2-17-05 at Sabala’s in Portland, OR
Server X and Stephen Pearcy
By Robin Steeley
Although this was a five-band bill, I only got the chance to catch Stephen Pearcy and local supporting act Server X who were a great surprise. This band is really a diamond in the rough, their music is unlike anyone else in this area and that originality really makes them stand out from the plethora of metal bands in the Portland scene. I love the beautifully melodic, clean vocals provided by Portia as well as the more angst ridden Nu-Metal flavor of second vocalist Jason. Their sound is reminiscent of bands like Evanescence, Lacuna Coil and my own personal favorite, Spike 1000.
Together they are a high-energy five piece obviously dedicated to their music, a dedication that shines through in their stage performance and delivery. The music itself is powerful and dynamic and really keeps you waiting for the next change, whether it is instrumental or between the two vocalists who really compliment each other well. Overall, they feature solid musicianship with excellent songwriting skills, and an intense performance. I think Server X is one of the next in line to move up the industry anthill to play on a bigger stage. I can’t believe it has taken me this long to see them live; it has definitely been an experience worth repeating. Some of my favorite tunes they played tonight were “Fragile”, and the melodic “Lost Soul”
Next up on stage after a long set change is former RATT vocalist Stephen Pearcy, tonight’s headliner. You can see plenty of RATT fans in the house tonight, all waiting to relive their favorite songs from the 80’s and sure enough, he played them all. Crowd favorites were definitely “Lay It Down”; and of course super 80’s hit “Round and Round” but Pearcy also played a few songs from his solo outfit Arcade as well as a Judas Priest cover, “You Got Another Thing Coming”. The crowd was happy, fueled by music from their youth and singing each song nearly as loud as the band.
Our first indicator that the night would not go as planned was when after several confirmation emails from Pearcy’s publicist he still forgot to put us on the guest list. I originally decided to cover this show because my friend and partner Tim Halverson from PortlandMusicians.com grew up listening to RATT and got major life inspiration from Stephen Pearcy’s music, something that eventually propelled him head first into the music industry.
Our goal tonight was for him to meet Pearcy and to get a picture with him. We originally thought this would be an easy matter since Elana, a friend of ours had worked for him for several months eight years ago answering phones, fan mail, and running errands. We were hoping he would remember her and the perfect opportunity came up when she won a guitar in a raffle that was to be signed by Pearcy. So we all file back stage and Tim got to meet, shake hands, and get a picture with Pearcy. Then Elana asked him to sign the guitar she had won and asked him if he remembered her. I wont go into specifics but not only did he not remember her, he acted like an obnoxious jerk in front of a crowd of people, making comments like “Did I sleep with you?” and “Was I even there?” I have to say I was really disappointed by his behavior, I really couldn’t believe he was so rude.
The story does have a happy ending though, Elana sold the guitar for $100 to Tim’s lovely girlfriend Jeka and we were able to present him with it. By next month it will be hanging in a display case in Portland’s newest venue.
