Picture by Deb Rao

Bravewords.com correspondent Deb Rao has checked in with the following report:

White Lion capped off a very successful string of New England dates at the Millstreet Brews Showcase on November 7th in Southbridge, Massachusetts. The all ages show featured quite a diverse audience that ranged from older die-hard fans to a younger audience seeing the band for the first time that night.

Although the original line-up of White Lion disbanded in 1991, Mike Tramp has assembled top notch musicians including Troy Patrick Farrell on drums, EJ Curse on bass for the remainder of 2008, Jamie Law on guitar, and Henning Wanner on keyboards. White Lion hit the stage at 10:30 P.M. for a 90-minute set which spanned their extensive catalog and hits including opening song, 'Hungry','Wait', 'Lady of The Valley’, and new material from White Lion's latest album Return Of The Pride on Frontiers Records.

During the set, singer Mike Tramp revisited the heyday of the '80s metal genre and White Lion's rise to fame throughout the entire evening. The voice of White Lion, Mike Tramp sported a darker hair shade than his blond mane White Lion days, was very tattooed, and was in good voice. The crowd was very responsive to the new material and older hits.

Before White Lion launched into one of their biggest hits, 'Wait', Mike Tramp commented: "Let me take you back to the glory days of MTV and the countdown that we all rushed home to watch. One day I turned on the television and found this song at #1. I want to thank you all for your support over the years and keeping metal alive."

Mike also commented on the diversity of the audience.

"I have to stop the show a minute and look at all the vintage White Lion t-shirts in the front row. Also, I see a lot of fans that look like that were not even born in 1983. In 2008, we have a new President Barack Obama and also a new White Lion album," as the band launched into new songs, 'Set Me Free' and 'Dream' from Return Of The Pride. White Lion ended the night with the Golden Earring hit, 'Radar Love'.

The band sounded very tight on the new material, as the songs feature the White Lion signature trademark catchy lyrics and pop oriented flavor. The quiet mill town of Southbridge witness the lion roar at its best with songs that have survived the test of time.

Set list: 'Hungry', 'Little Fighter', 'El Salvador', 'Set Me Free', 'Wait', 'Dream', 'Living On The Edge', 'Broken Heart', 'Lady Of The Valley', 'When The Children Cry', 'Radar Love'.

White Lion's tour schedule is now as follows:

November

9 - Louisville, KY - Expo 5 (free show)
11 - Tulsa, OK - Marquee
12 - Houston, TX - Meridan
14 - El Paso, TX - Uncle Paulies
15 - N. Las Vegas, NV - Canyon Club
27 - Codevilla, (Pavia) - Thunder Road
28 - Bologna, Italy - Sottotetto
29 - Rome, Italy - Jailbreak

December

3 - Istanbul, Turkey - Jolly Joker Balans
10 - Singapore - Hard Rock Cafe
13 - Shillong (Meghalaya), India - JN Stadium
16 - Nagaland, India - Dimapur Stadium

May

8 - Halifax, NS - Cabin Fever Rockfest Festival

Frontiers Records recently announced the release of White Lion's - Bang Your Head Festival 2005 DVD, on December 5th.