Guitars… great melodies… anticipation… shredding… a Rock 'n' Roll mood… great show. Only few words and feelings are to describe that night's concert.

At about 21:30 I arrived at An Club and quickly rushed inside, early enough to happily occupy one of the best spot available in order to enjoy one of the most praised Metal guitarists of the 80s and 90s. Of course, many more had the same urge with me and the club was almost full by 22:00. Cheap beer, friends and good ventilation made it possible to tolerate the thirty minutes delay. And finally the lights went down…

Vinnie Moore, the guitar God himself (looking good but far from the image the concert's leaflet advertised – see "Hot Licks" instrumental video cover) and Mike DiMeo (keyboards and vocals – RIOT, MASTERPLAN, THE LIZARDS), Aquiles Priester (drums - HANGAR) and Lars Lehmann (bass - Uli Jon Roth) grabbed their axes and promised with the very first notes to rock us hard! And so they did.

It was probably the first (and hopefully not the last) gig I've been where the guitar sound was loud enough to drive you crazy but still with a crystalline tone to make you cry. Although all guitar lovers were more than satisfied, the overall sound was not as satisfactory with the bass and the keys pushed far behind the mix making the performance sound 'hollow' at times. No one seemed to care though, 'cause everyone was having a great time with the guitar wizard, whose skills, chops and melodies were more than emphasized while performing songs from his latest album "To The Core" (e.g. "Off The Hook") as well as from older albums including "Saved By A Miracle", "Rain", "Midnight Rain" (featuring DiMeo's lyrics and vocals – great combination!), "Time Traveler", "Cinema" or "Meltdown". We noticed the missing piece of the puzzle: no "Time Odyssey" tunes for us, the hungry fans; strange enough, considering that's one of Vinnie's best albums. In between the instrumental tsunamis there were some cover song islands of classic Rock 'n' Roll insanity including "Rock Steady" (BAD COMPANY) or "Fire" (Jimi Hendrix)… which made people go nuts.

Dimeo's vocals were as professional as his keyboard playing and Lehmann's bass lines coupled with Brazilian Priester's Heavy Metal drum-slamming created a true driving force. Vinnie was by far the star of the night and -full of energy blended with professionalism- showed that he was enjoying the show as much as we did. Made comments about the girls, shouted "Rock 'n' Roll!!!" numerous times and communicated with the fans. All these in line with the lightning fast-picked neoclassical lines, even faster legato runs, sensational melodies, bursting arpeggios and bluesy licks made this concert one night to remember!

(photos by Anastasis "Morning Star")