
It's always a good day when you hear one of the best singers from the late 80's MTV days is coming to town with his band, so you spike up whatever hair is left on your head and squeeze into your leather and hope and pray his voice has not fallen into the crushing hands of father time. In this case the person under the microscope is Miljenko Matijevic and his band Steelheart and let me tell you he passed with flying colors, almost as if 33 years has not passed since the debut smash album came out!
They hit the stage playing two songs from the movie Rock Star (which they recorded most of the soundtrack for the imaginary band Steel Dragon) and ripped into "Blood Pollution" and "Living The Life" the two heaviest songs of the night for sure as his relatively unknown backup band crushed it and Mili was just warming up. They stayed dear to the debut album most the night as they cruised through tunes like "Gimme Gimme", "Like Never Before" and "Everybody Loves Eileen", but all eyes and ears were on him when the power ballad "She's Gone" started as it has to be one of the hardest tunes to sing from that era and even though it was played in a little different arrangement.The song was crushed by Mili and it was so magical that I'm sure there were some tears shed somewhere in the adoring smaller crowd.
However, there were two songs that most everyone came to hear and at the end of the set they appeared just like we knew they would, "I'll Never Let You Go (Angel Eyes) and "We All Die Young" from the Rock Star movie audition scene, which has also just been released as a single with a little different mix. The show overall was short but the impact was hard and everyone left smiling after witnessing one of their favorite singers prove he still has what it takes!
Local boys Dreamkeeper opened the show with a blistering but short set, as they rifled through "Ashes Of Hope", "Forever Fire", "Lost Forever" and a killer cover of Grim Reaper's "See You In Hell". The band was asked to open the show by the venue for the second year in a row when Steelheart came to town. The band is comprised of Taylor Dennis (Guitar/Vocals) Ron Carson (Guitar) Nick Troutman (Bass) and Carlos Rios on Drums. Look for these guys at a show near you, they do not disappoint.