MariaV: A cold and windy Sunday afternoon with the temperatures touching some degrees below zero after the first rigid snowfall of the previous days, METAL TEMPLE has to visit Bolingbrook's Tailgaters in the west suburbs of Chicago, a cozy and hospitable sports bar & grill place that was full of Bears football fans at that moment (Go, Bears!), for watching JACKYL appearance or, if you prefer, the Duprees' one, according the fact that the band of Jesse Dupree's son, Nigel, would be the supporting act. You see, I never expected such a place to be a concert venue, especially at 4 o'clock in the evening but I have to admit that it was fun, having on mind that the sun in Chicago sets few minutes after 4.

The announcement of the notorious rapper DMC's participation was another one reason for us to get there so, there we were, in front of the small stage of Tailgaters, waiting for the show to begin. We didn't expect much from the sound quality or the number of the crowd that would come to catch up JACKYL but, fortunately, we weren't frustrated from the final result. NIGEL DUPREE BAND including (except Jesse's son) Adam Townsend and Josh Hilton stepped on stage few minutes after 5 o'clock and gave some pure rock 'n' roll lessons, following the footprints of the mighty JACKYL. The setlist concluded some hits from their "Attraction" CD plus a couple of surprises, such as the cover in CINDERELLA's "Somebody Save Me" and AC/DC's "Problem Child" were that finished their 40 minutes' show. 'Like father, like son', Nigel's reading on stage has many similarities to his father's stage setting and his stage comfort is obvious every minute he steps on stage. The new Dupree blood is here and it seems it's here to stay.

NIGEL DUPREE BAND setlist:

1. "Late Night Girl"
2. "Have You Ever"
3. "Break My Heart"
4. "Screaming"
5. "Somebody Save Me"
6. "Sexy Little Thing"
7. "Shake It Hot"
8. "Rock 'N' Roll"
9. "Problem Child"

DimK: Indeed, Nigel and his band did an excellent work on warming us up, something we needed desperately since it was way to early to attend a gig. While the stage was being prepared for JACKYL, more and more 30+ ladies and men were slowly gathering in front of stage while enjoying a cold one! You could feel the party atmosphere around even though it was a football date and the beer had been flowing from the afternoon. This was the first JACKYL gig for METAL TEMPLE and obviously there was no way we could guess what was about to happen on stage.

So, right on schedule, the lights went out and METALLICA's "So Fucking What" came as a nice intro! Everyone started to move trying to find a good spot while "Dixieland" came next bringing JACKYL on stage. And then…. boom!!! The sound exploded our ear drums with a surprisingly clarity and a volume that many pure Metal bands would kill to have. The first song of the night was from JACKYL's latest release (read the review here) "My Moonshine Kicks Your Cocaine's Ass"introduced by the groovy bass guitar doodle. Jesse came on stage with obvious intentions to throw a party, singing the driving lyrics in such an energy rash that after a while everyone joined in. I tell you, the party atmosphere soaked us in and minutes after we found ourselves singing the lyrics under Jesse directions. No pause and another bass riff brought the energetic song with the cool title "Mental Masturbation". You can find a video in YouTube showing Beavis & Butthead explaining this title to really get hold of its meaning… The guitar solo got the spotlight on Jeff Worleywho was already sweating his arse off (remember it was a really cold evening) giving 100% of his energy and then some more. JACKYL is a real tight band on stage and know exactly what to do to get the people moving and singing with their hearts. Everyone seemed to have a good time, while Jesse despite his a little more harsh voice, proved his frontman skills to the maximum. Chris Worleyand Roman Glickon the drums and the bass respectively, kept the energy flowing, despite the fact that Roman did not join the rest of the band into the drinking part.

Whoever is familiar to JACKYL's sound knows that there is a lot of early AC/DC attitude and style in it. And "Dirty Little Mind" was a nice example to this saying with a teasing riff and dancing groove that made everyone looking for the go-go-dancers. Sadly, we did not have any, but the singing along part took the males' mind away from that loss… So, we danced and sing to the driving groove following Jesse's lead who, I have to say, gave a hard timing to all the photographer by constantly moving up and down; obviously in a party mood. After this one, it was time for the guest appearance of DMC most of us was expecting. First of all, the fact that DMC -a black artist- is playing with JACKYL on stage is a loud and clear answer to all the yahoos out there who think "Just Like a Negro" is a racist song. Please do us a favor and stop messing with our music with silly and 100% useless comments!

Anyway, DMC came on stage with a wild look on his face! I tell you, this guy was totally into sharing the stage with JACKYL and hence all the nice talk that he and Jesse did just before "Just Like a Negro". I have been in many Metal concerts but this was the first time I found myself headbanging with a song sung by a rap artist. Well, DMC is no stranger to the 30+ metalheads who know him from his works with ANTHRAX and of course AEROSMITH. DMC gave an additional energy push to the show and I have to admit was a fitting singing buddy to Jesse. One song with DMC was not enough and JACKYL surprised us with a RUN DMC Heavy Metal cover on "It's Tricky". Another fine groove I must add… The icing on the cake was "Walk This Way" that blew the rooftop of Tailgaters. "Redneck Punk" was the final song of the regular set but no one moved an inch, since everyone was expecting the classic chainsaw encore! And Jesse did not wait for long and brought that particular musical instrument introducing the killer "The Lumberjack". Mind you there are no effects in the studio version of the song and Jesse actually played that damn thing like it was an actual guitar and then used it to destroy a bar stool putting an end to an excellent show!

We made our way out of the sports bar & grill with a buzz in our ears but with a satisfaction grin on our faces! JACKYL gave us a good time and made the evening feel like a night with such an on-stage energy many young bands would give an arm and a leg to have. People got in line to get an autograph from the guys of the band who had some time to greet them. Totally a great way to spend a Sunday evening!

1. "My Moonshine Kicks Your Cocaine's Ass"
2. "Mental Masturbation"
3. "Push Comes To Shove"
4. "Kill the Sunshine"
5. "Down On Me"
6. "When Moonshine And Dynamite Collide"
7. "I Stand Alone"
8. "When Will It Rain"
9. "Dirty Little Mind"
10. "Just Like a Negro" (with DMC)
11. "It's Tricky" (with DMC)"
12. "Walk This Way" (with DMC)
13. "Redneck Punk"
14. "The Lumberjack"

(photos by a redneck Punk)