To Hell with the devil, but to heaven with their teased and Aquanetted hair.
  • To Hell with the devil, but to heaven with their teased and Aquanetted hair.

Sure, the headliner for the Desert Rocks Septemberfest at AVA is technically Extreme, playing their best-selling 1990 album Pornograffitti (you know, the one with “More Than Words” on it?) in its entirety, plus the rest of their hits:

And it’s cool that Sebastian Bach (who will always hold a special place in my heart for his reoccurring role as Gil on Gilmore Girls) is on the bill and I can generally ignore that Great White are involved in any manner, but hey, let’s talk about the fact that Stryper are playing.

It’s not like Stryper hasn’t played Tucson before (I saw a particularly memorable appearance by the band at Sahuaro High School a million years ago; they threw Bibles from the stage), but hey, they’ve got a newish album out (2013’s No More Hell to Pay), it’s the original lineup, and well, this heathen town could use some sanctified rock and roll (that part is a joke before you start your angry comment).

The only question, and I suspect I will be disappointed by the answer, will the band be wearing the bumble-bee style outfits that made them famous? I’ll follow-up with the band’s management and post the answer when/if I find out.

Tickets for the September 27 extravaganza of rock are on sale now and range from $35 to $95.

This article appears in Sep 4-10, 2014.

The editor of the Tucson Weekly. I have no idea how I got here.

4 replies on “Oh Gosh, Stryper Is Coming to AVA!”

  2. I attended the show and loved every minute of it; up until Extreme.

    What was with the sound!? FIRE-the guy in charge of that.

    I wished Stryper headlined, played longer, and play some of their new songs.

    Great White was awesome as always.

    Sebastian, you forgot your own lyrics and what town you were in; it’s Tuscon not Phoenix.

    Extreme- I try to like you but your songs, live, sound the same.

  3. I must disagree with the “sound” comment. Everyone sounded amazing from where I was sitting. The sound was powerful and VERY clear! In addition, all the bands on the bill played great. I must point out I was INSANELY disappointed in the crowd for bailing out on Extreme. By the time the show was over, the majority of the crowd had already dispersed. WAY TO SHOW YOUR CLASS, TUCSON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  4. I agree with LoveMyMetal, the sound was awful. Just because the sound is loud does not make it powerful or very clear. Ricky must be the sound guy; sorry dude the sound wasn’t that great, maybe for Extreme because they got a sound check. The same thing happened to Extreme in their hay-day, they do know how to clear the house.

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