Children of the Grave and Lovedrive – Sabbath and Scorpions at the Bootlegger Copa Room!

Lovedrive and Children of the Grave played the Copa Room at the Bootlegger restaurant on Saturday, October 25, 2025.

Las Vegas is still reeling from the loss of Count’s Vamp’d, one of its all-time great houses of rock and roll (and my home away from home for well over a decade!) Fortunately, Vamp’d owners Korie and Danny “The Count” Koker have stepped up with their new company, Motormouth Productions, to put on a series of “Vamp’d Beyond” shows at the legendary Bootlegger restaurant’s Copa Room venue (not to be confused with the similarly named venue at the Tuscany Hotel and Casino, which has also been hosting rock show in the wake of Vamp’d closing).

The Bootlegger restaurant is a Vegas institution. Owned by the Mancuso Family, it’s stood for decades, and the Copa Room has proven in recent months to be quite the spot for rock gigs, with Danny and Korie continuing to do what they do best. The Copa Room as a unique layout and a true old Vegas feel, though someone wanting the best experience with a rock show the venue hosts will want to stand up front and center right next to the barricades. Needless to say, despite the first-come-first-serve seating available in the room, that’s where I usually am!

I’m not quite sure if there was supposed to be a Halloween/costume theme going on this evening or not. Most of the audience was dressed in “normal” clothing (if Black Sabbath and Ozzy shirts can be considered normal), though I did notice a handful of costumes here and there, including a young woman dressed as what I assume was a K-pop musician. I myself wore a horror movie-themed battle jacket, which I figured was a good happy medium.

Lovedrive started off the gig. This Scorpions tribute was a regular staple at Vamp’d over the years, coming over from Southern California to set the stage on fire. It’s great to see that they’re keeping that tradition alive, as demonstrated with everything they did on stage at the Bootlegger’s Copa Room this past Saturday. Wearing appropriate attire to pay tribute to these German titans of hard rock who’ve been rocking the world since the 60s, they know what they’re doing, and how to get any crowd enthused. I’d easily rank these guys among the best tribute bands I’ve ever seen, and I don’t use those words lightly.

For this evening, Lovedrive gave the Vegas audience a set consisting of songs from the band’s classic era heyday, ranging from approximately 1979 to 1990. The expected hits were here, including “No One Like You,” “The Zoo,” “Big City Nights,” “Still Loving You,” and the expected (but no less excellent!) finale of “Rock You Like a Hurricane,” complete with the “pyramid” routine at the end. The band isn’t afraid to dig deeper into the vault, with tunes that included the instrumental “Coast to Coast” (complete with the man playing Klaus picking up a guitar!), “I’m Leaving You,” “Loving You Sunday Morning,” and “Dynamite,” to name a few. Despite being on first, the sheer length of the show and size of the setlist was headliner quality, though obviously a few tunes had to be omitted as the band was sharing the top of the bill with another band. There are so many songs from so many eras of this band I’d love to hear Lovedrive take a crack at, but I also understand the time constraints. This was another kick-ass set from one of my favorite tribute bands ever.

On second was Children of the Grave, Las Vegas’ premier Ozzy Osbourne/Black Sabbath tribute band. The group has existed in varying incarnations over the years, but has always featured frontman Michael Allen portraying Ozzy Osbourne. On guitar is Max Rico, another local favorite. I honestly didn’t recognize the man playing bass this evening, though he quickly proved himself to be no slouch with four-string skills and stage presence that would do Geezer Butler proud.

One thing I love about Children of the Grave is, while they focus on the Black Sabbath catalogue, they’re certainly not afraid to throw in a few of Ozzy’s solo tunes as well. As far as Sabbath goes, this set featured the expected hits from Birmingham’s favorite sons, including “War Pigs,” “Paranoid,” “Children of the Grave,” “Fairies Wear Boots,” “Iron Man,” and “NIB,” but also threw in a few deeper cuts from that era, including “Behind the Wall of Sleep,” “Into the Void.” From the Ozzman’s solo career, we got tracks that included “I Don’t Know,” “Mr. Crowley,” “Bark at the Moon,” and even an awesome deep cut in the form of one of the BLIZZARD OF OZZ album’s finest songs, “Suicide Solution.” This was a great and diverse setlist, though I’d love to hear a song or two off the latter two “classic era” albums, TECHNICAL ECSTASY and NEVER SAY DIE! the next time I see them play.

Half the fun of seeing a Children of the Grave show is its frontman, Michael Allen. Yes, this guy is taller and much healthier looking than the real Ozzy ever was. But he’s about as animated as they come, and has undeniable stage presence. When this guy’s rocking out in a live venue, it’s hard to look away. It doesn’t hurt that he always surrounds himself with some of the best players Sin City has to offer, making these gigs the ideal way to experience Black Sabbath and Ozzy music live if you’re looking for an experience in Vegas.

This was another great evening of rock and roll at the Bootlegger’s Copa Room, with no fans left disappointed. The music of Scorpions and Black Sabbath was done justice and then some, with two fantastic tributes. If you’re a Scorpions fan you’ll be doing yourself a great service seeing Lovedrive the next time they return to Sin City, and Black Sabbath/Ozzy fans won’t be disappointed with local favorites Children of the Grave. Thanks again to Danny, Korie, and all the Motormouth Productions personnel for making these Vamp’d Beyond gigs a reality!

PHOTO CREDIT: Live Photos by Christina Corcoran for ZRockR Magazine – (c) 2025 All Rights Reserved.