. Now it was Stephen's turn to hit
the stage. I did see a lot of the same people at these two shows with
Stephen drawing a little better than the new Ratt lineup. Opening the
night with 'Wanted Man' Stephen set the tone for a show full of Ratt hits
peppered with a few solo offerings and other surprises. The meat of the
night was obviously the hits that included 'Back For More', 'Way Cool
Jr.', Slip of the Lip', "Walking The Dog' and Lovin' You Is A Dirty
Job'. The backing band, comprised mostly of young, unknown players, was
solid especially the drummer. But the guitarists, though talented and
capable, could not deliver the same way that Warren DeMartini does, the
only knock on the night. Some of the highlights were Stephen's solo
material which included 'Freak' and 'Ya Looking At Me' with and added
Arcade song making sure Stephen's extensive catalog of material was
represented.
As the night drew to a close Stephen broke out the big hits 'Lack of
Communication', 'You're In Love' and 'Lay it Down'. He also surprised the
crowd with a great cover of Judas Priest's 'You Got Another Thing Coming'
that of course led to the closer 'Round and Round'. The show wasn't sold
out considering it was a Tuesday night and there was plenty of snow to go
around, but he did draw a decent crowd. Hopefully Stephen, Warren and
Bobby put their differences aside and get back together as Ratt the way it
ought to be. Until then you can get two versions of the band.
