REVIEW BY DAVID TAYLOR AND PHOTOS BY ROBERT A CHADWICK | Go Venue Magazine
St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday designed for having fun. Interestingly, it fell on a Sunday night. But that didn’t stop people from attending Nita Strauss’s concert at the Waiting Room Lounge in Omaha, NE. It was one rip-roaring night for heavy music.
Starbenders from Atlanta, GA was the first band on the bill. I love the rawness of their performance. It felt gritty in the best way. Led by lead vocalist and guitarist Kimi Shelter, she brought a blend of late 70s/80s hard rock to her singing and screaming. She mentioned she used to live in Kansas and loves the Midwest. They brought no-frills rock and roll to the Waiting Room stage. Check out their latest album, Take Back the Night.
Diamante was the direct support of the bill. This was not my first time seeing her perform because I remember her appearing as a guest with Bad Wolves in Council Bluffs in 2018. So it is so cool to see her still performing six years later. She sounded so good. Her voice control was out of this world. And she looked good doing it. It sounded like the next coming of Pat Benatar, with her even covering “Love is a Battlefield”. I was impressed by her backing band, especially her guitar player, who was shredding these insane licks like nobody’s business. She did an amazing job of getting us ready for Nita. Check out her latest single, “1987”.
Finally, it was Nita Strauss’s turn to return to the Waiting Room stage. I was surprised to hear that she was coming since she played at this venue in June of last year. But, it makes sense since she put out her latest album, The Call of the Void, after that gig, so she got to play a ton of songs off that release. I have seen Nita Strauss play live with Alice Cooper a couple of times, but this was a whole new light for her talent for me. She shouted out local rock radio station, Z92, for making “Dead Inside” No. 1 on rock radio. The music was fast and heavy compared to Alice’s tunes. Her backing band was so technically talented in their instrument. They ended their set with a cover of Pantera’s “Cowboys from Hell”. I knew Nita Strauss was talented with Alice Cooper, but this performance made me appreciate her more of her talent.
Nita Strauss
Diamante
Starbenders
All images © Robert A Chadwick
Follow our socials, only take a second and is free by finding us on:
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
