As he continues his family’s legacy, Wolfgang Van Halen keeps Rock N Roll alive alongside his grungy rock band, Mammoth WVH. Wolf owned centerstage of the beautiful Roxian theater in Pittsburgh, opening with “Mammoth” an upbeat hopeful song and a great opener. Bassist Ronnie Ficarro reminded me of Billie Joe Armstrong by the way he carried himself on stage. I could not take my eyes off of Ficarro as his energy encapsulated me. Towards the end, Wolf gave an emotional performance as he sang “Distance”, a song dedicated to his father Eddie Van Halen. Mammoth WVH is a continuation to the Van Halen legacy but in a different, unique and beautiful way sonically that gives Wolf his own spotlight.
Coming in with a bang, Dirty Honey opened with “California Dreamin” a more 70s sounding song. My Favorite part of how the band performed, was how they all moved around on stage rather than staying in one designated spot. Guitarist John Notto blew me away with his sexy Gibson guitar and incredible chemistry with lead singer Marc LaBelle. Labelle has a very indescribable and powerful rock voice. The best rock shows are ones where the crowd and performers all interact, and that’s exactly what Marc did during the bands performance of “Another Last Time” as he joined the crowd and danced and sang with the people in the pit.
I went into this show only knowing very little about each band and came out a huge fan. I will definitely be listening to more of Mammoth WVH and Dirty Honey and I hope to see another show of theirs in the near future.