The second the Young Guns Tour was announced, I knew I had to be there. Featuring an alternating bill of Dirty Honey and Mammoth WVH, The Young Guns tour is EVERYTHING that Banded stands for. We’re both here to let the world know that rock and roll is ALIVE and well. These two bands are leaders in this fiery resurgence and their performance on February 24th at House of Blues Las Vegas proved just that.
Kicking off the night, to my surprise, was The Warning! A 3-piece of sisters from Monterrey, Mexico, The Warning worked the stage like they were meant to be the third headliner. All playing an instrument, all playing a part in vocals - the 3 sisters sounded almost identical to their recordings. As a newer band making their way onto the scene, I was BLOWN away by how they caught the eyes and ears of the audience and kept them. The crowd was howling. We were all enthralled and I don’t think there was one person in that hall that didn’t want their set to continue for even just one song longer.
Next up, Mammoth WVH!
This was only my second time seeing the band live but in that short time span, their stage presence had improved. Wolf walked out with power, amping up the crowd with the beginning riffs of ‘Mammoth.’ The crowd was READY and the band was too. Even with Frank Sidoris on the road with Slash (you could see his cardboard cut out at the back of stage), Jonathan Jourdan filled the void and left no crumbs.
Wolf seemed more confident in owning centerstage and his vocals were strongly comparable to the album. As we stood in front of him, you could feel his energy and gratefulness to be there radiating into the crowd. As Wolf began to sing ‘Distance’, a man held up a Frankstrat patterned bandana and yelled, ‘We love you, Eddie!’. It was a touching moment and truly almost brought a tear to my eye to be a witness.
“No matter what the distance is, I will be with you
No matter what the distance is, you'll be okay.”
Shifting gears and absolutely throwing me for a loop…Mammoth WVH covered Alice in Chains’ ‘Them Bones’ and it was righteous! The combined vocals of Wolf Van Halen and the band truly did the song justice. It was a very nice surprise. Leading into a crescendo, they ended the show with ‘Don’t Back Down.’ Had they been closing the show that night, there’s no doubt in my mind that the crowd would’ve begged for an encore.
Closing out the show, Dirty Honey!
Maybe it was the vibrancy of Vegas or just the intrinsic feeling of the tour, but Dirty Honey’s energy was ELECTRIC. Just thinking about their stage presence that night makes me smile, they were on another level. With Corey centered in the back, it left room for Justin, John, and Marc to use the stage to their full advantage. And, they did. Marc moved and grooved along the stage, using the mic stand as his own personal dance partner. Even holding it out into the crowd to hear them sing along. The set was a mix of the EP and Album and the guys had the whole audience engaged and enthralled.
As their set moved closer to the end, the guys began to disappear into the black abyss of sidestage leaving Justin to bless the crowds with a wild bass solo. The guy next to me whispers, “Man, you never see this anymore!”. And, he’s right. We don’t see this anymore - except at a Dirty Honey Show! One by one, we were blown away by a bass, drum, and guitar solo.
If the show didn’t having you feel nostalgic for those diamond days of rock n roll, you were surely feeling it now! In true Vegas style, they closed out the night with ‘Rolling 7’s’.
I left the show feeling energized and wildly hopeful for the future of rock n roll. I walked out of the hall wanting to scream, “WHAT A FUCKING NIGHT FOR ROCK N ROLL,” but I tweeted it instead. :P
Check out our photo gallery below or experience it for yourself and grab a ticket to the Young Guns Tour HERE.
*Click photos below to enlarge.*
