Blaze of Glory brought their Bon Jovi Tribute show to the Iron Horse Pub recently and I realized it was the first time I had seen a tribute act in Wichita Falls that puts on a Vegas-style show.
The members of Blaze of Glory actually call each other by the names of the musicians they’re emulating onstage. Lead vocalist Trae Doss, in the role of Jon Bon Jovi, spoke to guitarist Roy Lee (Richie Sambora) between songs, and actually addressed him as “Richie.” I hadn’t seen that before.
Throughout the show, there were moments of showmanship… “Jon” would leave the stage during an interlude, and then reappear at a climactic moment. Doss has all of JBJ’s moves down and does a great job of emulating Jon, and Lee’s “Richie” is nearly the guitar hero that the real Richie is, posing and shredding and swapping guitars frequently.
To be clear, Blaze of Glory emulates Bon Jovi Mark II, the band lineup that existed after original bassist Alec John Such left the band and Hugh McDonald joined. Dan Pockrus plays McDonald, and Boris Korol plays keys in the role of David Bryan. Both of them are pretty effective doppelgangers for the real musician.
Bon Jovi drummer Tico Torres’ duties are handled by Wayne Stokely, and his cannonfire fills and rolls definitely fit the bill.
The Iron Horse had a pretty good crowd for Blaze of Glory, and when “I’ll Be There for You” came up on the setlist, phones went in the air and there was a lot of singing along and hugging in the crowd. The band seemed pleasantly surprised by the warm reception they got and I have to say, for a Bon Jovi Tribute experience, Blaze of Glory is pretty good. Highly recommended.
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