LIVE: NITA STRAUSS – June 22, 2023

Venue: The Machine Shop

City: Flint, MI

Dates: June 22, 2023

Review and Photographs by: Todd “Toddstar” Jolicoeur (www.toddstarphotography.com)

It’s not every day one of your favorite guitarists tosses a small summer solo tour into the wind, but when they do you pay attention to the tour routing. When that same tour lands at one of your favorite venues, you put it on your calendar in bold letters and stars. That is exactly what happened this past spring when Nita Strauss added a summer tour to her schedule between Alice Cooper runs and announced on of those shows would be at The World-Famous Machine Shop in Flint, MI. I was there plenty early to make sure I didn’t miss anything, including a great opening set from Lions At The Gate. After their time warming up the crowd, the stage was quickly converted (with a LOT of stage lighting added) and the stage was literally set for Nita to hit the stage with her band and do what she does best… shred. The set was a tale of two styles, with the opening and first seven tracks all instrumentals allowing Nita and her band to crank through solid rockers that allowed her band to share in the spotlight while she weaved solo after solo into each song. Strauss’ fretboards were smoking after each tune as she riffed, shred, and overall played her as off. After the opening track “Summer Storm” (which happens to be the tour namesake and an instrumental from her upcoming release), Nita and band launched into six songs all culled from her previous release Controlled Chaos, as that album was instrumental in nature and didn’t lend itself to having a vocalist on stage. After running through those tracks including “Mariana Trench,” “Alegria,” and “Pandemonium,” the guitarist brought tour vocalist Kasey Karlsen to the stage to put her stamp and breathe some life into tracks from the new disc The Call Of The Void that all featured special guest vocalists. Of the six vocals included songs of the set, the strongest in my opinion were “The Wolf You Feed” and “Victorious.”  There is something special about both songs that strike me each time I hear the records versions, and tonight’s live treatment was no different. Closing out the set, Nita dug into one of her influences and ripped through Pantera’s “Cowboys From Hell,” playing the song with precision while adding her own stamp to the song. How do you top that? You don’t… and Nita knows it. And like that, the show was over. There are shows booked through mid-July. If she is headed your way, get out there and bask in the glory of one of today’s best guitarists doing her thing.

SETLIST: Summer Storm – Our Most Desperate Hour – Mariana Trench – Alegria – Lion Among Wolves – The Quest – Pandemonium – The Wolf You Feed – The Golden Trail – Through the Noise – Victorious – Dead Inside – Cowboys From Hell

[Show as slideshow]

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Tags: featured

Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries