This is my first time seeing a show at the JAXX in Springfield, Virginia. The evening did not get off to a good start when they would not allow us in because a band had canceled and the meet and greets with Doro were taking place and the staff did not want them interrupted. Once we were allowed in we had to wait another 20 minutes or so before the first band started their set, so the show was over an hour late getting started.
The first band was Visionary who just went through some lineup changes and announced that in the future they would be called Tribunal. The guitar work by Steve Whooler was excellent and it took me a few minutes go get my head around Rob Bradley's vocals, he definitely has an incredible voice, its just that at times I didn't think that his voice fit the music.
Next was Rust, a band from Virginia Beach that I had not seen live since June 14, 2008 at Download's CD release party at The NorVa. I was telling one of my new friends that these guys kicked ass, but I had not seen them in some time. They have not lost any of their edge since the last time I saw them and played a blistering set of metal originals.
Baby Jayne was next and what we thought was odd was Rodney taping several sheets of paper to the floor, what we thought was a set list turned out to be most of the songs Baby Jayne would be singing! The band is known for playing covers of hair metal bands like Motley Crue, Aerosmith and the like, which I am not that into. The woman standing next to me and her son loved them, and while I said it was cool, I really didn't care for them that much. I do not know when they decided to play an entire set of original material, but you would think that the lead singer would have learned the songs prior to playing them. It is hard to hide the reason you are constantly looking down when the entire front row can see you and the song sheets.
While I have heard of Doro and have listened to some of her songs, I had never seen her live. The only word to describe Doro is incredible!! She loves what she does, loves the fans and has picked band members that share her love of metal music and the fans who love metal. She thanked Judas Priest for bringing them on their 1986 tour more than once, because this was Doro's first opportunity to play in the US. This was the show worth driving 3 1/2 hours to see!!