Pat Travers – Out Go the Lights on Stage at Vamp’d!

Pat Travers played Count’s Vamp’d on Friday, January 24, 2025, with support act John Zito.

Leave it to the good people at Count’s Vamp’d to always deliver when it comes to rock, metal, and more! There’s always something going on in this house of rock, and it’s rare that I don’t set foot in there once a week. Canadian classic rocker Pat Travers was paying Vamp’d a visit on his latest tour, so I was overjoyed at the prospect of crossing another rocker off my bucket list of artists to see on a live stage.

Every good concert at Vamp’d deserves a good support act, and we got that this Friday night in the form of the John Zito Band! Mr. Zito has put out many fantastic blues rock releases over the years, and is also known for being one of the guitarists in Vamp’d/Count’s Kustoms owner Danny “The Count” Koker’s band, Count’s 77. Each time I see Mr. Zito’s band, I’m constantly impressed by his guitar skills, not to mention how large an assortment of original tunes he has to his name; in a town were cover and tribute bands are a dime a dozen, original work is always much appreciated. The lineup for Zito’s band also includes bassist Barry Barnes, who plays with Zito in Count’s 77 as well.

Pat Travers is a revered classic rock and roller, but one that for, whatever reason, I hadn’t seen live before. Again, something I was very happy to rectify by attending this gig at Vamp’d. Travers is best known for the anthems “Snortin’ Whiskey” (co-written by Pat Thrall) and his cover of “Boom Boom (Out Go the Lights).”

When Mr. Travers, who’ll be turning 71 in 2025, took the stage, he proudly announced that he and his band were here to kick ass. I’m pleased to say that they delivered on that promise. The band sailed through older and newer songs alike, much to the crowd’s enthusiasm. This wasn’t exactly a flashy or visually stimulating show, but it rocked the group pretty damn hard from start to finish. This is real rock and roll with no backing track nonsense, the way it was always meant to be.

Travers has assembled some fantastic backing musicians for his group; even without three men on stage, it’s still a very full sound. He even left the stage and let his rhythm section play a fantastic instrumental piece at one point during the show, beautifully demonstrating that he knows how to pick support musicians well.

If I have one minor complaint, it’s that Vamp’d owner Danny “The Count” Koker wasn’t present to get up and perform “Snortin’ Whiskey” with the band; this feels like a wasted opportunity since Koker has covered the song with his own band, Count’s 77, and it would’ve made for an awesome moment had it happened. Still, can’t complain much about the awesome show we got.

You can’t go wrong with Pat Travers. The guy has been doing his thing over half a century, and it still hasn’t gotten old. He and his trio were firing on all cylinders, and John Zito (who proclaimed he always wanted to open for Travers!) kicked things off in fine form. A damn fine show all around.

PHOTO CREDIT: Live photos by Dave Childers for ZRockR Magazine – (c) 2025 – All Rights Reserved.