Conrad Zero

I saw the show “Power Balladz” last night, and it was a blast! A hyper-talented cast performing some of the greatest Rock Ballads of all time. (Like the flier says, “The greatest songs ever written by man, woman and/or beast”)

No joke. Here’s the list of songs.

• Night Ranger – “Sister Christian”
• Guns n’ Roses – “November Rain”
• Bon Jovi – “Wanted, Dead or Alive”
• Journey – “Faithfully”
• Scorpions – “Winds of Change”
• Poison – “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”
• Ozzy Osbourne/Lita Ford – “Close My Eyes Forever”
• Styx – “Come Sail Away”
• Heart – “Alone”
• Meat Loaf – “Anything For Love”
• Aerosmith – “Dream On”
• Mötley Crüe – “Home Sweet Home”
• Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Freebird”
• Queen – “We Are The Champions”

The talent behind this show are amazing. Dieter Bierbrauer, Randy Schmeling and Katy Hays are spot-on singers. The songs are done pretty much note for note, in some cases better than the originals. All the performances were stellar, but ones that stand out: Dieter’s rendition of Ozzy in “Close My Eyes Forever” was top notch, and likewise with Randy’s cover of Meatloaf’s “Anything For Love”. Katy’s cover of Heart’s “Alone” was worth the price of admission. The musicians are all pro: Mike Menard on Bass/Guitar, Jon Ehresmann and Mike Krajewski on Guitars, Dennis Curley on Keyboards and Andrew Thornbrough on Drums… This is not some lame bar band playing a kegger. These people are truly admirers of the genre, and you’ll be amazed at how close they get to the originals.

Of course it’s not possible to look back on some of this stuff and laugh, especially the hair. You will see Katy attempt to run her hair through the “way back machine” in about 30 seconds (in exactly 30 seconds). You will see Randy put on a giant wig and cowboy hat and perform a minty rendition of Poison’s “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn”. You will see Dieter in a rowboat-turned-spaceship-pulled-by-aliens while singing “Come Sail Away”. Now I’m no Styx fan, but that part of the show had me laughing so hard, I was literally in tears.

More fun highlights: Free lighters (with built-in bottle openers) to hold up in a non-stop tribute, and some fun facts between songs about the bands that made these songs what they are. A medley halfway through the show touched on what was and was not a power ballad. There’s a T-Shirt Cannon, and if you’re really lucky, they will pull some person out of the audience to answer Power Ballad Trivia who is so drunk she scares the performers. (Hey, they only had to deal with her for a couple minutes. I sat right in front of her for the entire show.)

Oh, and for the grand finale: THREE FREDDY MERCURY’s. Top that.

The show runs through June 28th. Get tickets at the door or the official website, www.powerballadz.com There are no assigned seats. Drinks are served in the venue – CASH ONLY so come prepared. Unfortunately, the discount code I have to get half price tickets is only good for opening weekend, but if you are going, keep an eye out for specials and discounts.

The LAB theatre used to be called the Guthrie Lab, but after the Guthrie moved, now it’s just called The LAB.

Click here for the Google Map to the LAB Theatre

If you saw the show, let everyone know what you think in the comments. If you liked the show, spread the word!