Faster Pussycat, Blacklist Union, Femme Fatale – a Prosecco finale
This year the American glam metal legends Faster Pussycat are celebrating their 40th anniversary and some of European countries were very lucky having them for a special anniversary tour. The whole September they spent touring across Europe, supported by the charming Lorraine Lewis (Femme Fatale) and the crazy rebels Blacklist Union.
And what could be better than catching these guys on the very last day of their tour, September 27. The final shows are always something special, bringing bittersweet feelings. This time the final destination was Italy, Trieste region. How glamorous it sounds to have the last show in Prosecco village (Prosecco is infamous Italian white sparkling wine), the perfect finale for a glam metal tour.
The honor of organizing the final concert was given to Rock X Out project, which is a very unique organization that serves like a rock bridge between 2 countries – Italy and Slovenia. As Trieste is an Italian region on the border with Slovenia, Rock Camp Trieste and other events organized by Rock X Out project in this region gather metal fans from both countries. In fact, sometimes it’s hard to guess whether there are more Slovenian or Italian people at these shows. The coolest fact is that everybody speaks English (which is quite rare for typical Italian events) and the atmosphere is very friendly, you feel like you are one big family.
Many shows during this tour were totally sold out (especially in the UK). The venue at Trieste was quite full, but still had a relaxing atmosphere. Since the show was on Sunday, it started quite early, around 8pm.
Femme Fatale (start photo) made a perfect opening act. Lorraine Lewis definitely seems eternal, being in awesome shape. She had a killing style back in the 80s and nowadays she still has a better style, look and energy than the majority of young singers in their 20s. Surely I can say her energetic performance gave a perfect start for the night. It was so great to see her rocking on stage with well-known old hits and few special romantic ballades.
Blacklist Union continued firing up this Rock night. These guys have a very interesting musical style and the lead singer Tony West is definitely one of the most energetic and charismatic modern vocalists. No surprise why Tony and Lorraine are together, they are the perfect Rock ‘n Roll union. This year they not only shared their musicians on stage, but also collaborated for “Jackson”, a song that perfectly represents their true Rock ‘n Roll energy. Seeing them performing together was truly beautiful and of course everybody was dancing.
And finally the guests of honor – Faster Pussycat. When you see these guys on stage, it’s even hard to believe they have been around already for 40 years. Lead singer Taime Down is a prominent glam metal figure since the mid 80s. Co-owner of infamous Rock club Cathouse in LA and founder of Faster Pussycat, he always had a vivid look and particular style. For many young glam metal fans he is a real idol. Taime has been leading this band since the 80s and right now he is the only original member. With the current lineup it was a really amazing, energetic and truly 80s Rock ‘n Roll show.
It was surprising to see such a huge amount of young Rock ‘n Roll fans at this special concert. Normally 80s hair metal concerts have a slightly older audience. It was probably the first time that I’ve seen so many young folks barely past 20 years. The majority of them were actually from Slovenia, meanwhile a principally older generation was from Italy. What a unique and beautiful mix.
The last song “Babylon” gathered all 3 bands together on stage and became a perfect ending, there was so much fun, you could feel the joy and positive energy.
After their sets all bands went to hang out with fans at the merch area and everybody had a chance to chat, take pictures and get signatures.
It was a great ending for the anniversary tour. Let’s hope for 50th anniversary things will stay the same, namely fantastically. And I definitely recommend catching some of the events organized by Rock X Out project that unites two countries for their love for Rock and Metal.
