Allen County War Memorial Coliseum

The Red Voodoo Tour

I’ll cut to the chase:  Sammy ROCKS!  My wife bought tickets to the show for
my birthday, and all I can say is that it was a great gift.

I’ve been a Sammy fan since Standing Hampton, which I would guess qualifies
me as a Redhead.  Although, it certainly didn’t bother me to see Sammy go
with VanHalen, Sammy is happier now – no question.  All we talked about on
the way home was how much fun he is having.  It was great.

When we arrived, my wife pointed out that the tickets I thought were going
to be garbage turned out to be excellent.  Why?  Because Sammy had moved the
stage to center court in the arena, and literally cut the capacity in about
half.  Later in the show Sammy mentioned that his whole goal was to play to
HIS fans – nobody else’s.  He’d rather have 3 or 4000 Redheads there than
40,000 people who don’t care whether he’s there or not.  Cool!  Say whatever
you want, but sammy said it best (and I quote) “I love doin’ this shit”.  He
was referring to his passion for making and performing his music.  The other
quote I liked was when his record company pointed out that Red Voodoo was a
“party” album he replied “Heeeellllllllllo!?!? Of course it’s a party
album.”  I was tickled by that.  No hidden meanings, nothing.  Just pure
unadulterated fun,  Sammy style!

He started the show off much like I expected after reading the posted set
lists.  Acoustic Cabo Wabo, followed with The Revival.  It was immediately
obvious that we were at a party – not a concert.  The set list he played
deviated from the norm quite a bit from what I had been reading, but I loved
it all.  Because I play all his stuff, all the time, even my wife knew
everything.  Except one:  He played a really nice acoustic version of On The
Other Hand, and she didn’t realize what it was until I told her (LOL).
That’s okay, she thought it was good even when she didn’t know it.

The show played out for a click over 2 hrs., and was ended by Returning of
the Wish.  Sammy explained the song, and how it was really designed to end
the party on a “good feeling”.  It did.  Sammy rocks, has a great stage
presence, has a great band, and most of all, knows what he’s doing all this
for.  Because he loves it!  And he let’s it show.  After the Balance show, I
told my wife that I probably wouldn’t see VH again.  It seemed like the
thrill was gone.  Sammy is nearly polar opposite from 1995.  And frankly, so
is my perspective on whether I would see him again.  I told a friend in
response to “how was the concert?”: If he were playing again tonight, I’d be
there.
 

Thanks to Martin Dunham for the review and Ron Higgins for the set list!