Well, we all hear Rock N Roll is dead… This doesn’t seem to be the case as on September 1st,2024 fans started to line up on the Sunset Strip to see the show the Rainbow Bar & Grill has been advertising for months now. Fans started to line up around 10 am and the Backyard Bash has been held yearly in the parking lot of the Rainbow Bar & Grill. Year after year the Backyard Bash goes to capacity for the parking lot, there isn’t an ounce of spare room.
This year was no different, the parking lot was packed to capacity. The Rainbow Bar & Grill brings in the all-stars for this yearly event and this year it started with local act Sunset Riot who is frequently on the bill at the Whisky A Go-Go, followed by Prima Donna, then next was Ted Poley from ’80s rock band Danger Danger, WarBringer 80’s Trash Metal Band was next, the bill for the day rolled back to ’80s band Bullet Boys, the train kept rolling with the hard rock band Accept followed by the headliner for the event KK’s Priest.
You want to feel like you stepped back into the 80s and 90s well this is the event that will make you go back in time. The black T-shirts, tight jeans and leather outfits were there in full force. There was every type of rock n roll jersey you could imagine.
Sunset Riot had one of the opening slots to open this day-long festival. They are a band that does cover tunes, and they pick classic hits that suit the lead vocalist’s style. The band is local to LA and they have a cult following. They brought their A-Game to the festival and were in a tough spot to get the crowd pumped early in the afternoon.
Prima Donna was the next band to hit the stage in the early afternoon sun. Prima Donna is a band that was formed in 2004 in LA. Prima Donna has spent most of their time touring with their biggest opening act slot being on tour with Green Day in 20210. Prima Donna has four album releases from 2008 to most recent being in 2018. Prima Donna played their most popular tracks from their catalogue for their short 45-minute set.
Ted Poley of Danger Danger was next on the billboard for the afternoon. Ted Poley has brought together an amazing band to tour with to play all those classic Danger Danger tracks. And that is exactly what he did, he came out like he always does almost seeming like he is on fire. Ted Poley’s band sounded tight, and they got the afternoon crowd pumped. You started to see the excitement in the air as people started to bounce up and down and pump their fists in the air to the setlist list Ted Poley provided. Seeing Ted Poley on stage with his usual antics and the crowd getting into the swing of things, you could tell this was going to be a rock ‘n roll show. Ted Poley brought out Lorraine Lewis (Femme Fatale, Vixen) at the end of his set to sing the classic Danger Danger track, ”Naughty, Naughty”. And well if there is anyone you want to see sing with Ted Poley the classic track “Naughty, Naughty” it’s Lorraine Lewis.
Bullet Boys were the next band to hit the festival stage. The Bullet Boys have gone through line-up changes back to the classic line-up and back to changes again. Marc Torien has brought some of the best players to the line up like Ira Black or Brad Lang. The band was there to party and that’s what they wanted to make you do. The band was firing on all cylinders and sounded amazing. Bullet Boys hit the crowd full on and with excitement and with band interaction, Marc Torien bounced across the stage, jumped up and down and got the crowd into party mode. Bullet Boys came at the crowd hitting them with classic hit after hit.
WarBringer local to the Newbury Park, CA area was the next band to hit the festival stage for the day. WarBringer was formed in 2004 and had a record deal with Century Media Records, WarBringer was signed after Century Media Records travelled to LA to see another band on the bill but was so impressed by WarBringer that they ended up signing them. WarBringer has a catalogue from 2008 to 2020 and they picked and chose to fit the most popular hits into their short afternoon set. WarBringer had some of the crowd body surfing throughout their set, or a mosh pit going and just down to head banding and thrashing along to the set.
Heavy Metal band Accept was next to hit the stage for the start of the evening. Accept being formed back in 1976 has seen numerous line-up changes throughout the career of the band with Wolf Hoffman being the only original member remaining in the current lineup. Accept brought the classic hits and had the crowd waving their arms and bouncing up and down, to fans throwing up the metal horns all night long. Accept brought on the attack by serving up classic tracks throughout the band’s musical history to their most current release Humanoid. Accept had the crowd in the palm of their hands only to deal a blow with what seemed to be technical difficulties which ended up seeming to cut their setlist short.
The headliner for the evening was KK’s Priest. And they brought the best for the end of the evening. KK’s Priest has released two albums, and both have received critical acclaim. At the helm for vocals is Tim “Ripper” Owens who fronted Judas Priest while Rob Halford was not in the band. Ripper Owens has an amazing voice equal to Rob Halford if not better. KK Dowing has formed an amazing band, and it shows on record and on the stage, these guys are top musicians. Even though the KK’s Priest catalogue is small they still brought the best of the best for tracks off of both releases. The band also played classic tracks from the Judas Priest catalogue which the band chewed through with no problems. KK’s Priest setlist was incredible and the band sounded like a well-oiled machine. They are starting the second leg of their American tour, and sound and are playing amazingly.
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Check out more of Shawn Sand‘s reviews and photos for CGCM Rock Radio/Website.
