Vixen, Stephen Pearcy, Vince Neil – A Trio of 80s Rock at the Downtown Events Center!

Vixen, Stephen Pearcy, and Vince Neil played the Downtown Events Center on Friday, September 6, 2024.

Vegas is a town that rocks, and there’s no denying that. Local, national, and international alike, this is a city that attracts the best in rock and metal. While I won’t deny that I typically avoid Downtown Las Vegas like the plague, I decided to bend my “I Don’t Go Downtown” rule and check out a trio of classic 80s hard rock artists who were playing the venue.

This was my first time attending a concert at the Downtown Events Center, and I must say, it’s actually a pretty solid venue. The larger stage wasn’t being used, with the event relegated to a smaller stage under a covered awning. There was plenty of space to accommodate the crowd, and the fake grass was a nice improvement from the hard concrete floors I’m used to at most gigs.

Kicking off the evening was Vixen. The all-girl group is best known for their 1988 self-titled debut album, featuring the minor classics “Cryin’” and “Edge of a Broken Heart.” Its follow up, 1990’s “Rev It Up,” featured a killer title track co-written by Ron Keel. Sadly, the band has been no stranger to tragedy, with the death of classic lead guitarist Jan Kuehnemund in 2013. Classic members Share Ross/Share Pederson and Janet Gardner parted ways with the group in recent years, with Femme Fatale vocalist Lorraine Lewis singing for the band for a period. The current version of the band features one classic era member in drummer Roxy Petrucci, along with bassist Julia Lage, guitarist Britt Lightning, and new singer Rosa Laricchiuta. The group also had a keyboard player on stage, though I’m not sure if this was meant to be a permanent/full band member or just something additional.

I won’t deny that of the three bands performing on this evening, I was most eager for Vixen’s performance. I’ve seen the band a handful of times with varying lineups over the years, and was curious to see the chemistry of the group and to see how their new vocalist fared. One audience member stated to me that he was disappointed they only had “one original member.”

If they can fire on all cylinders like this and still deliver the thunder and quality renditions of the songs, who the hell cares? I’d rather see a band of no original members than an all-original band where there’s no chemistry and the performance is terrible. Vixen rocked on this evening, and was the best of the three sets. Which is why it’s so disappointing that they had the shortest stage time. I love seeing women rockers do their thing, and this current incarnation of Vixen pulls it off nicely. There’s a great stage presence here, and the group clearly has fun on stage doing their thing.

And the renditions of the songs are fantastic. The set kicked off with the title cut from 1990’s REV IT UP, and featured a nice assortment of tracks mostly from the band’s first two albums recorded with their classic lineup. We even got an unexpected surprise in the form of Deep Purple’s “Perfect Strangers” and teases of a few other classic hard rock anthems, including Van Halen’s “Runnin’ With the Devil.” I’m pleased to say that new vocalist Laricchiuta does a solid job delivering the tunes; her vocal style isn’t too far removed from classic vocalist Janet Gardner, and I mean that in the best way. For me, this was the best of the three performances of the night, with the only weakness being the brevity; it would’ve been nice to hear the group’s cover of “I Don’t Need No Doctor,” for example. Hoping Vegas gets another Vixen gig soon!

Vixen Gallery.

Stephen Pearcy, the classic vocalist of Ratt, took the stage for the second of the three sets making up the evening. Although Ratt is essentially no more. Mr. Pearcy gets up on stage regularly and keeps the classic hits alive. In his band are guitarists Johnny Monaco and Erik Ferentinos, bassist Matt Thorne (formerly of Rough Cutt), and drummer Blas Elias (formerly of Slaughter). Mr. Pearcy always surrounds himself with quality players, and his lineup for this evening was no exception.

I always somewhat dread going to see classic 80s rock singers doing their thing four decades later. I will admit, I’ve seen some Pearcy shows that have been a bit rough, but I’ve also seen plenty where he’s enthusiastic and energetic, showing a nice improvement. Where does Stephen land when it comes to vocal ability? You’ve got men like Sammy Hagar, Paul Rodgers, and Marq Torien, who’ve lost nothing over the years, and then you’ve got some horrible cases like Paul Di’Anno and Don Dokken who should’ve retired years ago. Stephen lands somewhere in the middle of this equation. He definitely shows his age, but he’s also far from being a lost cause, still singing these songs with passion and some vocal range, and having an actual stage presence. And bless him for that.

Unsurprisingly, Pearcy’s setlist consisted of the expected Ratt hits, much to the enthusiasm of the crowd. Gems like “Lay It Down,” “You’re in Love,” “Wanted Man,” and “Way Cool Jr.” were performed quite well by Stephen and his all-star band. I especially respect how Stephen throws in a few deeper cuts, which on this evening included “I’m Insane” and “Nobody Rides for Free,” the latter from the POINT BREAK soundtrack. My only real complaints with his setlist were a) the lack of tracks from the 1990 DETONATOR album (why does he never give this one any love?) and b) the lack of solo songs. Given that Pearcy is still making new music and nearly all of it kicks ass, why not sprinkle in a song or two? I’m beginning to think I’m never going to hear the guy do “Ten Miles Wide” live, and that’s disappointing. That said, he delivered a solid enough set with a great band. Don’t count this guy out just yet.

Stephen Pearcy Gallery.

The third and final set belonged to classic Motley Crue vocalist Vince Neil. Any true fan of 80s hard rock and metal has a soft spot for the Crue, and I’m no exception. However, I do believe they’re one of those bands that stayed too late at the party, needlessly coming back from a retirement that came too late as it was. Criticisms of Neil’s stage performance are commonplace from fans, though the truth is he’s a singer who’s always struggled on the live stage, even in the Crue’s heyday. Neil as also recorded a number of solo albums over the years too.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from a Vince Neil set, but I was delighted to see that his band featured Zoltan Chaney, Dana Strum, and Jeff Blando, all of Slaughter, and three talented musicians in their own rights. Prior to this evening, I’d only seen Vince perform once, which was back in 2007 at the old Henderson Pavilion (which has since been replaced by the indoor Lee’s Family Forum). With reservations, I tried to remain optimistic about what I’d see.

The gig got off to a shaky start, with the band’s harmony vocals sounding far louder and more powerful than Vince’s lead vocals; this is never a good sign. The first few songs were painful. And I’m not sure if it was the result of a) a more concentrated effort on Vince’s part, or b) an equipment adjustment, but he definitely “found his groove” around the time he began performing the Crue classic “Home Sweet Home” and his solo cut “You’re Invited (But Your Friend Can’t Come).” I won’t say that he ever sounded “great” in this performance (he never really has as a live performer), but it was at least better than I was expecting with some of the preconceived notions and some of the clips I’ve seen over the last few years. He also looked to be in better shape physically than he has been in recent years, which is a plus.

Vince Neil Gallery.

All in all, this was a pretty solid evening of rock and roll. Vixen stole the show with a great new vocalist despite their shorter set. Pearcy delivered a great variety of Ratt classics and showed he still has some decent range in his pipes, and Neil, admittedly never a great live vocalist, did a halfway decent job once he “found his groove” and at least did slightly better than I would’ve expected (even if his performance didn’t exactly floor me). Despite my initial reservations regarding some of the acts, the end results were solid enough, and I think this crowd of rock fans was thoroughly impressed!

PHOTO CREDIT: All live photos by Stephy Hayward- Muzio for ZRockR Magazine – (c) 2024 – All Rights Reserved