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On stage: Doro



- Bang-Your-Head - June 2000 - Balingen (D) -
- W.O.A. - Aug. 2000 - Wacken (D) -
- Doro & VII Sins - Jan. 2002 - Verviers (B) -
- Doro & Helstar - June 2002 - Eindhoven (NL) -
- W.O.A. - Aug. 2002 - Wacken (D) -
- Doro, Saxon & Circle II Circle - Dec. 2003 - Düsseldorf (D) -
- Saxon, Doro & Circle II Circle - Dec. 2003 - Pratteln (CH) -
- Doro & Blaze - Dec. 2003 - Andernach (D) -
- Doro & Metal Classic Orchestra - April 2004 - Antwerp (B) -
- Doro - July 2004 - Gronau (D) -
- Doro - Aug. 2004 - Cologne (D) -
- Doro & Metal Classics Orchestra, Blaze & Saeko - Oct. 2004 - Balve (D) -
- W.O.A. - Aug. 2004 - Wacken (D) -
- Monsters Of Rock - April 2006 - Herne (D) -
- Noisegate Festival - May 2006 - Langen (D) -
- Doro & Benedictum - Dec. 2006 - Antwerp (B) -
- Edguy & Doro - Feb. 2007 - Wartenberg (D) -
- Doro & guests - Dec. 2008 - Düsseldorf (D) -
- Doro & Krypteria - Dec. 2009 - Dortmund (D) -


www.doropesch.com












- Doro & Krypteria - December 13th 2009 - Dortmund (D), FZW -





Krypteria - live in Dortmund

Krypteria - live in Dortmund

Doro - live in Dortmund

Doro - live in Dortmund

The Italian opener Meredine Atomniche we missed, but from what we heard they didn't really fit into this package...
Then it was time for Krypteria. The band kicked off with Shoot Me, Ji-In in a white bridal dress. The charismatic singer tried to enchant the audience, but it took a bit longer the move the people. After the opening track she tore down the bridal dress and rocked the stage in tight black leather pants and a black corsage. With Ignition the audience warmed up to the modern guitar-driven gothic metal - with a dash NDH - of Krypteria. The foursome continued with Somebody Save Me, then Ji-In welcomed the fans and introduced Scream. Drummer S.C. Kuschnerus and bassist Frank Stumvoll delivered the heavy beat for Chris Siemons guitar riffing. It was obvious that the quartet enjoyed being on stage. Due to the short stage time they focused on their latest album My Fatal Kiss and the title track marked the end of their set. Krypteria's heavy, but catchy tunes sounded fresh and I think they made some new friends, coz during the change over I heard some people saying that it would have been better to give Krypteria more stage time and skip Meredine Atomniche instead... And I can only agree, I would have like to see more of them, too.
A longer break and finally at 9:30 PM Doro entered the stage. For awhile the opening track is Earthshaker Rock of Warlock's Hellbound album followed by the long-time opener I Rule The Ruins and with You're My Family Doro honored her fans early in the set. The show was showing the whole range of Doro's 26-years-long career incl. Burning The Witches from Warlock's debut and several songs from their latest album Fear No Evil. On guitars tonight Luca Princiotti and ex-After Forever Bas Maas while the rhythm section didn't changed for ages and so works like a well-oiled machine. After Für immer they headed into Haunted Heart which includes a drum solo. After Breaking The Law and All We Are the band left the stage, but the fans of the blond singer were shouting for more and so Doro and the guys returned for some more... The fans were singing along and during the set Doro repeatingly cheered up the fans to sing along and give her the horns. After about 2hrs the show was over. For us a bit too predictable, but well... Personally I would love to hear some songs which are rarely played... Songs which surprise the fans...
Actually I don't understand why concerts in this area - especially at the weekend - don't start earlier, as usual many use public transport and that means to leave before the show is over. For many the last trains leave around 11 PM and I guess some more fans would have showed up... Anyway, the ones who attended the show left satisfied into the freezing cold. Quite a few will attend the 2,500 show of Doro which will take place March 13th 2010 in Düsseldorf. If you don't have a ticket yet, be quick! Tickets are limited for this show!

Before the show I had the chance to talk to Krypteria. The interview is in German, but I wanted to give you the chance to listen to the conversation. Click here to listen to the interview!




Claudia Ehrhardt

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- Doro - 25th Anniversary Concert -
- Dec. 13th 2008 - Düsseldorf (D), ISS Dome -




For the 25th anniversary Doro had invited some guest and this time it should be a huge party at the ISS Dome - home of the Düsseldorf Metrostars hockey team. Her 20th anniversary she celebrated also at Dec. 13th, but at the Philipshalle and beside some guests she had Circle II Circle and Saxon playing. Last year there was a special concerts with guest, so the expectations been high.
To be honest the bands on the billing haven't raised my interest and I think many Doro fans weren't too happy with Holy Moses and Arch Enemy, a bit more interest Leaves' Eyes should raised. Anyway, a few hundred fans were waiting for doors opening and entered to take a look at the metal market. I have no clue what happened to the signing sessions, I haven't seen any information about it and several people asked me about it, I guess, they were canceled....
I had an interview with one of the guest and so I missed Holy Moses while I was talking to Bobby Ellsworth. Nice chat - as usual.
Doro 25th anniversary party Later I had to face that press people aren't allowed in the area, we had to take seats at the grand stand. I checked in for Leaves' Eyes, but the sound wasn't very good. I actually didn't even recognize the first 2 songs, so I left to a look at the metal market and got engaged in a conversation. Arch Enemy wasn't any better and aren't my cup of tea anyway. Many fans were walking around checking out the metal market booths and have a drink. When it was time for Doro's show to start more people had arrived and the arena was almost filled. But some people were complaining, coz if you had an arena ticket you weren't allowed to take a seat at the stand, while people with seats would have preferred the arena. Personally I hate being seated and would never go to a concert, if I would only get tickets for the seats. Anyway, about a quarter past 8 PM someone walked on stage and did a short speech praising Doro's career and then Regina Halmich added a few words about Doro and their friendship. At the video screens they visualized her career with album covers and photos while they play a special intro. Then the band kicked off with Earthshaker Rock. Next in line was I Rule The Ruins, the song which been for ages the opener and with You're My Family a newer one. Doro used the catwalk to get closer to the fans. At that time I still had the hope that the sound will improve... Doro 25th anniversary party Then it was time for The Night Of The Warlock! Followed by Hellraiser, here the vocals drowned. Time for the first guest! For Always Live To Win she got Overkill's Bobby Ellsworth on stage, not a bad choice at all. Bobby did good at his solo part and made the song sound more aggressive, but during the duet parts Doro was much louder, so you hardly could hear Bobby. With Above The Ashes she slowed down. After She's Like Thunder they presented the new single Herzblut which was just released the day before. To be honest, I found the song a bit boring and too repetitive... With Für Immer she made the audience sing along and for the first time tonight it seems everybody was really into it. For Düsseldorf Rheinfire Doro wrote Burn It Up and 4 cheerleaders entered the stage to perform with her and ex-Plasmatics guitarist Jean Beauvoir. And to heat up flames flared up. Unfortunately Jean Beauvoir's guitar couldn't stand up against Taylor's guitar. Not just the guests left stage, also Doro and most of her band did - time for a drum solo. When they returned the stage got more crowed, coz for Celebrate Doro had invited some singers. She introduced the ladies and then headed into the tune. It was obvious that Jackie Chambers and Kim McAuliffe of Girlschool enjoyed it while others - like Jin-In Cho from Krypteria - looked a bit stiff... I was surprised that I couldn't hear Sabina Classen, actually I expected that her vocals will stick out... A kind of break followed where they showed some trailer for Love Me In Black while they stage set was changed a bit and candles were lit. After Love Me In Black Doro was joined by Tarja Turunen for Walking With The Angels - a song from the coming album Fear No Evil - and The Seer, a song from Tarja. The contrast between the 2 singers made these ones interesting. At the end the warlock at the back of the stage raised up, his eyes glowing... Smoke surrounded him, laughter lasted for a moment. The warlock stayed when the band headed into East Meets West where Axel Rudi Pell joined Joe and Oli on guitars while Chris Boltendahl joined Doro. Usually Udo Dirkschneider should have joined Doro for Breaking The Law, but she explained that he couldn't make it due to some appointment. Anyway, the Judas Priest classic made the people party. Doro 25th anniversary party: Doro and Klaus Meine Scorpions) But she had some other guests - Klaus Meine and Rudolf Schenker of Scorpoins. And so Doro's band started playing Big City Nights and Rock You Like A Hurricane. Rudolf Schenker joined bassist Nick Douglas at the edge of the stage to rock the fans. But again the guests guitar was almost in audible... Scorpions singer Klaus Meine and Doro used the catwalk and Klaus performed as always, but somehow sounded strange. Anyway, it was cool to see the guys live. After Doro thanked them, they all walked off stage and a curtain was closed. Another break. During the break on the screens they announced Warlock and played a short track over and over again. It was more a kind of noise then a real track and someone next to me said "If this lasts for minutes it's techno and so it's sound pollution!". Luckily after 4-5 minutes it stopped and the curtain opened for Warlock! Only bassist Frank Rittel was missing from the 1986 line-up - actually that line-up was touring late 1985 already - and so Nick Douglas took over. With Fight For Rock they kicked off the Warlock set and headed right into Burning The Witches. For Burning The Witches the stage was flooded in green light and the green fire made it look a bit spooky.. All Night and Midnight In China followed, then Doro introduced Warrel Dane (Nevermore) who sang with her True As Steel. For the fans a real highlight and it seemed that guitarists Niko Arvanitis and Peter Szegeti enjoyed being on stage again. Warrel sounded as good as ever and his style added something special to the old Warlock tune. The last song of the Warlock set was Hellbound - and Doro set in a bit too late... Again the curtain fall for a quick change over. Meanwhile they showed a trailer of Warrior Soul. And so it was obvious what will be played next. For this song Czech guitarist Honza joined her. Doro 25th anniversary party: Doro and guests And with All We Are and all her guests the show ended. It was almost 11:30 and fans were leaving soon to catch the last trains. Even if the busses should bring people for about an hour to the train stations, from midnight the trains run at an hourly basis, so people rushed to get home. I don't know, if the sound was better at other parts, but the places at the stand I checked were all the same. Partly the guitars drowned while at lead parts Joe Taylor's guitar was very loud and the high notes were hard to stand. Someone complained that it hurts her ears... I understand that Doro wanted to present some new songs, but many fans didn't even know the latest single and so the response was so-so. I missed some real highlights, songs she hasn't played for years. A decent show, but it didn't blow me away.
The venue wasn't pretty warm and while we had to sit down, it was chilly! And security was patrolling and warned everybody who stand up to party. I wished that would have sold hot spiced wine to warm up from the inside.
At the bus and tram fans were more talking about the annoyance to get to ISS Dome and back with public transport then about the show... I think that is telling you a lot!
I really hope that for Doro's 30th anniversary they will use another venue and that they think about another concept, coz this she did - even if there were other guests - for her 20th anniversary and for last years special show in Düsseldorf. In my opinion the 20th anniversary show was way better, but perhaps that's just my point of view....



Claudia Ehrhardt
Photos - Courtesy of Spider-Rock Promotion


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Doro & Benedictum
- 27. Dec. 2006 - Antwerp (B), Hof Ter Lo -




Just after Christmas I got the chance to see Doro on the second leg of the European Warrior Soul tour. The schedule I got was waste paper, coz Winterborn had to cancel today's show due to a bad cold of their singer. And so the American Benedictum got on stage a bit earlier and got more time to play. Unfortunately I don't know their album which is called Uncreation, so I can't tell you much about them. They offered some female-fronted heavy metal - and so they fit to Doro, even if they are musically closer to Warlock then to Doro's solo work. With Veronica Freeman they have a got fronter, but at least today she couldn't really convince me. A nice surprise was their Black Sabbath cover Heaven And Hell.
After a long change over Doro and her band entered the stage and opened up the show with Earthshaker Rock. Lately they play more old tunes like Out Of Control, Metal Racer and Evil. For years I Rule The Ruins was their live opener, but now this one is their no. 2. As on the first part of the Warrior Soul tour You're My Family was the first track they played from Warrior Soul. On the big stage of Hof Ter Lo the band had enough space to rock and entertain the people. The light show supported the songs atmosphere well. Bassist Nick Douglas and guitarist Joey Taylor were head banging, switching sides and seemed to be always in motion. Only guitarist / keyboarder Oliver Palotai seemed to be different... A bit angry... and added some aggressiveness to his play. It was great to hear Out Of Control and Metal Racer again. After East Meets West drummer Johnny Dee got time to play a solo - and giving the other guys a little break. The German song Für immer is always a highlight for the fans. Tonight there was enough time to play a few more songs and so they played Judas Priest's Breaking The Law. They played it before, but this time more reduced and less powerful... But the fans loved it. Their hymn All We Are finished the first part of the set. But it didn't take long until they returned. The rest of the set were mainly songs they usually play, only Evil from Warlock's You Hurt My Soul EP was a surprise. And it was obvious that many fans - mainly the younger ones - didn't know the tune. During Love Me In Black it got audible that Doro's voice wasn't in best shape - the blonde singer had caught a cold -, but as always she gave everything and played some more songs. After almost 2 hours the band left the stage. A short meet & greet with some fans and they had to head to next days venue. Only a few more shows in 2006. The last one was scheduled for Pratteln were Doro already played a few times at New Year's Eve. What we can expect in 2007? Who knows, but I guess Doro will be back on stage sooner or later. Meanwhile watch their latest DVD 20 Years - A Warrior Soul.


Track list:

Earthshaker Rock
I Rule The Ruins
You're My Family
Burning The Witches
True As Steel
Above The Ashes
Out Of Control
Metal Racer
East Meets West
- drum solo
Strangers Yesterday
Für immer
Burn It Up
Fight
Breaking The Law
All We Are
************************
Warrior Soul
Hellbound
Evil
************************
Love Me In Black
Metal Tango
************************
My Majesty


Claudia Ehrhardt

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Noisegate Festival: Crucified Barbara, Sonata Arctica & Doro
- May 13th 2006 - Langen (D), Stadthalle -




This one was again a very sponteanously trip and so we arrived just before the Swedish girls of Crucified Barbara entered the stage. Unfortunately I missed Altaria, but well... Perhaps next time I'll have more luck. Anyway, it's been just 2 weeks since I saw the girls opening for Jon Oliva's Pain and so I wasn't that interested in their show. When they entered the stage many seems to wonder, coz they looked more like models of H&M or some similar company. And so mainly the male part of the audience was standing in front of the stage to watch them, but it seems that the looks didn't make it, coz after a few songs more and more metal fans changed from watching to drinking and ended up at the counter. Only when they played the two cover versions - Kiss' Shout It Out Loud in the middle of the set and as last tune Motörhead's Killed By Death - the audience seems to be interested... The girls are playing in the tradition of Girlschool and Rock Goddess, but to be honest I preferred the originals. Sorry girls, but you couldn't convinve me.
Co-headliner in Langen were the Finnish Sonata Arctica who toured with Doro through out Europe. In some countries Doro was headlining, in other Sonata Arctica. Tony Kakko and his mates played many shows promoting Reckoning Night live and so they are very professional. Especially during sound problems - drop outs of miccrophone and guitar - they know how to handle it. The melodic metallers started with Misplaced and Blinded No More. During Full Moon the guitar dropped out during the solo and so frontman Tony Kakko entered the stage and sang an alternate version of the chorus to keep everything going. Especially My Land and Don't Say A Word moved the people. At the end of their set they played Vodka, their version of Hana Magila. It was the last day of the tour and so for Vodka Altaria joined them on stage with funny masks and killed some booth. Skol!
It was getting late and finally the German metal queen Doro entered the stage and kicked off the set with Earthshaker Rock off Warlock's Hellbound. For some a surprise then after years of I Rule The Ruins as opener they changed their set list. But next came I Rule The Ruins, even if it's a great song, Doro has so many tracks, why not playing some others? With You Are My Family they presented the first track from their lates album Warrior Soul and Doro dedicated this one to her fans. From the new album they presented some more during the set and songs like Haunted Heart, Above The Ashes and Strangers Yesterday fit in well. Lately the blonde singer offers more old Warlock songs and so Burning The Witches and Hellbound rocked the house. In the middle of the set Johnny Dee played a solid drum solo and gave the others a little break. As Langen is close to Frankfurt the home of NFLE's Frankfurt Galaxy the Rheinfire song Burn It Up was well known and supported by a explosive light show and some pyros. After Fight they presented the ultimate Doro hymn - All We Are - where Altaria and Sonata Arctica joined them on stage. A surprise was Love Me In Black, a great ballad, but rarely played live. Thanks for this one! Finally they played the Judas Priest cover Breaking The Law. Last, but not least they played My Majesty and so a long night of metal ended.
With a more then 20 year long career you have some classics which have to be played, but it's good that they included a few more new tracks and some other old ones. It was fun to see them again on stage and the new setlist had some suprises for the fans. Let's see what they will present live in fall... But before a tour in fall Doro and the boys will play some shows in Russia and some festivals. Let's see what they will have for us when they come back in fall.


Claudia Ehrhardt

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Doro
- August, 19th 2004 - Cologne (D), Underground -




Tonight just about 200 fans of the German metal queen found their way to the Underground. A special night for Doro and her band, coz tonight the German TV will record the show for a nationwide broadcast in October. Due to the fact that the venue is quite small they couldn't bring the whole orchestra, only 4 members of the orchestra took part. As usual the German-American band opened up with I Rule The Ruins - this one with full power. Followed by Metal Tango. But Doro and the band wanted to present themselves in different way and so they played some songs acoustic and some like the new track Let Love Rain On Me with 2 violins, a cell and a contrabass. Again Doro added a song to the setlist, coz some fans ask her to and so they played 1000 Mal gelebt. With Für immer (with the orchestra) and Love Me In Black (acoustic) the they presented 2 more ballads and with Always Live To Win and All We Are they showed their powerful side. A highlight for long-time fans was True As Steel where everyone was singing along. Too soon the show was over and due to the limitations through the TV crew they just returned for one more song - Hellraiser! A good show which probably will bring them new fans when it will be broadcast in October. They air it while Doro is on tour with the orchestra, so probably some new fans will show up... Anyway, Germany's leading Metal Lady deserved it and finally after 20 years got recorded for Rockpalast - they already presented bands like The Who, Thin Lizzy, Linkin Park, Machine Head, Motörhead, Anastacia and many, many more.


Claudia Ehrhardt

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Doro
- July, 25th 2004 - Gronau (D), Rock 'n' Pop Museum -




It's been awhile since German rocker Udo Lindenberg had the initial idea for a museum of Rock & Pop in Germany. He planned it for his hometown Gronau. It took a few years to realize it, even if many German musicians supported him, but there is just money for 'real' art in this country.
Finally they opened this July and to celebrate the grand opening they invited a few bands to play. The last band of this event was Germany's leading metal lady Doro Pesch and her band. They came to play an acoustic set, but for some reason guitarist Joey Taylor couldn't come over in time. Also drummer Johnny Dee didn't make it, but for an acoustic set he wasn't necessary. Doro ask an old friend from Düsseldorf to jump in. The band opened as usual with I Rule The Ruins. Unfortunately it was raining all day and so not that many fans came to see the acoustic set. The first surprise for the fans was that instead of Joey Taylor they saw a blond guitarist on stage - Hucky. Songs like Metal Tango, White Wedding, Chained, Always Live To Win and Burning The Witches had to be rearranged. Much easier it is to play ballads like Love Me In Black - fans asked to play that tune and spontaneous changes of the set list aren't what keyboarder / guitarist Oliver Palotai like - and Für immer. As a little special Doro presented the new ballad Let Love Rain On Me which will be released soon as a single, a kind of appetizer for the coming Classic Diamonds album. The coming album shows Doro with an orchestra and is a kind of best of-album incl. 2 new songs and a cover version. Some might think that songs like Burning The Witches and Always Live To Win don't work out as an acoustic version or with an orchestra, but Doro and the guys proofed them wrong. Btw, Hucky did a great job, especially because they haven't had time to rehearse several times.
A good show, but different. I can just recommend to see Doro in fall when she’s doing a few more shows with the orchestra and whenever they will do an acoustic set again, go and see them! It’s fun!


Claudia Ehrhardt

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Doro & Metal Classic Orchestra
- April 9th 2004 - Antwerp, Hof ter Lo -




It's not the first time that Doro is working with an orchestra. She already did one show in Düsseldorf in 2001 which was really successful. Fans hopes for more, but had to wait. This time there were two shows scheduled, one in Bochum and the other one in Antwerp tonight. There were about 700 fans at Hof Ter Lo to witness this event. The dark red curtain opened and orchestra had already took their places. The sound of a bell indicated that the first track tonight would be AC/DC's Hells Bells. As announced this time Doro was joined by some singers and the first on stage was singer of These Days. He also did Whitesnake's Here I Go Again. His dark voice fit very well to the songs and in this orchestral version they sound totally different. Next was the voice of Ozzmosis - Maysche - doing Mr. Crowley and Paranoid. Amazing how Maysche impersonate Ozzy Osbourne and his way of singing, acting and talking. Their aim to heat up the audience was just topped by former Iron Maiden singer Blaze Bayley who did Falling Down from Iron Maiden's The X-Factor and a song from his coming album - Blood & Belief will be out on April 26th - which is called Life & Death. This one seems to be heavier then the previous songs of Blaze. For one more song the singer of These Days came back and did Metallica's The Unforgiven. Finally the metal queen entered the stage and kicked off her set with I Rule The Ruins. Followed by Metal Tango and White Wedding all done with the orchestra. The songs sounded different and familiar at the same time. It was obvious that the orchestra and the band - not the Doro band, just Oliver Palotai was there - enjoyed this. They did Legends Never Die unplugged and then as a little surprise for the fans Doro introduced Let Love Rain On Me - a new, unreleased song - again she was supported by the orchestra. But that wasn't necessary to give the fans a reason to go wild! The it was time for the first German song - Tausend mal gelebt. Unplugged they did Last Day Of My Life. The Blaze Bayley was back on stage to do Bad Blood with Doro. He already joined her a few times on stage for that one. The faster tracks they did unplugged, but most of the songs were performed by the orchestra like Für immer, Undying and All We Are. To the end of the set it became more and more obvious how much some of the orchestra members enjoyed this. During Always Live To Win and during the parts of All We Are the violins weren't included the blonde violinist sings along. She and some other members started to rock and bang their heads. The audience was going crazy. And too soon the regular part of the set was over. For the encores Doro returned to do Fear Of The Dark with Blaze. She did also songs with the other singers. It was fun to watch. The set was over after about 2 hours. But the fans didn't want to let her go and were shouting for more, then singing All We Are. Conductor Arndt gave the orchestra instructions and then they played All We Are again. This time with all guest singers on stage. Lots of fun!
Too soon it was over and fans kept hanging out at the foyer where soon Blaze showed up to talk to fans and to sign some stuff. An amazing event and hopefully not the last time we saw Doro with an orchestra... Well, it's an expensive thing to do and so this will happen just once in a while, so if you have the chance to see it, go!!!


Claudia Ehrhardt

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Doro & Blaze
- December, 29th 2003 - Andernach (D), JuZ -




Due to heavy traffic on the motorway we missed the opening band Epica. Well, that's the way it is sometimes. But we were in time for Blaze. Tonight the British had to present their short program and again they started with Ghost In The Machine. Due to the limited time the quintet concentrated on their own tracks. Tonight the sound wasn't as good as last night, but due to the bigger stage the band could move more. Singer Blaze, guitarist Steve Wray and their new bassist could completed by drummer Dave and guitarist Jason who's helping out for the few shows. The decision about a new drummer shall be made soon and no doubt that John Slater is still in the band. Beside the title tracks - Silicon Messiah and 10th Dimension - they presented Speed Of Light, Futureal and Man On The Edge. Another good show of the U.K. rockers which should make the fans curiously waiting for new stuff - Blaze will soon enter the studio.
After a short change over the German metal queen Doro and her band entered the stage. Starting with Hellbound the band rocked the house from the first moment. At the end of the song the band had to face some technical problems and Doro used the time to talk to her fans and to thank them for their support through the years. Straight ahead with I Rule The Ruins and Burning The Witches. A few weeks ago Doro celebrated her 20 years stage anniversary and so these shows were a kind of travel through her musical history. Many songs from the days of Warlock and just two tracks - title track and Always Live To Win - from their current release Fight. Surely the songs of her early days sound different these days, but it was great to hear them again. In their set list the five-piece had: Hellraiser, Metal Tango, East Meets West, White Wedding, Metal Racer, Für immer, All We Are, Love Me In Black and Burn It Up. For Bad Blood the queen of metal got joined by Blaze Bayley who also sang this one at the anniversary show with her. It was obvious that the band enjoyed playing a club show, even if there been technical problems. Doro always used the time to talk to her fans, to tell about the anniversary show and about future plans. Time was flying. When the blonde singer and her band left the stage the band and the fans were tired, exhausted.
As usual fans keep hanging out and waited for the band. Blaze and his band showed up first, then bassist Nick Douglas and the rest of the band came to sign stuff. It took awhile 'til Doro showed up, but then she took time to sign everything! Even if it takes quite awhile. She didn't left until she had fulfilled every request. Fans love her for her dedication to the fans. Two more shows in 2003 and then it's time to think about the next studio album. Beside that she will work on the DVD of the anniversary show - additional material. And it would be a surprise, if the quintet won't play some festivals next summer. Look out for the queen of metal!


Claudia Ehrhardt

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Doro, Saxon & Circle II Circle
- Dec., 13th 2003 - Düsseldorf (D), Philipshalle -




Tonight is a special night for Düsseldorf's Metal Queen Doro Pesch! More then 6,000 fans came to celebrate Doro's 20th anniversary and so many people still waited to get into Philipshalle when Circle II Circle entered the stage. Me too! And so I missed the first 2 tracks, damn! Won't think about the hundreds of fans who were still queuing at the desk and at the doors, coz you missed quite a good show. Tonight former Savatage singer Zak Stevens and his new band had just about 40 minutes and so they picked the best tracks from their debut album Watching In Silence and added Edge Of Thorns and Taunting Cobras. Luckily I saw yesterdays show in Hardenberg where they played a little longer. To heat up the fans they chose the heavier ones like Lies, Face To Face and Sea Of White. Tonight the band sounded better then the day before... Then Zak introduced some special guest and I bet some hoped that it'll be Jon Oliva, but it was Doro's keyboarder Olli Palotai. Due to the limited time Zak decided to play straight and didn't waste time to introduce the band and songs. I wish I could see the last show of the tour in Vienna, coz if the band gets better from day to day, then they are really hot at the last one...
A short break followed, then it was time for a one hour set of the British NWoBHM legend Saxon. Usually singer Biff Byford and his mates are headlining and play about 2 hrs. every night on this tour. Now they had to cut down their set. Bassist Nibbs Carter was always in motion, guitarists Paul Quinn and Doug Scarrat let it go a little slower. The fans want to hear the old songs and so the band had to play songs like Motorcycle Man, Crusader, Princess Of The Night, The Eagle Has Landed and Denim & Leather. A few songs from the last releases - like Heavy Metal Thunder, if my memory don't fool me - been added. For fans of the British the set was over much too soon, but there was a lot more music to come. And I have no doubts that Saxon will soon return with a new album and then will be on the road again...
The venue was packed with old and new fans of the Metal Queen and they came from everywhere. Die-hard fans wanted to celebrate this anniversary with their Goddess. Opening with I Rule The Ruins Doro and the band started straight into a more then 2 hrs. long set incl. guest performances. A huge backdrop build with stairs and platforms the playground for this special event. The lights created different atmospheres and pyros set accents. Songs like Always Live To Win, Metal Racer, Hellbound, True As Steel, Burning The Witches and Hellraiser build the first bloc, then the first guest performance. German metal legend Udo Dirkschneider came to do East Meets West with Germany's leading metal lady. Metal Tango and Out Of Control followed, then it was time to slow down a little. A part of ballads came next incl. the cover version of A White Shade Of Pale and own ones like Whenever I Think Of You and Für Immer. During 1,000 x gelebt and White Wedding she got additional support by a string section. Save My Soul lead into Johnny Dee's drum solo. Former Iron Maiden singer Blaze Bayley joined Doro for Bad Blood. Even if there wasn't a curfew the time was limited and so they presented a medley of Brutal & Effective, Dedication and Love Me In Black. Then a song many long-time fans were waiting for - Earthshaker Rock! It's been awhile since Doro did the duet with Motörhead mastermind Lemmy called Love Me Forever. At the moment the British are on tour and so Lemmy and drummer Mickey Dee came to celebrate this anniversary. It was great to hear that one live wit Lemmy. Fantastic. After the title track of their current album Fight the cheerleaders of Rhein Fire joined them for their hymn Burn It Up. Now one highlight came after the other. Judas Priests Another Thing Coming Doro & co. did together with Saxon. After this powerful part it was time to slow down again - Alles wird gut. My personal highlight was All Night and Fight For Rock! For that songs Doro was joined by her old band Warlock! Actually the line-up of the Hellbound Tour Pt. 2! It was getting late and so one more guest appearance during the cover Born To Be Wild. Doro and her band got joined by Bonfire singer Claus Lessmann and songwriter / Crown Of Thorns singer Jean Beauvoir. The event ended with All We Are where all guests came on stage to do it together. Wow!
For all who haven't been there and a must for everybody who was there, there will be a DVD of this special night! Just another way of Doro to thank her fans for the 20 year long support. Some fans probably were disappointed, coz rumors told that Ronnie James Dio, Klaus Meine and Pete Steele would come to Düsseldorf. Announced was Jon Oliva who also didn't make it. Anyway, it was a special night and even without this guests it was fantastic. And after the show Doro and the band spent some time with the winners of a meet & greet. Then it was time for the big after show party with all the musical guests as well as friends, family - Doro's mother was there - and mates. A night to remember...


Claudia Ehrhardt

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Doro & Helstar
- June, 15th 2002 - Eindhoven (Netherl.), Dynamo Club farewell -




Today Doro and her band had a busy one... In the afternoon the band opened at the Düsseldorf Rheinstadion the game of Düsseldorf RheinFire vs. Amsterdam Admirals. Metal queen Doro and her band had the honor to play 2 songs before the kick-off. Doro wrote the RheinFire anthem Burn It Up which they played and the new song Fight which will be on the coming album of the quintet. About the game... I heard that it was the most boring game of the season from technical point of view, but very amusing.... One player stumbled into the chain of the chain gang aside of the field and damaged the chain. A linesman stumbled over the mark of the end zone... Funny moments made watching the game not a waste of time.
Then the band drove over to Eindhoven to play at the Dynamo Club open-air. The Dynamo Club was for 20 years the place of metal in Eindhoven and many well-known bands played there. The Dynamo Club building should be brought down and so the crew wanted to say 'thank you' to all the metal fans and organized this open-air. Directly in the city center and next to a church they put up a stage and many fans came early to join this event. Free entrance made sure that this was a success.
In the billing were Sinister, Dew-Scented, Deströyer 666, a Dutch band which name I can't recall, coz it was too strange then followed by Skyclad, Helstar and finally Doro. We arrived in the early evening and saw a little bit of the British folk metallers of Skyclad. The fans liked it a lot, personally I preferred them with Martin Walkier.... But that's just my opinion.
After a break it was time for the U.S. metal heroes Helstar! James Riviera and his mates started the their 60 min. set. It was a travel through time! They presented the highlights of their career opening with Swirling Madness and Toward The Unknown. Even if we haven't see Helstar much live lately, the band made did a great show. Frontman James Rivera was talking to the audience and said 'thank you' to the Dynamo organization to give them a chance to say 'good-bye' to the club. And so they presented their classics like Evil Reign, Dark Queen, Dracula's Castle and Baptised In Blood. But they didn't forget about the Distant Thunder album which was relived with The King Is Dead and Winds Of War. The backing band of Mr. Rivera was always in motion and offered a decent show. The set was finished with Angel Of Death and Burning Star. But the fans wanted more!!! And so the quintet came back to do 3 more songs! And the front rows again turned into a mosh pit while the Americans went back in time with Remnants Of War, Good Day To Die and Run With The Pack! The US metal heroes might not be known by every fan at the Dynamo Club open-air, but they surely made new friends! Hope they'll be back soon!
Then it was time for the last show at the Dynamo Club! German's metal queen kicked-off their set with I Rule The Ruins. Going back to the Warlock debut the quintet played the title track Burning The Witches and the fans went crazy! Bassist Nick Douglas was always in motion and was the show man and visual counter part to the blonde singer. The set list offered highlights of Warlock and Doro's solo career (see set list below). After the ballad Für immer it was time to present two new tracks, the title track Fight which is dedicated to Regina Halmich (German boxing champion) and Always Live To Win which mid-tempo anthem which slightly changed since January where she played the track at the show in Verviers... But it was for the better! Followed by the Billy Idol cover White Wedding, the German song Ich will alles and at least All We Are! After a short break the quintet returned for the encore incl. Dedication and Terrorvision. I Wanna Live finished the set and the open-air. A great show! It was fun and I can't wait until the new album Fight will be in the stores in August and until they'll hit the roads of Europe in fall!
Thank you very much for this great event! It was a cool idea to do this and a big party for all! Thanks to all the people who were involved and to the bands! Definitely, a night to remember!


Claudia Ehrhardt

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Doro & VII Sins
- January, 2nd 2002 - Verviers (B), Spirit Of 66 -




Actually I won't have known about this show if I wouldn't have met Doro at the Demon Drive / Bonfire show in Düsseldorf in November where she told me about the few shows they would play. I thought that it would be nice to see her and the boys in a small club in front of 250 fans.
Opener were VII Sins from Aachen, a young band also fronted by a woman. I never heard of them before and I don't know their songs, so I can't tell much about them. The band plays melodic heavy metal and started with a catchy mid-tempo track. It seems that the band had some live experience and some friends and fans came with them. It's good to have more girls in this business, but personally I don't like the vocals, but that's just my personal taste. Most of the audience seems to like them...
After a break it was time for Doro and her companions. The band entered the stage and started with I Rule The Ruins followed by East Meets West. Soon the band made the fans rock and sing along. It must have been ages since Doro played the small stages, but it seems that they enjoyed it. After playing the festivals in summer this was a different experience to be close to the fans. And so Doro and band chose songs from the whole career incl. Kiss Me Like A Cobra, Burning The Witches, All We Are, Burn It Up, Dedication, Terrorvision, Metal Tango and Bad Blood. Only keyboarder Olli seems not to welcome the spontaneous changes which might be through the different keyboard programs he uses, but Doro always been very spontaneous and that won't change. Long-time bassist Nick Douglas and guitarist Joey Taylor obviously enjoyed the set, even if the small stage didn't gave them much space to move. Between the songs Doro talked to the fans and partly react on their wishes, so the printed setlist was changed again and again. So she told the fans that earlier that day she met a girl outside of the venue and talked a little and that the following song is for her... Live It! The new album isn't finished yet, but live Doro presented two new tracks which seems to make it onto the record, maybe the titles will change.... Fight / Gather My Forces is a heavy, rocking track with a catchy chorus, a typical Doro track. Beside the straight songs Doro showed her emotional side with ballads like Für immer, Fall For Me Again and Only You. Also another new track, but there I can't tell you the title.... Sorry! After about 80 min. Doro and band left the stage and returned at least 4 times and played 7 songs during the encores totally! That shows the dedication of Doro and her band for the fans.
After the show first the band showed up for signing stuff and photos. Later also Doro came and signed all and everything the fans wanted her to sign. Also everyone who wanted a picture together with her, got the chance. Good to know that nothing can stop her and that soon there will be a new album, some festivals this summer and late 2002 a tour... Well, a very good start into the concert year 2002 and from the atmosphere one of the best Doro shows so far.... Thanks to her and to everyone who was there and made this night something special!


Claudia Ehrhardt

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