The following is a review of the first Dio show on the Angry Machines tour, originally posted to Black Sabbath mailing list. Republished here with permission from the author. I had to edit the layout a little bit for better outlook on web, but all the information is still intact.
Date: Wed, 20 Nov 1996
From: jean l delacour (delacour@unm.edu)
Subject: Dio in Albq; review
CONCERT REVIEW;
DIO
Midnight Rodeo, Albuquerque, NM, USA
November 14th, 1996.
Ronnie Dio-Vocals.
Vinnie Appice-Drums.
Tracy G.-Guitar.
"Larry"-Bass.
?????-Keyboards.
Sabbath Fans,
Dio came to Albuquerque, NM on Thrusday, November 14th, and basically
destroyed this country bar that is used to two-stepping and mechanical
bull riding. Midnight Rodeo (the country bar) will never be the same.
There was no opening band, and it only cost $10.00 to get in the door. From what I can see, the venue was pretty damn close to a sell out, which means that about 1,500 people were in attendance.
The band opened up with Jesus, Mary... and Ronnie looked in very good shape for his age (50ish?). We saw him a few years ago for the Strange Highway Tour, and he seemed quite mad, but tonight he smiled at everyone and seemed to be having a real good time. The band, which consists of Vinne on Drums (and short hair), Tracy G. (who has put on alot of weight), and a hired gun on bass only known to all as "Larry" were tight and sound- ing great. As for Ronnie? Well, what can you say about him; he is one of the best vocalist in rock and roll. While other singers seem to loose their range and ability, Ronnie Dio simply keeps sounding better and better.
The set list consisted of Straight thru the Heart, Don't Talk To Strangers, Holy Diver, Heaven & Hell and Double Monday. A highlight of the show (for me anyways) was to hear Ronnie sing the old Deep Purple/Rainbow blues classic Mistreated. Simply amazing!!! Tracy G. had an extensive solo during Mis- treated. Nothing against Tracy G. He is a great guitarist; he is very modern-sounding and uses many effects. However, I personally would rather see Rowan Robertson or Vivian Campbell tearing it up besides Dio. But that is just my own personal obsevation. I prefer ability to technology, especially when it comes to the Sabbath/Dio/Purple genre.
They came out for one encore consisting of Rainbow In The Dark & The Mob Rules. By now they crowd was just going nuts and singing along to memories of the 70's and 80's. Rock and Roll doesn't get any better than this. All in all everybody seemed to have a good time; the band, Ronnie, the crowd.
God bless...
Manuel Alzaga, Jr.
This page is maintained by Tapio Keihänen,
E-mail: dio@iki.fi.
The page has been updated on 10.05.1999
URL: http://www.dio.net/tour/reviews/961114_ManuelAlzagaJr.html,
the front page http://www.dio.net/.