Fan Halen was decent. I have seen them four times (they keep opening for other bands I want to see) now, I think. I keep waiting for them to get better, but they don't. The first time I saw them (a while ago), they had a different front man who looked and sounded more like David Lee Roth, albeit a slightly soft-looking one. He sounded a lot better than the current lead singer. I don't care for his DLR imitation. He doesn't really sound like him, and he looks nothing like him; the cheap wig does not help. Also, I think the guitarist may have changed at some point as well. This guy was ok, but he took too many liberties, straying far from the original material. He also messed up multiple times. Eruption was pretty much unrecognizable (inexcusable). The first time I saw them (maybe two years ago) it was flawless. The timing was often off (a bit fast) too. I have seen them enough now to understand they are OK at imitating Van Halen, but not great. I'm sure there are better Van Halen tribute bands out there.

Bonfire, on the other hand, was fantastic. The frontman was excellent and the band was very polished. They played Back In Black front to back and it was almost flawless. These are the guys I came to see and I was not disappointed with their performance. If you get a chance to see them, GO. It seems that every time I want to see a rock tribute band at the Canyon, I have to suffer through the mediocre opening act first--and somehow, the openers are always Fan Halen. If you want to sit, but don't go early enough to see the openers, you are not getting a seat.

One thing I like about the Canyon Club: they seem to support small, local youth bands by letting them open for the openers. This is a little funny, given the nature of the establishment (a very adult place with sexually explicit carvings on the men's room door), but I like seeing young kids rock out like that. It gives them a chance to perform on a decent-sized stage for an enthusiastic audience. This time, the kid band was called "One". They played mostly covers, with one decent original song. Musically, they were very polished and I was impressed. The lead singer has a decent voice that still sounds a bit immature (I think she was eleven) and in need of vocal training--but she was not bad. The funny thing was the "band mom" ran around the room after their set trying to get people to sing up for the band's mailing list. Don't get me wrong, they were fun to watch (novelty factor), but this band is not getting signed any time soon--they are years away from that level. A fan club seems a bit premature.

Otherwise, as usual, the sound system at the Canyon was muddy and spoiled a lot of the fun. They have these colossal stacks of mediocre speakers with a cheap amp. Everything always seems to sound like it is being passed through a mud filter. Maybe I am too fussy, but this has been a problem from the first time I went there. There was even one occasion when they had it way too loud and I could not hear a thing (Adler's Appetite was the headliner). Distortion everywhere--we actually left early because it sounded so bad.

The canyon club seems to like rearranging the furniture. It is a little different every time I go there. What good this actually does the customer is a mystery. Once, they had it all set up so that half the couches were facing *away* from the stage. Odd. That said, if they want to actually make the experience better for their customers, they need to change three things, none of which involve rearranging the furniture:

1) Get rid of the oversized (and very old) speaker stacks. Replace them with smaller, state-of-the art equipment that sounds better. This includes tossing the amps and investing in some quality stuff. For an example of what I mean, check out The Roxy on Sunset Blvd. (next to Rainbow). The sound system is second to none. Gorgeous, distortion-free sound at all times, regardless of volume. Canyon club: Spend the 30 grand. It will be worth it.

2) PLEASE gut and remodel the bathrooms (I can only vouch for the men's). There are two stalls, and neither door locks. At the least, fix the damn locks! The faucets are broken on both sinks, and the walls are sticky and everything just looks disgusting. The lights are usually burned out and only one bulb is insufficient--everything is dark and it feels a bit like peeing in a (smelly/gross) back alley. Also, please do away with the useless valet. The Valet's job in a men's room is more than merely handing out paper towels and asking if we want mints or cologne. He should keep the floors clean and dry (either himself or by telling the staff when it needs cleaning) and direct people to the free stall, etc. He did nothing to prevent people from opening the door of the stall I used (which, of course, has no lock) while I was in it. A Valet's job is to make sure the bathroom is clean and to help pamper the guests. This small bathroom does not have room for a valet on busy nights and he was more of an annoyance than anything else. It is sort of funny actually--the men's room is a total dump, yet it has a valet?? One has to wonder who is making management decisions about this place.

3) The food is (still) grossly overpriced. $24 for a stuffed chicken breast?! Really?? A place that charges this much for (mediocre) food should at least have nice bathrooms. I have mentioned this before in other reviews. Obviously, no one cares. I go for the music, but I eat elsewhere first.

report as inappropriate

• 0 Good To Know
• 0 I Like Your Writing
• 0 I Went And I Agree

IN A WORD - AWESOME!!!! This was the 3rd time I've seen BonFire. They are amazing. What was super cool was that the guys stayed after the show and I got to meet some of the band members. That was fun and of course they are spot on with nailing AC/DC stuff.

This was my first time to see FanHalen, but it will not be my last. OMG, these guys rocked the fricken house down. When the guitarist played eruption, I just about passed out. FLAWLESS!!! The guy that played Diamond Dave - NAILED IT! He had lots of costume changed, energy for days, had down the jumps and his voice was great.

THANKS FOR HAVING A GREAT SHOW - BRING UM BACK!!!

report as inappropriate

• 0 Good To Know
• 0 I Like Your Writing
• 0 I Went And I Agree

Both bands delivered on their promise of tribute to the bands they represented. I'm a new fan of both groups. They kicked ass!!!

report as inappropriate

• 0 Good To Know
• 0 I Like Your Writing
• 0 I Went And I Agree

Fan Halen were really good. Matched VH note for note. Singer is as good as Dave WAS... Would blow Dave out of the water now... Guitarist was very impressive.
Bonfire were a big surprise... did the whole Back in Black album and were AMAZING! The Singer was incredible and handled Brian's vocals as well as he did Bon's. A true tribute to a great band. Would go see both again.

report as inappropriate

• 0 Good To Know
• 0 I Like Your Writing
• 0 I Went And I Agree