Let me just start by saying this was a very good night. My wife and I have been fans of Enuff Z’Nuff pretty much forever. Our first show together, and probably about our tenth date, was Enuff Z’Nuff at The Bayou in Georgetown, D.C. in 1990. We got married in 1991 and the band remains special to us. We saw them multiple times long ago and we’ve seen them more recently within the last couple of years, but I was excited to see this triple bill coming to a town near me. The Glam Slam Metal Tour – Part II arrived in Manassas, VA on July 8, 2023. It was truly a good one.
1990: Going Way Back
After checking into a nearby Hampton Inn, we drove downtown for a meal and then back to the hotel to call an Uber. I don’t drive home from shows very often and I knew with three great bands I was going to have, uh, more than one beer. We arrived at the fairly empty venue which I found surprising since Kix had pretty much sold the place out a few weeks earlier. A young lady named Savannah showed us to our reserved table in the VIP section, right against the stage. It was awesome. As was the case when we saw Kix, said waitress was dressed very provocatively to say the least. We ordered a round of drinks and basked in the fact that we were going to be a foot from the stage for three bands in succession, all of which we are fans of. I had come across Bad Marriage at some point and I was excited to see them. Their song “Old School Stereo” is especially catchy. They hail from the great rock n roll city of Boston, and while they are not kids, they did provide the addition of a younger generation to the tour.
The boys hit the stage at 8:00 and proclaimed that they were not “just another band out of Boston.” (I assume that’s a reference to the lyric from the Boston song “Rock n Roll Band.”) They proceeded to melt our skulls. They now have a three-guitar attack along with a bass player, a drummer and a vocalist—a rare six-piece rock band. The sound got off to a rocky start, and while it improved, the vocals were too low all night. The band, however, was a well-oiled machine. Super-crisp, energetic as hell and simply excellent. Halfway into the set my wife and I looked at each other and wondered how the old guys to come could possibly avoid being blown off the stage. They played about eleven songs, all of which were killer. They ended with the aforementioned “Old School Stereo” and then a cover of “Breaking the Law” by Judas Priest. Frankly, that last tune was my least favorite, but then again, I’m not much of a Priest fan.
BAD MARRIAGE: The guy on the left is new member Tommy Skeoch, formerly of Tesla.
BAD MARRIAGE: The stage at the Salisbury Center is great, and spacious.
Next up were The Quireboys, on the tour from across the big pond. This is another band my wife and I saw way back in the day, but if you’re a fan, you know that lead singer Spike left (or was ousted) in 2022, so things were bound to be different. I have to say though, they sounded great all the way through, and new vocalist Guy Griffin was absolutely fine. The old men held up well against the blistering set by Bad Marriage. They ended the set with their most well-known song, “7 O’clock,” which dates back to 1990 when the band was known as The London Quireboys. You might notice in the photos below that Chip Z’Nuff is playing bass, pulling double duty for the evening. I’m not sure what the story is on that, but it was cool. All-in-all, we were very happy with set number two.
THE QUIREBOYS
THE QUIREBOYS: Chip Z’Nuff filling in on bass.
After The Quireboys, between sets, I took time to go meet the guys in Bad Marriage. I bought their debut vinyl (they now have two full-lengths and an EP), ripped it open and got the band to sign it. I love the record cover. As an aside, all three bands were selling the merch themselves and happy to mingle with fans. I already mentioned the small crowd, which made me feel bad for these bands, because they were rocking hard; no phoning it in for this show.
The debut record, gatefold sleeve and red vinyl. Beautiful…..
My anticipation for the headliners of the evening was high. Enuff Z’Nuff hit the stage and they also held their own just fine. They played an assortment of tunes across various records, of which they have something like 27 if you include the live ones and compilations. They included a couple of Beatles covers from their excellent record called Hardrock Nite. While the setlist was okay, it wasn’t what I would choose, but when your catalog is that large there’s only so much you can do. They closed out with the big hits from their self-titled major label debut, “Fly High Michelle” and “New Thing.” The crowd was clearly happy, my wife and I included. It was a truly great show in every respect.
As we waited for our Uber outside the venue, we met a guy who had an old Enuff Z’Nuff backstage pass hanging around his neck. He said he had always wanted Chip to sign it and he was so happy he got that signature on this night. I took a close look, and it was from the 1990 show at The Bayou that I mentioned earlier. I really wanted to see if he would part with it, but he was so excited about it that I didn’t even bother asking. Very cool to even see it, though. We met several people during the evening that had been to many of the same shows my wife and I have attended. Perhaps the fan base for ‘80’s metal is shrinking and becoming a small world. It’s a great world with a lot of really nice people though, including the bands.
ENUFF Z’NUFF: Chip and his lead guitar player in action.
ENUFF Z’NUFF: Chip was in good form all night, and smiling every step of the way.
ENUFF Z’NUFF: I still can’t believe the spot we had for this show.
This was a bit long for a show review, but I hope I painted the picture of how absolutely fun this really was. Check out this tour if you get a chance.
all photos by JCE
JCE, or John to his friends, was born in the Nation’s Capital and grew up in the VA suburbs of D.C. He just turned 60 years old, he has a wife of 32 years, and a grown daughter. He leads a bit of a double life, working by day as the chief administrative officer of a VA county, and spending as many nights as possible listening to live rock n roll with his wife at any club that has a decent band within 100 miles or so of their house (and sometimes further).