Honeymoon Suite and Vixen – Riviera Theatre, North Tonawanda, NY

Canadian melodic rockers, Honeymoon Suite, played the West Herr Riviera Theatre along with special guest Vixen, the iconic all female band. Fans from both sides of the border came to North Tonawanda’s historic theatre, to show their support last Wednesday evening.

Vixen took the stage first, showcasing their new singer, Rosa Laricchiuta. Having joined drummer and original member, Roxy Petrucci, guitarist Britt Lighting, and bassist Julia Lage, a mere four months earlier; Laricchiuta is no stranger to performing on stage. Previously, she was the lead vocalist for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra {West Coast} since 2016.

Vixen’s set focused on their biggest hits, such as Rev It Up, How Much Love, Cryin’ , and of course, the set wouldn’t be complete without Edge of a Broken Heart. With their last studio release being put out in nearly 18 years ago, fans are eager for some new material.

Honeymoon Suite, having been around for four decades, has a solid foothold on how to maintain a loyal fanbase. Despite being a mid-week show, fans turned up ready to rock to songs of their youth as well as recent material from the five-piece. Honeymoon Suite’s set included only two songs of their newest effort, Alive, but did not fail to provide the crowd with classic hits. One highlight of the performance were when vocalist Johnny spotted a diehard fan in the front row and handed his microphone over so he sing the chorus during Stay In The Light. Another was when the Might Wurlitzer theatre organ was used to perform the keyboard solo. The organ was supposed to rise up from where it is housed in the orchestra pit, however it got stuck and the solo was performed hidden from view to most of the crowd, only to rise up afterwards. Seemed the theatre wasn’t the only one to have troubles, the band suffered briefly with equipment difficulties yet powered through like the professionals they are.

The show closed out with fans jumping to their feet and gathering at front of the stage – despite house rules to stay seated, for the encore. It is hard to stay seated when songs hits like New Girl Now and Alive are being played.

It should be noted, Honeymoon Suite consists of original members, Johnny Dee {vocals}, Derry Grehen {guitar}, Gary Lalonde {bass}, Dave Betts {drums} and Peter Nunn {keyboards} although not original joined the band in the early 2000’s.

Honeymoon Suite setlist:

• Say You Don’t Know Me
• Find What You’re Looking For
• Burning In Love
• Wounded
• Stay In The Light
• Wave Babies
• Feel It Again
• Peter Nunn
• Keyboard Solo { the Mighty Wurlitzer theatre organ}
• What Does It Take
• Lookin’ Out For Number One
• Guitar Solo
• New Girl Now
• Alive
• Drum Solo
• Love Changes Everything

Vixen setlist :

• Rev It Up
• Charmed Life {Jeff Paris cover}
• Cruisin’
• How Much Love
• Cryin’ {Jeff Paris cover}
• Hard 16
• Runnin’ With the Devil / I Want You to Rock Me / Perfect Strangers/ What You’re Doing / War Pigs / Still of the Night medley
• Not A Minute Too Soon
• Streets In Paradise
• Edge Of A Broken Heart