On April 15th 1993, Hair Metal superstars Poison rocked into Dublin to play the now-demolished Tivoli Theatre on Francis Street. Though not the size of venue they had been accustomed to, it still made for an up close and personal barnstorming evening. The standout memory that night was their moody-looking new guitarist, Richie Kotzen, a 21-year-old virtuoso from Pennsylvania who had rock star written all over him.
Richie Kotzen
Opium, Dublin – 11 July 2024
Words: Brian Boyle
No disrespect to Richie Kotzen’s predecessor, C.C. DeVille, but by the level of his performance that night, it was not hard to work out that he was overqualified for the job. He probably knew it himself.
Nearly a quarter of a century has passed since that hot and sweaty night, and the six-stringer has gone on to become one of the most respected guitarists in rock today.
As well as a massively prolific solo artist, his work with power trio The Winery Dogs and his scintillating partnership with Iron Maiden’s Adrian Smith in Smith/Kotzen has only heightened his already searing hot reputation.
Tonight’s venue is compact and provides the right amount of intimacy to get lost in the talents of a man whose music takes in multiple genres like hard rock, blues, soul, funk, prog and even a bit of jazz fusion.
If you saw a couple of his social media posts recently, you will know this guy is absolutely knackered and homesick for his wife and dog. But being the consummate professional he is, there are no apparent signs of being road weary when he plugs in and launches into Losing My Mind, sending a surge of power, excitement and energy right through the building.
For many here tonight, that moment would have been their first live introduction to his music. What a feeling that must have been.
Kotzen does not do smalltalk. There is no ‘I feel Irish’ or ‘I had a Guinness today’ bullshit. A mere “thanks for coming out” is about the most you get.
Richie Kotzen epitomizes the saying let the music do the talking when he digs deep on a thumping War Paint, giving the knowledgeable audience an early Kotzen live favourite.
What this man can do with a few strings and a lump of wood is near indescribable, possibly bordering on illegal. He is simply a guitar nerd’s wet dream. A wonderful performance of the soul-driven Dogs was heightened by a solo by the gods. It’s one of many tonight.
While he is a man of few words, Kotzen is very aware of his audience, always scanning the room and making eye contact. He just has a knack for weaving you into his world. Fooled Again and Bad Situation were performed with a pure hypnotic quality.
Though Kotzen is primarily lauded for his mesmerising guitar work, his vocals are something to behold and are practically a fourth member of the band. On Fear, he leaves a note hanging that would make any other vocalist’s head explode. But it does jnot knock a feather out of the youthful 54 year old, and the reception it received raised the roof.
A shout from the audience for Love Is Blind was happily accepted, and turned into one of the truly high points of the night.
Although it’s Kotzen’s name up in lights, it’s far from being a one-man show. The engine room of bassist Dylan Wilson and drummer Kyle Hughes provide a solid foundation for their captain to go carte blanche. But he stepped aside on Help Me for Wilson to let rip some four-string mayhem.
With over 20 solo albums to his name, picking a setlist might be an arduous task, but whatever the process, the balance of material tonight was perfect. He can slot in mellower moments like Do What The Devil Says To Do and not lose any of the momentum of the show.
The main part of the set absolutely whizzed by, but he was back in seconds for a three-song encore, including a rampant Go Faster. Another moment in the night you didn’t want to end, the additional vocals from Dylan Wilson give the delivery extra zip.
I doubt Kotzen would consider himself a genius. He does not appear to suffer from the Malmsteen’s. He even looked slightly bashful at the crowd’s chants of ‘Richie’.
However, the fact remains that Richie Kotzen is a genius, whether he likes it or not, and it was an honour and a pleasure to witness this performance tonight.
