Ratt, White Lion and Little Caesar – House of Blues Sunset Strip

Once again here in Hollywood, hard rock fans had the chance to be back to the good old times of Sunset Strip. This time it was to celebrate with Ratt – one of the most successful 80’s glam rock bands -- their 25th anniversary. The celebration had a sold out venue and very special guests: White Lion and Little Caesar.

Little Caesar opened the evening and, despite of the short set, had a great performance. Ron Young (vocals) and his powerful voice and stage presence made fans sing along songs like ‘Drive It Home’ and ‘God’s Creation’, and also the ballad ‘In Your Arms’. The band had a lot of energy; however the crowd was really anxious to see the next bands.

White Lion is next with a new line up, the only original member being singer Mike Tramp. The band is releasing their new album -- the first one in 16 years – ‘Return of The Pride’ and starting a worldwide tour going to places like Central and South America, as well as Europe. The 45 minutes set showed that Mike Tramp, Jamie Law (guitars), Troy Patrick Farrell (drums), Claus Langeskov (bass) and Henning Wanner (keyboards) are not joking around.
The tension was obvious in the first few minutes, maybe because this was the first show in LA in a long time, or because the musicians are new, but when they started playing ‘Wait’, there was no question that the musicians are new only to White Lion. Guitar player Jamie Law shows as much technique, energy and stage presence as his predecessor Vito Bratta.

White Lion plays some of their big hits like ‘Radar Love’ and ‘Hungry’. Band and audience relax and ‘Tell Me’ is next with the audience singing along. Mike Tramp makes sure that he talks to the audience and ‘Lady of the Valley’ is next, along with a guitar solo from Jamie Law. The end comes very fast with ‘Little Fighter’ and the curtains close without their biggest hit ‘When the Children Cry’. Maybe a longer set next time?



Ratt closes the evening to a crowded venue made of anxious fans. The band that has three of its original members: Stephen Pearcy (vocals), Bobby Blotzer (drums) and Warren De Martini (guitars), along with Robbie Crane (bass) and John Corabi (guitars), start the show with tons of energy and without the glam look that was one of their trademarks. This show was part of the mini West Coast tour to celebrate 25 years of the Ratt EP in 1983. Since then, Ratt sold millions of albums around the world, split, some of its members followed a solo career, in 2007 toured with Poison in the US and Canada and now they are back with shows scheduled in Europe besides of this mini tour.

The show lasted for about 2 hours, and Stephen Pearcy and his buddies did not show any signs of being tired. Songs like ‘Lay It Down’ and ‘You’re in Love’ made fans ask for more. ‘You Think You’re Tough’ and the band warns that they are just getting started! Warren De Martini is, as usual, a virtuoso performer, giving precise solos and an amazing stage presence. Bobby Blotzer can’t help it but blow kisses to the crowd, and the whole band seems very excited with this new phase. The show ends with Ratt’s biggest hit ‘Lay It Down’ and even though the crowd kept asking for more, the curtain closed and everybody had to be happy with only two hours of Ratt & Roll.

Photo and text: Silvia Mendes
Ratt Footage: Lisa Polisa