THE IRON MAIDENS
THE JACK
AZ-Z TOP
Live at Encore in Tucson, AZ
December 4, 2021 - Encore / Tucson, AZ
The day had finally come. It was the day I would take my two young boys to see the world’s only female tribute band to Iron Maiden, The Iron Maidens, along with The JACK (Tribute to AC/DC) and AZ-Z Top (Tribute to ZZ Top) in Tucson, AZ. So, I grabbed some red bulls for the journey and got the boys in the truck, and headed out. Quickly things seemed to not want to go our way. I stopped at my bank’s ATM and after putting my card in, it notifies me that it is not working, but locks my card in it for about 5 minutes. It was finally released only after rebooting. But as it was rebooting I noticed it was running Windows 7! Hmmm, is it just me or does that seem a little outdated? With card and funds in hand, we start to head out of town only to find that it is the night of the Christmas Parade through the middle of town. After navigating around the street closures and the parade traffic, we were finally successful in getting out of town and on our way to Tucson.
After about two hours, we finally arrived at the Encore in Tucson, pumped and excited for this special evening. The first band up was AZ-Z Top, a ZZ Top tribute band out of Phoenix, AZ. The look, the sound, the beards…and even the fuzzy spinning guitars were all spot on. Their attention to detail along with the love and respect for ZZ Top shines through. It was obvious the crowd agreed, because these guys had them dancing and singing along with every song. Their 9 song setlist contained nothing but classics. AZ-Z Top opened up with Under Pressure and smoothly moved on through Waitin’ for the Bus / Jesus Just Left Chicago, Pearl Necklace, Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers, La Grange, Cheap Sunglasses, Tube Snake Boogie, Tush and closed it out with Legs, which is when they busted out the fuzzy spinning guitars. It was a solid set, a fun set, it left the crowd hungry for more. We were off to a great start.
Next up was the local ultimate tribute to AC/DC…The JACK! The JACK has been impressing crowds all across America and has earned endorsements by many fellow musicians and fans everywhere. One of these is the extremely talented Simon Wright (drummer) of AC/DC and Dio. As the venue’s lights dimmed, the crowd's energy grew as The JACK opened up with the high-energy classic, “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)”. That song brings so many things to mind for me, the movie Empire Records, GWAR closing out their sets with it on the Vans Warped Tour, and now added to these great memories, is The JACK doing an amazing cover of it too. A combo of “Are You Ready / Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” was very well mashed together and kept the energy flowing. To be honest, the energy level seemed to be on 11 throughout their whole set with only brief breaks between songs. With the classic guitar riffs of Angus Scott and Milton Young, the thunderous rhythm coming from Sean Mausert (drums) and David Badinger (bass), topped off with the spot-on vocals of Brian Bon Scott Johnson, The JACK plowed through, “Jailbreak”, and “TNT”. Before blessing the crowd with “Back In Black”, Brian Bon Scott Johnson shared a once-in-a-lifetime moment/story with the crowd. He told us all about the history of the cap he was wearing. Let me quote his story to the best of my memory, “A dear friend of Brian Bon Scott Johnson, Christine’s dad, who was the manager of the Palladium in New York. AC/DC was rehearsing for the “For Those About To Rock” tour. Angus grabbed the hat off Brian’s head and threw it saying he hated the color. Christine’s dad picked the hat up off the floor and asked Brian Johnson if he wanted the hat back, and he said no…and Christine’s dad kept it. Many years later, he gave that hat to Christine. Then in 2018, she brought it to a show The JACK played in Casa Grande, Az, and presented it to The JACK’s singer. As she presented it, she said, if anyone today in America deserved to wear that hat…it was him”. That story wowed the crowd, and to be honest, Christine was correct. The JACK continued full force through “Shoot to Thrill”, “Hells Bells” and “Shook Me All Night”, before asking the crowd for a little favor. Angus Scott, invited the crowd to open up their Facebook app on their phones and go live. They had a little special treat for them tonight. That treat was The Iron Maiden’s drummer, Linda McDonald, who would be filling in on the next song up, “Highway To Hell”. Let’s just say, I hope this video finds its way online. It was like a train hitting you full force. This may be a link for it… HIGHWAY TO HELL (fingers crossed). Before you knew it, all of The Iron Maiden’s were joining The JACK on stage. You could tell these two bands had a special connection, because it sounded amazing as well as being a visual treat. “Thunderstruck” followed, which was very appropriate considering what we had all just witnessed. To close out their set was the ultimate classic, “For Those About To Rock”. After witnessing The JACK for the first time, and seeing their attention to every little detail, I can see why they come highly recommended and are considered the “Ultimate Tribute to AC/DC”. Very professional, talented group of guys that love their fans, and their fans truly love them.
Now came time for the headliner, The Iron Maidens. There would be no slow build-up, they came out swinging with the fast-paced high-energy “Be Quick Or Be Dead” featuring the blazing guitar work of Courtney Cox and Nikki Stringfield. Taking me back to my teenage years, was “Flight Of Icarus”. I can’t tell you how many times I played the Piece Of Mind album, but I know that album very well, and Kirsten Rosenberg did an incredible job on the vocals. Her vocals are very powerful and her range is massive. The next song is one that when my boys hear it, they tell me my phone is ringing, because it is my ringtone. So, as soon as that unforgettable guitar sound started for “Wasted Years”, both boys looked right at me and smiled. I knew what they were thinking. This song also had a special bonus, it featured the futuristic Eddie from the Somewhere In Time album, interacting with both the band and the crowd. The Iron Maidens continued full speed ahead through “The Clairvoyant”, “Flash Of The Blade” and the instrumental “Genghis Khan”. Over the next couple of songs, “The Trooper” and “Alexander The Great”, Kirsten was pulling the crowd in more as both Linda McDonald (drums) and Wanda Ortiz (bass) mesmerized them with their tight galloping rhythm. Anytime you hear “Woe to you”, you know what is about to happen. Just like in the original Iron Maiden video for “The Number Of The Beast”, the devil did make an appearance on stage with the Maidens. Before going way back to more early songs, they did “Only The Good Die Young”, which was the last track on the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son album from 1988. Followed by some old Di’Anno era classics, “Murders In The Rue Morgue” and “The Ides Of March / Wrathchild”. To close out the night was fast-paced “Aces High” and their classic closer, “Iron Maiden”, because Iron Maiden and The Iron Maidens will get all of you! The ladies in The Iron Maidens do an amazing job nailing the sound, the interaction, and the entertainment every time. It is easy to understand why they are so popular nationally and internationally. So if you ever get a chance to see them perform, my boys and I highly recommend it. Actually, we highly recommend all three bands that performed.
Be sure to check out these bands and follow them. Below are the bands with some of the media links and contact info.
THE IRON MAIDENS:
https://www.facebook.com/theironmaidensofficial/
https://www.instagram.com/theironmaidensofficial/
https://twitter.com/TheIronMaidens
THE JACK:
http://www.TheJackTributeBand.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ACDCtrib/
AZ-Z TOP:
