Reno’s hottest local band, The Greg Golden Band (GGB), rocked the stage at a very packed Rockbar Theater Reno on Saturday, Jan. 14. Unannounced special guest Frank Hannon, lead guitarist for the rock band Tesla, and his band joined the show.
Hannon was already scheduled to join GGB for several songs at the show to promote the band’s upcoming new record “American Thunder,” set for release later this year. Red Hawk Records, Hannon’s label, recorded and produced the twelve-song record and released a preview four-song EP at the show.
The Frank Hannon Band’s performance that evening was one of the last they were set to play for some time. Tesla starts their 2017 World Tour in February which puts Hannon on the road for a while.
Also on the bill was a very nice guy just about everyone in earshot of 105.7 KOZZ knows, Glen Bailey aka Max Volume, followed by local band Blackwater-Reno.
Scroll down below the photo gallery for a full recap of the show, along with a great anecdote from my last attempt to cover a show featuring Frank Hannon’s band.
Max Volume and Blackwater-Reno Warm Up the Crowd
Volume never disappoints and this show was no different. He played over sixty minutes in an acoustic set with six new originals. The set list was: “Goodbye”, “Want Her Bad”, “I Me Mine”, “Outta Town”, “Turned Away”, “Times Like These” (Foo Fighters Cover), “Reno Nevada”, “Novelties In Time”, “Once”, “Potion”, “Trollman”, “Grampa Was A Raiders Fan”, “Everlong” (Foo Fighters cover with a bit of the Clash’s “Lost In The Supermarket”) and “Baby Blue”.
I just can’t wait until Max Volume brings the rest of his band to rock the joint.
Blackwater-Reno just went through a complete overhaul. Two of its original members left the band for personal reasons, leaving only frontman Todd Baumgartner (vocals) to rebuild the band from the ground up. Baumgartner did a fine job by adding Steve Mac (guitar), Mick Capsouto (bass, backing vocals) and long-time local drummer Paul Navarro (drums, backing vocals).
The band’s set was more than an hour long and included: “Pressure”, “Down”, “Riverside”, “Blackwater”, “Sweet Love”, “Why”, “Rocket”, “Hard Times” and “Ride”. Blackwater is very good rock band and was a perfect fit for this show. Keep an eye out for their next gig—they are definitely worth seeing again.
Night of Rock Continues with Hannon, GGB
Hannon and his boys in the Frank Hannon Band, Nick Nichols (bass) and Robbie Furiosi (drums), rocked the stage for well over an hour. Let me tell you, that guy can play the guitar and is just absolutely unbelievably great at what he does.
Only one word can describe the set that these three rock stars pulled off: amazing! Their set list was: “Electric Warrior”, “Snortin’ Whiskey”, “Working Man” (Rush cover), “Touch Of Magic”, “Eye Of The Mind”, “The Song Remains The Same” and “Heartbreaker/Funk 49”.
As the Greg Golden Band took the stage I thought to myself, “Man I’m glad it’s not me that has to follow the Frank Hannon Band.” But as soon as GGB hit the first couple of notes of their first song, “Long Way Home”, I knew Golden had it all under control.
GGB members include, Greg Golden (lead guitar), Randy Scoles and Paul Holdgate (co-lead vocals), Jeff Montgomery (guitar, backing vocals), Larry Hart (bass) and Steve Brown (drums).
Golden and the band played nearly three hours and here’s the set list: “Long Way Home”, “Cherokee”, “Helter Skelter”, “On With The Show”, “Stand Up”, (Hannon joins the band on keyboard, guitar & vocals), “Rock ‘n’ Roll Gambler”, “Hell Or High Water”, “Higher Ground”, “Another World”, “Too Rolling Stoned”, “Old School”, “Man On The Silver Mountain”, “Day Of The Eagle”, (Hannon leaves the stage), “Born On A Bayou”, “Bridge Of Sighs”, “Honkey Tonk”, “I’ve Got A Gun”, “Into The Darkness”, “Rock Steady”, “Maybe I’m A Leo”, “Good Rockin’ Tonight”, “Rock The Nation”, “Voyager”, “Bad Winter”, “One Thing On My Mind”, “Fortunate Son”, “Far Away” and “Rock Candy”.
The venue was packed upstairs as well as on the main floor for the whole night. Things are really starting to pick up at the Rockbar Theater. See what’s next at the venue on their website, http://www.rockbartheater.com
And always remember to support your local bands and venues …. Go To A Show!
A Look Back: The Last Time I Covered Frank Hannon’s Band
The last time I covered a Frank Hannon band show was when he was with his other band Six String Soldiers. It was a couple of years ago when it was the Knitting Factory Concert House, and believe it or not, Max Volume and the GGB were both on the bill. It was as the first band of that night, The Max Volume Band, was about mid-way through their set when I decided I needed some close up shots of the then-drummer Troy Mowat. Being careful to not kick or step on any wires or unplug anyone during their solo was my only thought, and my worst nightmare.
What I should have been thinking of was the wall on stage and where it ended. As I was trying to get that money shot of Troy I didn’t notice the wall was gone and when I leaned back to brace myself, no wall. It was just a five foot drop off to solid concrete. The next thing I knew I was getting one of those $1,200, two-block rides to the hospital.
I ended up with five broken ribs, nine staples in my head, a sprained wrist, elbow and shoulder, a very badly damaged camera and lens, and one broken ego. Oh, and three months off work too. The only good thing to come of it: I never had to buy another drink or concert ticket till the day the Knitting Factory closed.
