TED POLEY
Official Website: www.tedpoley.com/code-bin/home.html
Myspace Website: www.myspace.com/tedpoley

JOE LYNN TURNER
Official Website: www.joelynnturner.com/
Myspace Website: www.myspace.com/joelynnturner

Photo Page from the Show

On Saturday October 4th, fellow ROCKEYEZ.com staff members Brian and Stephanie Rademacher, Mark Balogh, my wife Judy and I were all invited to another special evening at Dexter’s Entertainment Complex in Riverdale, New Jersey. Not only were we going to be treated to an incredible show featuring Ted Poley and the always amazing Joe Lynn Turner, but Joe’s PR representative Lisa Walker also made arrangements for us to be able to attend the sound check as well for a sneak peek of the evening’s festivities.

We arrived roughly around 6:30pm and were greeted in the parking lot by an old friend… none other than Ted Poley’s writing partner and guitarist Vic Rivera! We got to talking a little bit outside in the parking lot and then a short time later, we followed Vic inside where members of Joe Lynn Turner’s band were already on the stage and warming up. Joe himself was also on hand but was entertaining a reporter and camera man from channel 12 news when we arrived. They were filming a piece on him to be aired later that evening which was unfortunate as everyone at the show was going to miss it but Hell… we’ll have the real thing! Can’t ask for much better than that and just a few minutes later, Joe took the stage and treated all those lucky few in attendance to the RAINBOW classic “Stone Cold” which was also filmed for the special.

Some monitor adjustments, a little more level tweaking and another partial warm up song and it seemed as if everything was good to go for his headlining set later that evening. After Joe and his band wrapped things up, we were in for a real treat as Joe personally joined us for a few minutes to say hello, take some pictures and tell us about his recent trip to Iraq. “It was 140 degrees,” Joe went on to say, “I ate sand and sweated just like our boys. You don’t understand what we have here until you’ve experienced what they are going through for us. People go to malls and get their hair done and things like that and we have that luxury because our troops are keeping us safe. I am truly honored to have met these people who are making this sacrifice for us and I salute them every day.” A true patriot, Joe continued about how he ate and lived with our troops and would be returning again in May… truly an experience he would never forget.

In closing, our CEO Brian Rademacher asked Joe if he had spoken with any of the troops about the upcoming change in the Presidential office coming soon. “This is not political,” he said, “This is about what’s right and what’s wrong. These troops are doing the right thing… they don’t care who’s in office. They are on a mission and that mission is to bring us peace.” Very profound words and something that ALL of us should be taking a lot more seriously.

With that, Joe and his band took their leave to get ready for the evening’s entertainment while we did the same and after a quick bite to eat, we were back in time for the first band of the evening…

See… at this point I had a short write up on the opening band (who shall remain nameless) but apparently some people can’t accept any constructive criticism and we were asked to stricken their name from the review.

Ya know… it really sucks being RIGHT all the time! A few months back, I witnessed and reviewed the DANGER DANGER show right here at Dexter’s. At that time, I said that although I “semi”-enjoyed the show, I would much rather see Ted Poley solo and with Vic Rivera. Well, I was right because what the fans were in for next was nothing less than exceptional.

Together with drummer Hal Aponte (ICE AGE), and 3/5 of the band CRUNCH in bassist-extraordinaire Doug Odell, scintillating guitarist Eddie Campbell and (of course) the always brilliant Vic Rivera on guitar and backing vocals, Ted Poley hit the stage just around 10:30. Now I have to mention this simply because I found the whole thing and story behind it quite amusing. Just before they went on, the song “Unholy” by KISS began to play… or so I thought! I wasn’t actually paying all that much attention to the song at first but about half way through, knowing the song quite well and starting to get into it a bit I began “lip-sync” along with the lyrics only to discover that they were not the right lyrics! Turns out it was Ted’s intro song recorded by rock ‘n roll comic C.C. Banana for the new Vinnie Vincent tribute CD “KISS MY ANKH” available from SplitScreen Entertainment. As I listened closer, it was fucking hilarious! The chorus of “Unholy” itself was parodied to “Ted Poley” and the rest of the lyrics were hysterical. There’s actually a pretty cool story behind the whole arrangement which can be read at: http://www.splitscreenentertainment.com/ , make sure to check it out!

Anyway, as I said, it sucks to be right all the time because the majority of the songs performed were all old DANGER DANGER tracks and let me tell ya, these guys sounded better than DANGER DANGER! The whole band just seemed to breathe fresh life into the old classics and Vic’s guitar playing alone launched the arrangements to a whole other level. Even the once “keyboard” heavy songs took on new life and despite what I may have said in the past, I actually didn’t miss them at all. And as for Ted himself? He couldn’t have sounded better and even seemed a bit more animated and energetic than he did when he played with DANGER DANGER just 6 months before.

The set opened with the high-octane “Beat the Bullet” followed up by “H.S.O.B.” (Horny Son-of-a-Bitch) and the slightly more obscure “Shot O’ Love.” I was really thrilled to find next up was “Feels Like Love” (one of my favorite DANGER DANGER tracks) that lead right into the power-ballad “I Still Think About You” which was exceptionally heart-felt as Ted dedicated the song to a friend who’s wife had recently passed away leaving not only him but their 6 year-old daughter as well.

He also donated all the proceeds from any of the merchandise he sold that evening to the girl’s college fund… a class move as always.

This brings us to what I felt was one of the true highlights as Ted and the band treated the crowd to a sneak-listen to one of the tracks off the upcoming Poley/Rivera release called “Did We Just Have A Moment.” What an incredible song! Solid harmony, strong, rich chorus and if this is any indication of what the new release is going to be like, then this truly may be my first 5 out of 5 star review this year!

Just before the final set enders of the DANGER DANGER hits “Bang Bang” and “Monkey Business,” Ted once again reached deep into the archives and pulled out “Afraid Of Love” which I could never imagine ever hearing live… what a rare treat and very cool selection. Then, of course, Ted and the boys took their final bows and said their last goodbyes in the form of “Naughty Naughty!” What a great, great set from an awesome performer backed by a group of musicians who are amongst some of the best in the area. I would see these guys anywhere and anytime. Not for nothing, but I really hope this group holds together for a while because although I’ll always love DANGER DANGER, Poley proves without a doubt that you can indeed beat the original!

Unfortunately at this time I was forced to leave missing Joe’s set entirely. It was regretful but I had been feeling ill all day and by the time Ted’s set ended, I was just burning up with fever. So I’m going to turn this over to the more than capable hands of Mark Balogh to finish things up. Take it away Mark…

Joe Lynn Turner is one class act as always. The residents of the New Jersey area are pretty lucky in that Joe is a local guy and so we get the chance to see him in concert semi-regularly in this area.

As for Joe’s show this night at Dexter’s, well what can really be said? Joe is the consummate professional and with an always solid backing band he treated the crowd to a great mix of RAINBOW, DEEP PURPLE and solo songs. His set was pretty much the same as the pervious time he graced the stage at Dexter’s back in January of this year but I didn’t hear anyone complaining. His set was heavy on the RAINBOW classics with tracks like show opener “Death Alley Driver”, “Stone Cold”, “Street of Dreams” and a few other semi-classics like “Power” and “Jealous Lover”. Joe also offered up a couple tracks from his recent solo records such as “Power Of Love”, “Your Love Is Life” and “Blood Red Sky”. I have seen Joe a handful of times in recent years and I wish he would throw a few more of his solo songs into his set. His last two albums in particular (“The Usual Suspects” 2005 and “Second Hand Life” 2007) offer up some amazing songs and they would fit perfectly alongside the RAINBOW and PURPLE songs in his set. And while I’m on the subject I’d also like to see something from his 1st solo CD “Rescue You” make it into his set too! How cool would that be???

In between songs Joe talked of his recent trip to Iraq to play with his side project BIG NOIZE for the troops serving our country over there. He said it was a humbling experience and he was grateful to have had the opportunity. He made a special dedication to the troops and as Dave said earlier in the review he will be returning next year to do it all over again. As I indicated in the beginning of my review Joe is the consummate pro but after hearing him talk about his experience in Iraq I realize he really is the consummate human being too. When you hear him talk about the gratitude he has for what our troops are doing and his beliefs in what is right and wrong it really helps you put things into focus.

All in all Joe Lynn Turner’s return to Dexter’s was a triumphant one and I for one hope he makes many more return trips there in the future. Be sure to check out his website for other appearances he’ll be making both with his solo band and his other projects.