Concert Review: Stryper @ the Wildhorse Saloon, Nashville, TN 10/30/2009

The Yellow and Black Attack marched through the Wildhorse tonight and found little resistance in taking command. Stryper played to a surprisingly (to me) large crowd and they were into it (both the crowd and Stryper). Tonight's show was part of their 25th anniversary tour and also was in support of their 2009 release Murder By Pride. Original bassist Tim Gaines was back in the fold tonight for an amazing show of pure rock and roll force.

Stryper is probably the most commercially successful Christian rock band ever. Although this is music with a message, Stryper crossed over into the mainstream rock world in the 80s and were just as popular as other hair metal bands of the era such as Ratt, Poison, and Cinderella. So I'm sure the audience reflected that diversity as there were people with Christian t-shirts right alongside what I like to call updated big hair folks (long but toned down a bit from the 80s style). I guess you could say the band reflected this toned-down style with the exception of drummer Robert Sweet, whose hair is still all over the place. Stryper has resumed wearing their trademark yellow and black outfits, which corresponds to the bible verse (Isaiah 53:5) they display on their logo; "..... and with his stripes we are healed".

Front man Michael Sweet was in fine voice, and the PA was nice and loud. Still, the overall volume the band was putting out (I later found out it was even louder upstairs) made it hard to hear all the words, which in this case is especially disappointing since they do have a message. Sweet is a very energetic presence, roaming all over the stage and interacting with band mates Raines and lead guitarist/vocalist Oz Fox. Sweet's mostly rhythm guitar was crisp and rocking. Fox's guitar was, please forgive me guys, hotter than hell, producing break after break of high voltage wizardry. Gaines was simply booming on bass with the body language to match. Robert Sweet's hair wasn't the only thing all over the place; his drumming was too. That's quite a rhythm section they've got going there.

There were two opening acts, including Michael Sweet Jr.'s band Flight Patterns. I got there too late to catch them. But despite the abundance of pre-performance music, Stryper played a good long set on the plus side of 90 minutes. Some of the standout performances were "In God We Trust", "Alive" (a nice easy ballad), "Peace of Mind" (the Boston song, performed with guest bassist/vocalist Kimberley Dahme of Boston), "Four Leaf Clover", "Honestly" (with its' nice touch of piano), "All For One", and "To Hell With the Devil". During one of the between-song breaks, as is their custom, Oz Fox threw bibles out into the crowd as Sweet expressed his hope that at least some of them would be read.

I was a bit conflicted tonight about where I should be. Roger Daltrey was at the nearby Ryman Auditorium but I didn't have a ticket (but I could have found one I'm sure). Even though his tour is getting mixed reviews it was hard to pass up a living legend. But Stryper's performance tonight certainly eased the anxiety. They were that impressive.