Live | Doogie White [support: Hand Of The Tribe & John L] – Nieuwe Nor – Heerlen [NL]

6 April 2025

Sunday April 6 ex-Rainbow/Cornerstone/Yngwie Malmsteen singer Doogie White was in poppodium Nieuwe Nor Heerlen as part of the ‘Stranger In Us All 30th Anniversary Tour’ to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of that Rainbow album. Besides that this man of course has quite a record, which is certainly not negligible. So enough reason for many fans of the classic rock genre to see this excellent singer again at work.

JOHN L

Before Doogie takes the stage, however, there are no less than 2 support bands. The first being the Belgian trio John L from Liege. They have been building up their reputation for some years now and know how to play a solid set of songs. The center of the band is really John L himself. With his excellent guitar playing he knows how to get the audience going. The rhythm section is tight and solid. Unfortunately for the band, quite a few people decided to come later to the venue and so it was less crowded than you would give the band credit for. But the people already present appreciated the repertoire offered by the band. All in all John L was able to present a fine business card.

HAND OF THE TRIBE

The second band on the program is Hand Of The Tribe. A bit of a strange one, because the music of this band from Boston is quite far removed from the classic rock that we will hear later in the evening. Metal with a pretty alternative slant is not what you would expect as support. But fair is fair, it is good for the variation of the evening. In addition, this band around vocalist / guitarist Dave “Henrock” Henriquez is on a roll and offers a more than convincing set.

Also, drummer Paulo Teixeira and bassist Roger Colella provide a great tight rhythm section that brings a cool drive. Furthermore, it is a nice surprise that guitarist Emiliano Tessitore of Doogie’s band also joins in for some nice singing. Great performance by Hand Of The Tribe.

DOOGIE WHITE

And then it’s time for the main act. For this tour, like 2 years ago, the master has again brought his all-Italian band. Emiliano Tessitore [guitar/backing vocals], Francesco Caporaletti [bass] and Alessio Palizzi [drums] are there again. This time even a keyboardist has been added to the lineup, namely Giuseppe Cioffi.

Unfortunately, it soon becomes apparent that Doogie was hit by the flu and that has a major impact on his vocals. It is commendable that the man took the stage at all and managed and dared to struggle through this set list. Indeed, many an artist would have called off the show. And later shows of the tour were unfortunately canceled.

TOP BAND

Fortunately, Doogie had enough support in the form of this top band to bring this evening to a successful conclusion. All praise for this born artist to squeeze out this performance. Because vocally these are all challenging songs to perform.

Songs like ,,Wolf To The Moon’’ and ,,Cold Hearted Woman’’ remain timeless hits, which is proven once again. The focus of the evening was on the Rainbow album, but also songs from his collaborations with Michael Schenker came along in the form of ,,Vigilante Man’’ and ,,Take Me To The Church’’. Demon’s Eye wasn’t skipped either with ,,Road To Glory’’ and ,,Five Knuckle Shuffle’’.

During the Alcatrazz song ,,Don’t Get Mad, Get Even’’, Doogie asked two enthusiastic people from the audience to take the stage and sing along loudly to the song’s chorus. And Emiliano’s backing vocals throughout the show were a welcome breath of fresh air for the singer. In addition, Emiliano is just an insanely good guitarist, who knows how to re-produce the solos of the songs in a more than excellent way. Hats off to this likeable man. And by the way the whole band was ON FIRE.

DOOGIE WHITE – THE CONCLUSION

Always a highlight in the set is the song ,,Ariel’’, but tonight we got to hear a  vocally slimmed-down version, which does not take away from the fact that this remains a magical song.

Doogie is just a very likeable performer and because of this he comes away with this performance as well. And thankfully, he hasn’t lost his storytelling between songs either. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing this artist live many times and have certainly seen better shows, but I can only respect the man, who managed to get through this 15-song set list. Next time, I hope he’s back on top 100%. Get well soon Doogie.

All photos by Raymond Helebrand