Special report by Mark Gromen

Opening for CINDERELLA at the House Of Blues, in Atlantic City, NJ (June 23rd); ironic, as a college DJ, went backstage to say hello to KEEL, when he played the Troc on tour for his debut album. Thirty years later, our paths cross again. Wearing a head mounted bar mic (yet also utilizing the standard mic setup, at times simultaneously) namesake vocalist Ron Keel ran through a set heavy on the new Streets Of Rock N' Roll album. One of the earliest '80s Sunset Strip acts to break, instead of 'Reason To Rock', he probably should have opened with a more memorable Keel tune (maybe the later aired 'Speed Demon'?) to jog those weak/fading memories. Speaking of fades, worn jeans with holes in the knees are back! Guitarist Marc Ferrari still has that blonde dyed flip in his otherwise jet black mane. Original second guitarist Bryan Jay and drummer Dwain Miller (since '85) are still in the band too. Ferrari and Keel played off each other, as they've done for decades (minus the frontman's tenure with country music). Asking "Anybody remember 1986," the singer strapped on an acoustic for a rendition of Patti Smith's 'Because The Night'. Ferarri took a turn on a pole mounted acoustic to begin the 'Tears Of Fire' ballad, the frontman pulled the taped down setlist for the floor, crumbled it and tossed to the crowd. For the newest title track, Keel grabbed a blue guitar, emblazoned with a white lightning bolt. Their night ended with 'The Right To Rock', partially sung by the audience, some of whom FINALLY recalled the name Keel. Even with the soundboard technician's embellishments, it's obvious Ron's still got the chops, witness the opening scream to the aformentioned video hit.

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