Three Cities take having a good time seriously. It shows in their live shows, their videos, and it shows in their recorded output. Fort Wayne’s Three Cities play rock n’ roll. Like, rock n’ roll rooted in the storied history of bands like Led Zeppelin, Queen, The Beatles, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Van Halen, Deep Purple and pretty much anything that would’ve been blowing minds between the 1960s thru the 1980s. They take pride in knowing that every man, woman and manchild leaves a Three Cities show completely rocked to their core. Three Cities have returned with a new album titled Live From Lafayette. As you may have guessed, it’s a live album recorded at the Lafayette Theater. It’s as fun and crazy as you’d hope it would be.
According to the band, “This album is the culmination of years of writing, recording, rehearsing and performing and showcases a local band’s attempt to bring rock n’ roll back from the dead with rippin’ guitar solos, pounding drums, cheesy synths and arena-ready choruses.”
“Time Will Tell” makes good on that promise with vocals belted out like Bruce Dickinson, guitar shredding like Glen Tipton and drums beaten within an inch of their life. “Anthony’s Garage” touts some impressive vocal harmonies, and the song overall sounds like Head East and Mountain on steroids. It’s good time rock n’ roll with an edge. “Walkin’” touts some serious Uriah Heep vibes with that classic 70s rock n’ roll march and the Ken Hensley organ sound.
The big takeaway on this live album is just how accomplished these guys are musically, as well as how they own the stage here. They sound like they’ve been doing this well beyond their relatively few years of doing the rock n’ roll thing. I’ve seen far more aged rock n’ roll lifers who have seemingly hit tenure in the school of rock and don’t come close to the musicianship these four guys have mastered.
There are some epic jams on here, “Too Far Gone,” “Louder and Louder,” “Guuurl”), as well as Three Cities’ signature tune, “Serious Metal Illness.” There’s also some great stage banter, a must for every great live album.
Three Cities’ Live from Lafayette is a testament to weekend jams, the rock n’ roll life, guitar tunings between songs and four dudes laying down some serious jams to ignite your brain. Long live Three Cities, and long live rock n’ roll.
