I ain’t skerred to admit I’m a big fan of about as many covers of classic tunes as the classics themselves.
I’ll take Manfred Mann’s Earth Band’s “Blinded by the Light” over the Springsteen original, The Doors’ “Gloria” over Van Morrison’s, The Talking Heads’ “Take Me to the River” over Rev. Al Green’s, Devo’s “Satisfaction” over the Stones’, Joe Cocker’s “With a Little Help From My Friends” over The Beatles’, and so on.
I’m a little skeptical, however, about Iron Priest’s show at one of the most charming boony-hangouts around, Rock Star Sports Bar (7120 South Fwy., headed toward Burleson; 817-293-2606), on Saturday, with Legion of Doom, Glam-R-Us, and Six Point Hollow. The relatively new quartet pays tribute to two of the killerest hair-metal-ish acts of the late 1970s and early ’80s, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, two British bands that I had the sincere pleasure of witnessing live during their halcyon days, back before any of my friends or I had our driver’s licenses and had to be carted around by our freaking parents.
Nothing says, “Rock and fucking roll!!!” like being dropped off in front of a crowd of AquaNetted, Spandex-wearin’, high-heel-sportin’ metal babes and antagonistic, high, studded metal-heads by your moms, who just can’t seem to drive off without bidding you, “Bye, honey! Have a good time! I love you!” Ugh. Anyway, Maiden and the Priest: Talk about overcompensating for inadequate private anatomical features. I saw Maiden during its Egyptian-themed Powerslaves tour. The stage had been transformed into a giant, historically accurate golden pyramid – replete with historically accurate, moving auxiliary stages and trap doors – sandwiched between two historically accurate sphinxes.
Each giant relaxing lion’s face was a skull, in fitting with the band’s mascot, Eddie, the amazingly active, amazingly muscular, and even more amazingly long-haired skeleton who haunted all of the band’s swag and album covers and who also came out onstage during the show and banged his ragged head a little. I hadn’t realized Eddie was, like, 15 feet tall. I thought he was going to clomp into the audience and eat me. Anyway, the Priest came to town as part of Rob Halford and the boys’ Defenders of the Faith tour – all I remember is loudness, lights, leather, long hair, and Halford in black leather chaps over black leather pants, with a black leather jacket and a black leather chauffeur hat. He opened the show by driving out on a Harley Davidson. So not gay.
How Iron Priest is going to manage to squeeze an entire pyramid onto Rock Star’s scandalously small stage will be something to see, to say nothing of frontman Todd Pack cruising into the scandalously tight bar area on a large motorcycle. Visit www.myspace.com/ironpriestband. And on my list of cover songs that transcend their source material, I’d like to add Judas Priest’s version of the Fleetwood Mac song “Green Manalishi.” I will, however, reserve judgment on Iron Priest’s version of Priest’s version of Fleetwood Mac’s version until late Saturday night.
Contact HearSay at hearsay@fwweekly.com.
