The Dead Daisies – The Forge, Joliet, Illinois 9/11/21 (Words and images by Mark Kadzielawa)

 The Dead Daisies were always a good band, but recently they went through some personal changes and received a serious facelift.  Bassist/vocalist, Glenn Hughes, joined the band, and brought the magic with him only he can bring.  Another new face in the band is the drummer, Tommy Clufetos, known for his extensive work with Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath.  Guitar players, David Lowy and Doug Aldrich, are certainly in one of a kind musical company.  Not to be disrespectful to any previous incarnations of the band, but this is as good as it gets.  The new album, Holy Ground, more than proves that point.  We are witnessing something very special here.

The band took the stage in Joliet, and opened with “Unspoken,” and quickly followed with “Rise Up.”  Despite a small technical difficulty, The Dead Daisies were on fire.  They were clearly here to rock the house, and that’s exactly what they did.  The audience was definitely witnessing a beginning of something special here.

Guitarist, Doug Aldrich, applied heavy riffing, and countless leads.  He was a considerable presence on stage.  Aldrich was very enthusiastic about the show, his leads illuminated with joy, and he put a lot of feel into his playing.  David Lowy played a solid rhythm guitar with few lead breaks.  Aldrich and Lowy definitely supplement each other very nicely.  Lowy provides a solid platform for Aldrich to shine.  In fact, he appears to be a common denominator in just about every aspect of The Dead Daisies.

Glenn Hughes is perhaps the greatest rock singer alive at this point.  His vocals, elevated every track the band played this evening, new or old.  Hughes’s delivery is very emotional and he reaches unbelievable heights.  In addition, he’s also a very solid bass player, with some funky lines.  Even at his advanced age, Hughes is still on top of his game, and he is a performer to be witnessed on stage. 

Drummer, Tommy Clufetos, is a newest addition to the band.  He takes over from Deen Castronovo who played on the album.  Clufetos is a very powerful drummer with considerable strength and style.  He definitely added a heavy edge to the songs, but at the same time he kept the band very balanced.

The Dead Daisies played a combination of new and old songs this evening.  Majority of the tracks from “Holy Ground” were presented, as were some songs from older releases.  I certainly liked how the older tracks were molted into what The Dead Daisies are today.  The band played few covers too, as you were probably expecting them to.  CCR’s “Fortunate Son” was a very appropriate song as it was the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.  It had a very working class patriotic feel to it.  Considering Glenn Hughes’s rich legacy at least one Deep Purple cover was expected, the band did two.  “Mistreated” was absolutely beautiful.  It showed great chemistry between Hughes and Aldrich, who actually share a history prior to reuniting in The Dead Daisies.  This song is great when played live and it delivers every single time, no matter who is involved.  The band closed the show with “Like No Other.”  It included some incredible vocals from Hughes who got the audience to sing along.  At one point, Hughes, hit a note that was just out of this world.  Simply astonishing!  Daisies encored with “Long Way To Go,” and Deep Purple’s “Burn.”  This was a great version of “Burn” with Hughes and Aldrich once again taking charge.  The song brought the house down and delivered the final punch upon the already stunned audience.

The Dead Daisies displayed a lot of charisma this evening.  Each player was very noticeable, and executed their part with perfection.  It was a spiritually charged event with a solid dose of rock’n’roll.

Mark Kadzielawa

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