14 (Concert Review)

April 21, 2014 | By Shawn Thornton More

This LRI review of John Corabi comes from a close friend of LRI’s who goes by the name of CJ aka “Siege”. CJ had such a good time at the show, he sent me a the following review of it. CJ’s writing style, for those that might know him… is different from most. Enjoy! – Shawn “Moon”…

That saying, “It’s not what you know, it’s WHO you know” couldn’t apply any harder than to my dude Moon. We go back a long ways, and I owe him a special thanks for wide range of music appreciation that I have. He was directly responsible for my love for rock. Not only does he know the songs, he knows the artist. He literally knows them.

In the mid 90’s we hit lots of shows and had many tales of mayhem and debauchery. I met all sorts of artist that ordinarily, I wouldn’t have any access to. I got to meet Motley Crue, Sebastian Bach, Tracii Guns, and many others.

He called me recently about John Corabi playing a show at the Diesel Concert Lounge in Chesterfield, MI. I knew who John Corabi was only because during the mid 90’s, John Corabi had replaced Vince Neil on vocals, which I didn’t believe possible- you know how Vince wails. But the dude did it! John Corabi put on a great show with Motley Crue. This was way, way back.

Fast forward to last week, I haven’t heard John Corabi sing since the 1994 Motley Crue tour. So, I was glad to go. We got some beers and mingled. I noticed right away that all the people there, while obvious rock fans, all had this extremely peaceful demeanor that reminded me of a campfire circle. I dug that. That should have been my first clue.

I imagined John Corabi showing up looking like a stereotypical rock star wearing a flashy outfit and some extreme hairdo pumped up energetic. Without knowing any better, I recognized John Corabi right when he walked in. He was lil shades, long curly hair and denim. His hair wasn’t glam rocked, it just hung natural with one highlighted lock up front, He looked like a hippy with a personal stylist, obviously he had no ego, and it was like no big deal that he was mingling with the fans that came to see him.

Moon played his CD in the car on the way, so I had an idea of what to expect. I was impressed by what I heard, but hearing someone live is always usually way better. From go I was impressed by his attitude. The opening band (Chrome Mollie) pointed him out, and then demanded him to come and sing with them- this is before his own headlining set. I think most artists would have declined, but he gracefully accepted, went up there and JAMMED with them- that was nice!

Acoustic sets are a particular favorite of mine, without a drummer and a bunch of other heavy hitters on heavy guitars big booming a sound to scream ourselves content, acoustic sets bare music down to one man’s voice and his guitar and it will show you the soul of a performer and more importantly show if he has the skill to touch yours.

A short clip of John Corabi performing “Misunderstood” 4/12/14

When I think about guitars and being touched, the obvious come to mind Prince, Slash, Tracii Guns and also the heavy stuff like Metallica and Alice and Chains.

I’ve had a life touched by violence, and bands like Pearl Jam eased my pain along with a large amount of beer. That all being said, back to John Corabi…

I cannot say enough about this man’s voice. He is easily one of the most gifted vocalists I’ve ever heard. Throughout his set, I could literally hear his voice range change to be any of the best vocal singers out there, I’m hearing Steven Tyler, Layne Staley, Chris Cornell etc.. All these styles of just blockbuster frontmen- all in his acoustic set. From what Moon had told me, most of the songs from the set list were different songs throughout JC’s career with bands such as Union, The Scream and of course Motley Crue. Some great covers thrown in as well, he jammed some Aerosmith, KISS, and also some Beatles. When the show was over, I was literally holding back tears. I had not been MOVED like that-by the singing of one dude since I took on Eddie Vedder and a 30 pack.

Being an overtly hostile person, just sick of fake and crappy people… I felt so at peace and free when JC finished his set. I felt cleansed. I felt like the drunk ass “I love you Man!” guy on my way out, only I wasn’t drunk. I was moved and impressed by John Corabi. He’s got a new fan and I won’t hesitate to be in his audience wherever he may play.

Thanks Again Moon
C.J.
Aka “Siege”

Visit John Corabi on the net.

www.johncorabimusic.com – Official Website
www.facebook.com/johncorabimusic -Official Facebook
www.twitter.com/crablegs59 – Official Twitter

Tags: 2014, detroit, full-image, john corabi