Page 56 - Black Velvet Rock Magazine - Issue 100

BV100 pg56_BV100 pg56 12/03/2019 00:58 Page 1

BlackVelvetMagazine.Com - 56
RYAN ROXIE / DEVILFIRE – BIRMINGHAM ASYLUM 2, 23.02.19
Since Ryan Roxie is mostly seen gracing big arena stages with Alice Cooper, it’s quite a treat to witness his own solo show in such an intimate
venue as the Asylum 2.
Birmingham locals Devilfire open the proceedings, but as an acoustic trio rather than the hard rock quintet that they usually are. Feeling a little out
of their comfort zone, vocalist Alex Cooper perches on a stool while the trio perform stripped back versions of songs such as ‘She’s Like Fire’, ‘(In And
Out Of Love) All Of The Time’ and ‘Ready For War?’, from their 2017 released ‘Dark Manoeuvres’ debut album – the latter ‘a bit of a provocative song’,
according to Alex. Rather like the album title, there’s quite a haunting atmosphere as the bare guitar tones echo out under Alex’s alluring vocals.
Devilfire, at least in their acoustic guise, are quite the oppo-
site to Ryan Roxie – who brings his backing band and is not
afraid to rock. It’s no surprise that he opens with ‘Big Rock Show’
from his ‘Imagine Your Reality’ album – it’s the ultimate show
opener with its bedazzling chords and stomping beat. Ryan is
all about the melody, he’s influenced by the likes of Cheap Trick,
so it’s no surprise he chose to cover ‘California Man’, a song that
Cheap Trick made their own (originally by The Move) – and not
only that, got Robin Zander to guest on the song on his album.
A jiving rock ’n’ roll vibe comes out as he and his band, featuring
Rob Lane, Robby Miller and Sean Tobin, put their all into this
and every song of the set. It’s a set that spans Ryan’s career, as
far back as Dad’s Porno Mag – we get the tongue-in-cheek
‘Smell My Finger’ (apparently intended as a love song and prob-
ably a song that couldn’t be written now, according to Ryan), and
includes a couple of Alice Cooper songs for good measure.
Ryan’s a chatty, amica-
ble man and gives insight
into some of the songs and
just general banter in be-
tween songs that helps
make the show even cosier
and more entertaining than it
already is. Ryan’s been
doing this thing called rock
for decades, his mission is to
inspire more guitarists, and
he definitely comes across
as a down-to-earth profes-
sional on stage. Although
he’s best known as a gui-
tarist, and in the middle of
the set has time to show his
talents on his own while the
rest of the band go offstage,
he has a fine voice too that
is multidimensional and can
bloom in both the high-
paced rock songs and slow-
movers like the cover of
‘God Put A Smile On Your
Face’ (Coldplay) that shows
off quite a different side to
the musician. Inspired by all
the rock ‘n’ roll movies com-
ing out, Ryan jokes that
they’re making their own –
episodes of which are on In-
stagram – each one being
60 seconds in length, under
the clichéd hashtag #tourlife.
There are a few Alice
Cooper fans in the audience,
so we get a classic rendition
of ‘School’s Out’, although
the set ends, after arguably
the best song off Ryan’s solo
album, the, punchy, in-yer-
face ‘Me Generation’, with a
sterling cover of Cheap
Trick’s anthemic ‘Surrender’.
And the only thing we’re
thinking when it’s all over is
‘Ain’t That A Shame’. Fingers
crossed Ryan returns to the
UK again soon so we can do
it all again.
YYYYY
Shari Black Velvet
Ryan Roxie Photo By Shari Black
Velvet

CONCERTS