Nothing brings me back to my adolescent years than heavy metal, and one of my all-time favorite bands, Mötley Crüe.

So, my friends and I drove out to Dingbatz, in Clifton, N.J., on Saturday night to see Sixx Seconds to Mars, a Mötley Crüe tribute band fronted by the dynamic Paul Fessock. Also performing live was Tribute, an Ozzy cover band, and Interstate Love Songs, playing the tunes of the 90’s Stone Temple Pilots and 2000’s Velvet Revolver.

First, Sixx Seconds to Mars totally blew the roof of Dingbatz, playing the classic, hard-rocking heavy metal Crüe tunes such as Shout at the Devil, Bastard, Live Wire, Kick Start My Heart, 10 Seconds to Love, Primal Scream, and list goes on.

Fessock, an educator and children's book author (Heavy Metal Harry’s First Gig with Vince Neil Paperback) nailed the high notes the way Vince Neil was once able to flawlessly hit.

Furthermore, the band was absolutely dead-on amazing, from the rockstar-looking bass player Johnny Leigh to the glitzy guitar virtuoso Chris Radice, down to gifted drummer Ron Lipnicki, formerly of Overkill. I swear, if you closed your eyes for a few seconds and forgot you were at small rock bar in New Jersey, you would channel the hard-rocking vibes of Mötley Crüe. No, really.

A highly recommend taking in one of Sixx Seconds to Mars’s show in the near future.

I did not get to see Tribute, but Interstate Love Songs was a quality band that had the crowed rocking throughout its set.

For more information on Sixx Seconds Mars and live performance dates, visit sixxsecondstomars.com.

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Thank you.

— Jerry Del Priore