By SEAN DALY, PHILIP BOOTH and JOHN FLEMING
Published November 17, 2005
[Getty Images]
Jani Lane
"The song that wouldn't die." That's how Warrant's Jani Lane once bitterly described his defiantly stupid blast of '80s-born hair-metal innuendo otherwise known as Cherry Pie. Lane said this a few years ago at a show in a D.C. dive bar, back when he was mohawked, morbidly obese and obsessed with shooting snot rockets into the crowd and chain-smoking through his nostrils. The guy was a disaster - I couldn't look away. The darkly comic irony about the spectacle was that although Cherry Pie was immortal, Lane looked liked he wouldn't last the night.
These days, Lane has apparently found peace with his band's biggest hit (although he has since ditched his mates for the solo route). He performs an acoustic, and presumably much more romantic, version of Cherry Pie on the epically titled new album VH1 Classic: Metal Mania Stripped Vol. 2: The Anthems. That means he'll no doubt perform the tune plus other Warrant hits (Sometimes She Cries, Bed of Roses) at the VH1-sponsored acoustic metal fest at Ruth Eckerd Hall on Friday. Dokken, Firehouse, Ratt's Stephen Pearcy and Kip Winger will also perform. If you're a true-blue headbanger, you don't want to miss this night of pure '80s goodness. (Although, for the record, isn't the whole point of metal supposed to be plugged in and loud? Just asking.)
VH1 Metal Mania featuring Lane, Dokken, Firehouse, Stephen Pearcy (formerly of Ratt) and Kip Winger is at 8 p.m. Friday at Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 McMullen-Booth Road, Clearwater. $35. (727) 791-7400.
- SEAN DALY, Times pop music critic
Ratdog, the versatile musical animal
Ratdog, the band former Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir founded as a duo the year Jerry Garcia died, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The group, formerly a blues band, has evolved into a six-piece band able to shift from an original to a Dylan cover to a reinvention of a Beatles tunes to a Grateful Dead medley at a moment's notice.
Ratdog has released only one studio recording, 2000's Evening Moods, and Weir is anything but eager to commit to a new CD soon. The band - with guitarist Mark Karan, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, saxophonist Kenny Brooks, bassist Robin Sylvester and longtime Ratdog drummer Jay Lane - thrives in concert anyway.
And the group's jam-loving fans have enjoyed immediate sonic gratification since 2003: Each show is recorded, mastered and burned for distribution that evening; the shows are also available on CD and by downloads at www.munckmusic.com
Ratdog with Bob Weir performs at 8 p.m. Friday at Jannus Landing, 16 Second St. N, St. Petersburg. $30 advance, $35 day of show. (727) 896-2276.
- PHILIP BOOTH, Times correspondent
The varied sides of Buddy Guy
It's foolhardy to predict which Buddy Guy will show up when the legendary Chicago blues guitarist and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee comes to town. Will it be the hard-working entertainer who burns his way through Damn Right, I've Got the Blues and other favorites, sinking his considerable six-string chops into the solos? Or it will be the other Guy, the one who's content to dole out half-hearted medleys and exert too much energy on exchanges with rowdy audience members? We've seen both.
Guy, declared an idol by the likes of Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix, is touring in support of the recently released CD Bring Em In. It's an all-star affair, pairing the guitarist with Keith Richards, Carlos Santana, Robert Randolph, Keb' Mo, John Mayer, Tracy Chapman, Anthony Hamilton and other guests for Ain't No Sunshine, I Put a Spell on You, Lay Lady Lay and other vintage rock and soul tunes.
Buddy Guy's Bluesfest, with the Damon Fowler Group and Indigenous, starts at 8 p.m. Saturday at Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 N McMullen-Booth Road, Clearwater. Tickets are $34.50 and $55. 727 791-7400; www.rutheckerdhall.com
- PHILIP BOOTH, Times correspondent
"Susannah' turns 50
In 1955, Carlisle Floyd's opera Susannah premiered at Florida State University, where the composer who also wrote the libretto was then teaching. That historic occasion - Susannah is the rare American opera firmly established in the repertory - is being marked by Orlando Opera. Kelly Kaduce, above, performs the title role of an innocent young woman persecuted by the elders of her small town. Gustav Andreassen is her chief persecutor (and ultimately her seducer), Rev. Olin Blitch. Matthew Lata directed (he also directed the Opera Tampa premiere of Anton Coppola's Sacco & Vanzetti), and Mark Flint is the conductor. Performances are at 8 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. Sunday; and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Carr Performing Arts Centre, Orlando. $25-$120. Call (407) 426-1700 or toll-free 1-800-336-7372; www.orlandoopera.org
