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Great White Gives Back: Rock Out For Ovarian Cancer 2008

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greatwhite1Great White Gives Back:?Rock Out For Ovarian Cancer 2008
June 4, 2008
Celina, Ohio

By JEN X

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Patty Selhorst had a request, and before she passed away on June 4, 2007 from ovarian cancer she made that request clear to her family: raise funds for research and raise awareness of the disease. On June 7, 2008 that request was fulfilled by her husband Larry Selhorst and their sons Brent and Brad.

Rock Out For Ovarian Cancer brought the band Great White to Romer’s Catering and Entertainment in Celina, Ohio and raised $5000 for the American Cancer Society. The event spanned the entire evening with guest speakers, an auction of items ranging from a Cincinnati Reds Getaway, signed sports memorabilia, and many items autographed by the Great White, such as a Land Shark surf board, drum heads, cds, posters.

Opening band Teays Vein played a tight set that included many songs from their upcoming sophomore cd “Resistance”. Charismatic lead singer Aaron Winteregg easily won the crowd’s affection with great interaction, an obvious love for what he’s doing, and most importantly smooth vocals. I would compare the band’s sound to that of a combination of Matchbox 20 and Maroon 5.

Great White hit the stage with an almost two hour set of Southern blues-based rock that kept heads banging from the first power chord of “Call It Rock N Roll” to the last riff of “Once Bitten, Twice Shy”. Frontman Jack Russell spent many moments reflecting on songs of the past asking the crowd if they “remember this one” as guitarist Mark Kendall launched into opening riffs for “Face the Day” off of Great White’s ’86 EP “Shot in the Dark”. This was immediately followed by new title cut “Back to the Rhythm”, giving fans a taste of the upcoming cd due to hit stores on July 17. After this the audience was hit with single after single of some of the band’s best material including: “Save Your Love”, “House of Broken Love”, “Mista Bone”, “Rock Me”, and “Can’t Shake It”. New bassist Scott Snyder fit right in with the close knit band, and as always Michael Lardie charmed the crowd and showed his impeccable skills on the guitar, keyboard, and harmonica, while also providing backing vocals. Drummer Audie Desbrow, a Great White fixture since ’85, wore me out just by watching him do his thing behind the kit. When asked how I would rate this to seeing the band numerous times during the ’80’s era of glam/hair bands I would have to say it was just as thrilling. The only things missing were the long hair and the big stage show, as the tight pants were still in attendance as was the vocal talent still being exhibited by Russell. It should also be noted that Kendall still rips on the lead guitar and it’s worth the price of admission just to hear him play.

Being at this small venue with about 250-300 other Great White fans it seemed more of an intimate private show. Fans were encouraged to come up to the stage, and at times onto the stage, to sing along and for photo ops. The performance on this stop of their tour was a glowing revival of what Great White does best. They rock out with black n’ blue guitars, ass-shaking drum beats, stories of failed romance and songs that pay homage to the days of free sexual exploration. Great White exhibits a rare longevity that not many bands have had the privilege of experiencing, having toured almost non-stop for the past 24 years. Stopping doesn’t seem to be in the cards for the group, and their ever faithful fans can look forward to many more years of the band being out on the road and at a venue close by.
Set List:
Call It Rock N Roll
Old Rose Motel
Face The Day
Back To The Rhythm
On Your Knees
Save Your Love
House Of Broken Love
Mista Bone
Rolling Stoned
Desert Moon
Rock Me
Can’t Shake It
Once Bitten, Twice Shy
Related Links:
www.rockoutforovariancancer.org
www.myspace.com/rockoutforovariancancer
www.mistabone.com
www.myspace.com/officialgreatwhite
www.myspace.com/teaysvein