Count’s 77 with Freaky and Faith – Live Rock and Roll at the Bootlegger Copa Room!

Count’s 77 played the Copa Room at the Bootlegger restaurant on Saturday, October 4, 2025, with support act Freaky and Faith.

Las Vegas is still reeling from the loss of Count’s Vamp’d, it’s most beloved of all rock venues, which operated in Sin City for 16 years. As a music fan, I’ve been in search of what will be the next big home of rock out here in Southern Nevada, though sadly, nothing even close has come. Fortunately, Vamp’d owners Danny “The Count” and Korie Koker have stepped with their new company, Motormouth Productions, to host a series of Vamp’d Beyond gigs, essentially continuing their work and giving rock and roll to the people.

The Copa Room at the Bootlegger restaurant is not to be confused with a similarly-named venue at the Tuscany Hotel and Casino, which has also been hosting rock shows in the wake of Vamp’d closing. The Bootlegger is long-time institution in Las Vegas, having been owned by the Mancuso Family for decades, including beloved local rock musician Ron Mancuso. Korie has brought together several members of the former Vamp’d family to put on these gigs, with this being the third to date (the first show was a multi-band showcase with local and international groups alike, while the second was a Chevy Metal gig which featured Sebastian Bach as a guest).

The Bootlegger’s Copa Room is a nice room with a definite ambience to it, though it definitely carries a different vibe than something like Vamp’d. The room can fit a good many people in first-come-first-serve seating, and the sound in the room is superb. Hower, the upward slant of the room makes it difficult to see the stage if one is sitting down further back. If you want to rock out in this place and get the full effect, you’ll definitely want to stand up front (like I did) or see if you can get a table as close to the stage as possible.

Starting the evening of music was Freaky and Faith, a musical duo who has been making music in Vegas for the past several years. The pair always manages to assemble great and diverse setlists, with this evening’s music containing everything from Paul McCartney’s classic 1970 anthem “Maybe I’m Amazed” to “Shallow” from the 2018 film version of A STAR IS BORN; the latter song certainly demonstrated how well these two can pull off a duet together. This was only my second Freaky and Faith gig; I’d seen them one other time a few weeks prior to the closure of Vamp’d. I can assure it won’t be my last time seeing the pair though!

But of course, it’s Count’s 77 this Vegas crowd came to see on a Saturday night. The band, fronted by Vamp’d/Count’s Kustoms owner Danny “The Count” Koker, also includes the likes of guitarists John Zito and Stoney Curtis (both of whom have bands and recording careers of their own), bassist Barry Barnes (who also plays in Curtis and Zito’s respective bands), drummer Jeff Tortora (Tinnitus, Blue Man Group), and usually keyboardist Tommy Paris (formerly of Britny Fox). This was the first Vegas gig for the group since Vamp’d closed down, and rock and roll fans in Sin City were eager to see their hometown heroes take to the stage once again. To date, the group has released two studio albums and one live album, with their releases featuring the production work of legendary Shrapnel Records founder Mike Varney, who was in attendance on this evening.

I’ve seen hundreds of bands play Vegas stages over the years I’ve been following the music scene, local, national, and international alike. But I doubt there’s any band I have more fun watching on a live stage than Count’s 77. The sextet combines tunes from their albums of originals with plenty of classic cover songs, finding a way to make everything flow together perfectly; the originals stand up alongside the cover tunes and, somehow, it all works. This is more than just “the guy from Count’s Kustoms singing cover tunes.” It’s a great time for all involved, and you can tell these guys have a great respect and love for one another, as well as their audience, which seems to get bigger at each show. In fact, the band even plays shows in other spots of the country now, further highlighting their growth. I’ve been seeing these guys since back when they were called Zito 77, and I’ll never get tired of them.

So, what did they actually play? As usual, this set consisted of a combination of covers and originals. From the two Count’s 77 albums, we got cuts like “Soul Transfusion,” “Summer of ’77,” “Do You Feel Me,” and “Find My Way Home.” To these guys it may as well be the 1970s all over again, and that’s not a bad thing. As far as the cover tunes go, the band kicked things off with the most appropriate one to play on a Saturday night; Elton John’s “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting.” They breathed new life into songs like Ides of March’s hit “Vehicle” and a trio of Bob Seger tunes, which Mr. Koker admitted was done out of his selfish love for Seger, being a Detroit guy, but I doubt anyone in the audience minded that based on the sheer amount of applause and enthusiasm. This was a relentless set that had everyone in the house on their feet, despite there being plenty of seating in the Copa Room.

It’s been over a decade and I’m still not bored with seeing Count’s 77 on a live stage. I doubt that will change any time soon, as long as they keep delivering the goods! Combining great sounds, stage chemistry, humor, and a genuine passion for entertaining their audience, it doesn’t get much better than this. And the duo of Freaky and Faith did a great job getting the fans geared up for the headliner. If you’re at all a rock and roll fan, you owe it to yourself to catch a Count’s 77 show, and to pick up their releases.

PHOTO CREDIT: Live photos by Taylor T. Carlson for ZRockR Magazine – (c) 2025 – All Rights Reserved.