Wouldn't you just know it? I took my pen to the show but, I left my notebook behind.

Tonight, after the Greensboro Generals minor league hockey game... the Plaza (a fancy name for ticket lobby) was rockin' with those 80's metal gods, RATT. I still cannot get over that. Ratt, who once sold out the Greensboro Coliseum are headlining a hockey game. Hell, even Cheap Trick opened for them. And if you know me, just having Cheap Trick on the bill is a all I need.

My buddy, Tim, is always surprised by my eclectic tastes in music. Because, for the most part, I detest most "hair metal" bands. But, I liked Ratt right from the start. Their first EP release, simply entitled 'Ratt' was great. They had a punk edge to them that most people seem to overlook. They made music that not only sounded slick and layered, it had a dirty little beating heart. It's sad that for the most part, they will be forgotten. But, you couldn't tell that to the fans in attendance. They had more gusto than a truck full of cheap American beer.

After the game, yes, we saw a bloody fight, everyone filtered out into the lobby for the show. The sound was loud and I didn't have my earplugs either. It was awful. Not the loudness but, the Bon Jovi being pumped into our heads. Finally, someone had the good sense to put on some AC/DC.

I was sort of giddy. That is rare for me. I have become quite jaded over the years and I'm hard to impress. I leaned over to my buddy, Kenny, and yelled, "We might hear some f#ckin' tremelo tonight!" Ever since Nirvana came along, no one breaks out the old whammy bar anymore. I miss it. And..... no Ratt'er had a tremelo unit. Ho hum.

With no notebook, I was using napkins from the restaurant we went to. Good thing I had plenty of them, I had to make some earplugs out of them. The band hit the stage. It was so good to see that Billy Corgan had joined Stephen Pearcy. At least, he looked like Billy. Except for the little Kupie Doll hairdo. They tore into LAY IT DOWN and the mix was so muddy. Very strange, because the Bon Jovi warm up sounded good.

As Stephen Pearcy realized, "We're gonna party with the lights on", I could tell that he was just going to go through the motions and collect his paycheck. Mr. Pearcy was the only original member on stage. I see why the others are in court over the use of the name, Ratt.

YOU'RE IN LOVE was the next selection and the sound guys weren't into improvements. Pearcy's vocals still in good shape but, if only he'd put his heart into it. The main lead guitarist played solos note for note with a hint of improvisation.

SWEET CHEATER was next and it did my heart good to hear from that first EP. Why do hard rockers wear such big ass rings? YOU THINK YOU'RE TOUGH showed the audience that Mr.Pearcy's twirl was still in effect as well as assuring us that the second guitarist is as capable as the Kupie Doll. But, he should steer clear of the Joe Perry look... it's already taken.

During YOU GOT IT, a fight breaks out right next to us. The fight really got everyone pumped up for the next song, WANTED MAN. Mr. Pearcy seems to enjoy making the audience his personal Pavlov dog. Every shout from him was recipercated when he turned the microphone to us during I'M INSANE. BODY TALK went well and it was nice to hear their cover of Rufus Thomas' WALKIN' THE DOG. I found that the Kupie Doll's mannerisms were very much like those of Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen. Tres cool.

They then did a song that no one except the band were familiar with, SO DEPRESSED. It is from a side project, Vicious Delight. I noticed that the drummer had some holes drilled into his crash cymbal. That is a practice that stops the cracks from spreading to prolong the life. I guess you gotta save a buck when you can.

Then they played my favorite tune, LACK OF COMMUNICATION. They screwed up twice but, no one noticed. Then they went into the weirdest cover song.... Judas Priest's YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER THING COMING. Why? Such a big catalog and they do a Priest tune? Crowd loved it. I just stood there in disbelief.

They closed with ROUND AND ROUND. The song that put them on the map. Susan's old schoolmate was drunk and decided to get onto some shoulders of friends. Security didn't like that and they kicked out Mr. Spencer.

No encores. I was a little disappointed. Mr. Pearcy never even broke a sweat. He did show off his Greensboro Generals T-shirt. He promised he would wear it at the next show. I think I overheard someone talking about them playing a bowling alley grand opening.

No foul language. Overall, a fun time. I give the Ratt show a C+.

Now if only KIX would get back on the road. Thanks for letting me waste your time.