It may not have been Easter weekend. The 100-degree sauna enveloping all of San Antonio for the past two months staunchly indicated that.
And there may not have been any churches nearby or religious symbols adorning the picturesque The Espee Pavilion this past Thursday night.
But there were multiple resurrections nevertheless.
The flag-bearers of Christian metal, Stryper, brought their yellow and black attack to the Alamo City’s downtown venue formerly known as Sunset Station accompanied by late ‘80s female heartthrobs Vixen and rocked a dedicated and faithful few hundred who came, saw and knew what to do.
An indoor show last Oct. 4 headlined by Accept notwithstanding, the Stryper/Vixen package is believed to be the first outdoor metal concert at the railroad pavilion in nearly 12 years when Hatebreed and Cannibal Corpse played a 35-degree November night in 2011.
Triple digits reigned this time, but not even unbearable humidity could halt a celebration of two long-standing Sunset Strip bands — one that delivered on all counts.
The return of Stryper could be viewed as a resurrection all unto its own, too.
Vocalist/guitarist Michael Sweet has overcome multiple retina detachments in his right eye, and lead guitarist Oz Fox has had multiple tumors removed from his brain since 2018. So any show Stryper puts on going forward is a blessing to its fans in more ways than one.
Along with fellow original member Robert Sweet on drums and former Firehouse bassist Perry Richardson, Stryper performed two 40-minute sets separated by a 10-minute break because “we felt it was the safest thing to do,” as Michael Sweet told the crowd.
Although they’re touring in support of last October’s The Final Battle, Stryper omitted the lone new-album tune on its printed setlist “No Rest For the Wicked” (setlist in 87-photo gallery) and stuck to mostly classics. Four of the first five tracks came from Stryper’s biggest album, 1986’s To Hell With the Devil, a taste of which can be viewed here via ATM’s Facebook Live footage of “Free” and two more tracks.
And while Michael Sweet showed no visionary ill effects, his voice continues to be one of the most heralded yet underappreciated ones in rock. Although Sweet has long scaled back on the patented high-pitched wails that adorn many Stryper songs, and despite the fact he didn’t attempt to hit them on classics such as the always jammin’ “More Than A Man” or “To Hell with the Devil,” his best note of the night was the long-held effort on 2020 track “Divider” after Stryper returned from the short break.
Despite stating on 2003 live album 7 Weeks In America that “Honestly” was the song that took Stryper out of clubs and put the band into arenas, Sweet and his mates did not perform it this evening. In fact, all ballads were left at home. Although Stryper has produced some of the best ballads in the business such as “First Love,” “Together As One” and "Alive,” the band deserves mad respect for simply going balls-out with every song performed on this steambath of an evening.
The hits kept coming with “In God We Trust,” “Calling on You” and “Always There for You,” and you can watch more ATM footage below of the final three tracks of the show. That included 2018’s “The Valley,” which Michael Sweet preceded by revealing Stryper plans on recording a new album next year before embarking on a 40th anniversary tour that will include a classic and modern era set each night.
“I’ll be praying that we come back here on a 75-degree night,” Sweet added.
The appearance of Vixen was an added bonus given that the lone ‘80s female hard rock band to sell more than one million albums hadn’t performed here in more than two decades.
Nowadays, Vixen features drummer Roxy Petrucci as its lone remaining original member helping to keep the songs alive following the 2013 death due to cancer of guitarist and founder Jan Kuehnemund.
But if you’re not familiar with the other members, well, that’s what Alamo True Metal is here for.
Other than Lita Ford’s “Kiss Me Deadly” video, the sex symbol of 1988 was easily vocalist Lorraine Lewis. Like Vixen, Lewis’ group Femme Fatale debuted in 1988 with a self-titled album. For those who don’t remember, look up the videos of “Waiting For the Big One” and “Falling In and Out of Love.” The former was performed after opener “Rev It Up” as an ode to Lewis’ former band.
Meanwhile, guitarist Britt Lightning may be recognizable in some circles from the all-female Guns N’ Roses tribute Paradise Kitty.
Julia Lage joined Vixen last year after original bassist Share Ross (formerly Share Pedersen) announced a hiatus from the group. Lage, a native of Brazil, is not only the wife of The Winery Dogs singer/guitarist Richie Kotzen but also the bassist in Smith/Kotzen, the side project her husband shares with Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith.
And in case you were at The Espee but didn’t recognize him perched as far back stage left as a keyboard player could be, the forgotten fifth member of Vixen is, alas, a man. Tyson Leslie may not be familiar to many rockers, but he has performed with everyone from Slipknot and Stone Sour’s Corey Taylor to country star Tracy Lawrence as well as Faster Pussycat, former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson and Enuff Z’Nuff.
Watch Vixen in action via ATM Facebook Live footage of “Hellraisers” and “I Want You To Rock Me” — the latter featuring a jam of famous guitar riffs — and below on the evening’s final two tracks.
Stryper performed here twice in 2016 at The Rock Box and the now-defunct Backstage Live/Alamo City Music Hall, the former show being another 100-plus degree one indoors when the air conditioning malfunctioned. Listen here as Sweet recalled that night with yours truly.
Stryper’s inadvertent knack for returning on triple-digit nights to one of the states that held its first tour in 1984 wasn’t lost on Michael Sweet when he concluded, “This is one of the hottest shows we’ve ever done. Literally. But you guys stayed, and you prayed, and you made it all happen.”
Perseverance. Resurrection.
Whatever you want to call it, it was in full force Thursday night accompanied by several Stryper-styled Bibles tossed into the crowd.
By the strength and glory of God, no one passed out. Nobody required medical attention. The only fever present was a bevy of ‘80s metal mainstay songs that all in attendance enjoyed reliving live with a pair of their favorite bands. At a venue that many are glad to see back on the Alamo City metal map.
STRYPER SETLIST Part 1: Sing-Along Song, More Than A Man, Surrender, Calling On You, Free, In God We Trust, Revelation, All For One, Always There For You
10-minute break
STRYPER SETLIST Part 2: Divider, No More Hell To Pay, The Valley, Soldiers Under Command, To Hell With the Devil
VIXEN SETLIST: Rev It Up, Waiting For the Big One, How Much Love, Cruisin’, Cryin’, Hellraisers, I Want You To Rock Me, Streets In Paradise, Love Made Me, Edge Of A Broken Heart
