Worcester, MA- The Bang Tango and House of Lords tour made it’s way to Worchester, MA last week. And although Joe LeSte of Bang Tango and James Christian of HOL are the only two original members left in the bands, their signature vocals made for an enjoyable night of vintage 80’s hard rock music. Both bands are touring in support of new CD’s; Bang Tango's "From The Hip" on Perris Records, and House of Lords, "World Upside Down" on Frontiers Records. Bang Tango’s current line-up features, Joe LeSte - vocals, Timmy Russell - drums, Michael Thomas - guitar, and Lance Eric -bass. House of Lords features James Christian- vocals, Jimi Bell (from Connecticut)- lead guitar, B.J. Zampa on drum, and Chris Mccarvill - bass.

I was anxious to hear how House of Lords would sound without original members Greg Giuffria, Chuck Wright and Lanny. Giuffria has taken the business path in Las Vegas and Wright is back in Quiet Riot.

House of Lords hit the stage at 11:00 pm and performed a vast array of all their older material, but included three new songs from their latest album,” World Upside Down" during their hour long set. House of Lords have been recently performing many dates in Europe, so this was the first time that many in the audience have seen the band in a while. The new line-up of the band is really quite good. Guitarist Jimi Bell, is a left handed guitarist, who did a great job of infusing his 80’s influenced riff guitar style onto all of the House of Lords classic tunes, he’s a shredder that fits right into the House of Lords melodic pop sound. In the past, House of Lords were known for their monstrous sound and power vocals. The new line-up holds true to that as well. 

House of Lords opened with "Sahara” and then slammed in "Talkin About Love." It was great to see that James Christian still had his powerful vocal style. House of Lords perform three new songs of "World Upside Down," which included,” Rock Bottom,” "I'm Free," and "These Are The Times." The new songs followed in the mold of "Sahara."

I spoke to James Christian about the new album and he said," We wanted to keep the signature melodic hard rock sound that House Of Lords is known for and to just update it a little with modern production. We wanted to stay true to 80’s and our roots. "World Upside Down" is a band effort. We have been playing a lot in Europe. "World Upside Down" is Number on the radio station ARFM in Europe. The fans in Europe still love 80's music. House of Lords are still very big over there. The market is huge for metal in Europe.” House of Lords will be touring Europe beginning February 14th. We will be playing Germany, Switzerland, and Italy.”
 

One of the interesting aspects that struck me about the House of Lords set was the quality of musicianship. James still has that quality voice that was in tip-top shape during the set and especially on the acoustic version of "Can’t Find My Way Home". The band had a huge power sound for the tiny Lucky Dog Music Hall. It was great to hearing "Edge of Life" again. I highly recommend checking out the new version of House of Lords.
 
House of Lords Set List
Sahara
Talkin Bout Love
Love Don't Lie
Rock Bottom
Edge Of Your Life
Wanna Be Loved
These Are The Times
Can't Find My Way Home
I'm Free
Pleasure Palace
Slip Of The Tongue      
 

Next up (at 1;00am) was Bang Tango. And the party was just getting started! Joe LeSte and Bang Tango hit the stage rockin’. Back in the day, Bang Tango was one of the first bands to emerge out of the Sunset Strip scene. Raw, real, and honest best describe Joe LeSte. These days a many bands emerging out of Europe are trying to recreate that Glam-punk sound. But Joe and Bang Tango really were one of the bands in Los Angeles that started it all. Bang Tango had a great funky Glam/Punk sound, and cult following with their hit,” Someone Like You'. These days Joe LeSte is not just focused on nostalgia. Joe is a career musician, who lives to perform, and always puts on a dynamite show. Joe is from the old school of rock, he is has a funky, unique voice that screams with passion, and charismatic stage appeal.
 

Bang Tango performed songs from,” Ready to Go," “Psycho Cafe" and "From The Hip." And they even threw in an AC/DC cover. Joe is one of those singers, who can sing anything and make any song his own. Joe use to front an AC/DC tribute band Thunderstruck, so you know where his rock and roll roots come from.
 
Bang Tango performed a slamming version of "Dancin on Coals," with guitarist Michael Thomas doing a good job of bringing that funky, Glam-punk sound to the table. LeSte was in rare form, strutting around the stage with his Jagger like mannerisms, and getting everyone in the audience dancing. 
 
 LeSte and Bang Tango turned the quiet little city of Worcester into Sunset Strip for a night. It was almost 2 A.M. and Bang Tango was still going strong. Joe was happy to return to his Boston roots, and yes Ladies; Joe is as still as sexy as his MTV days. Be sure to check out both Bang Tango and House of Lords on tour this month.
 
I had the opportunity to discuss with Joe LeSte his Boston roots, the music scene today, and how Bang Tango got started. Joe said, "Back in heyday, Bang Tango toured with Poison, Cinderella, Warrant, LA Guns, and Cheap Trick. You know, MTV has changed so radically. It is hard to decipher what is a rock band and what is a boy band. There is a fine line. When I was at Warner Brothers they had a nickname for Linkin Park, they would call them Linkinsync 182. My career and what I do comes in as purely performing live shows, selling records, kind of like the old school days, when you go out their and work hard. I am a very hard working musician. I make sure everyone gets into it."
 
Joe LeSte then commented on how Bang Tango got their start," Long story short, I got a call from the guitar player in Rough Cutt, They were a big deal, they were on Warner Brothers. They were trying out 350 singers. It came down to Terry McCarthy and me. He beat me out of the gig. But then he said I know this guy looking for a singer and the band was called City Slick. While I was trying out for them, there was this producer next door. He said you guys are great. I am going to produce you guys and they picked me to sing with them I ended up calling the band Bang Tango,” stated LeSte.

When asked about his Boston rock and roll roots, and musical style, LeSte smiled and said "My whole family is from Boston. Are you ready for this? Let me tell you something, We are Irish Catholics, there are two things you don’t do to us, piss us off and try to out drink us. (Laughter) I am a very live act. And at the club level you are going to get a ball of energy.  But at the same time, we all have fans and they want to hear us perform. I am living witness to this now, I do this for a living, and I spend my nights signing autographs, and doing my thing, that is what I do for a living."

For more info on check out www.myspace.com/bangtango Purchase CD’s from both bands here !!!