It was a few days before Christmas and hair-metal legends RATT took the stage at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, New Jersey.
On the “In Your Direction” tour, Ratt has proven that they are not ready to slow down as the “Roaring 2020’s decade” hits. With Stephen Pearcy on vocals, Juan Croucier on bass, Jordan Ziff on lead guitars, Chris Sanders on guitars and Pete Holmes on drums, Ratt continues to prove that they are one of the main acts to see from this era of music.
Ratt kicked it off with the classic “Wanted Man”, which is off of their landmark 1984 album “Out of the Cellar”. The band immediately brought the energy as a cohesive unit. I would say that Juan on bass is definitely the showman of the band as he uses his bass guitar like a weapon as he’s attacking the stage. Ratt continued to kick it old-school with “You Think You’re Tough”, which was off of their debut EP that was released back in 1983. With this song, Ratt exemplifies what is strong and mighty about this era, loud music, showmanship, and throwing your cares out the window and having a good time for an evening.
The crowd was especially loud and provided background vocals for Ratt in songs such as “Way Cool Jr.”, “Body Talk”, “Lay It Down”, “You’re In Love” and the set closers “Back For More” and their all-time classic “Round and Round”. Stephen sounded strong, Juan and Pete continue to set the pace at the rhythm section and Chris and Jordan slay on the guitars. Ratt will continue to go strong into the next decade. Here is the setlist below:
- Wanted Man
- Dangerous But Worth The Risk
- You Think You’re Tough
- Walking The Dog (Rufus Thomas cover)
- Way Cool Jr.
- I’m Insane
- In Your Direction
- Lack of Communication
- Lay It Down
- You’re In Love
- Lovin’ You’s A Dirty Job
- Slip of the Lip
- Nobody Rides For Free
- Body Talk
- Back For More
- Round and Round
RATT continues to have some tour dates coming up, including festival appearances. Check out the dates below:
Sun. 5/3- Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland
Sat. 7/25- Beaver Dam Amphitheater in Beaver Dam, Kentucky
Fri. 7/31- Rock of Ages Festival in Rottenburg, Germany
Sat. 8/1- Skogsrojet Festival in Rejmyre, Sweden
Fri. 8/7- Alcatraz Festival in Kortrijk, Belgium
Sat. 8/8- Leyendas Del Rock in Villena, Spain
For tickets and further information go to www.therattpack.com
Fans can find RATT at the following locations:
https://twitter.com/theRATTpack
https://www.instagram.com/ratt/
- Photo Credit for RATT photos: Kim Casper at Garden State Band Connection