Fan-filmed video footage of RATT‘s September 28 concert in Montclair, New Jersey can be seen below.
The Wellmont Theater performance took place just two days after RATT‘s disastrous show in Huntington, New York, where singer Stephen Pearcy slurred his way through some of the band’s biggest hits while sitting down and nearly laying down on the drum riser. The 62-year-old singer also appeared to be slouching or leaning on to the bass drum during “Round And Round” and holding on to the tom-tom stand and bass drum to keep from falling over.
Pearcy later apologized to the RATT fans, saying in a statement that he was “dealing with a pain-management issue due to a bad knee that is scheduled to be replaced in January.” He added that he “made the critical error of adding alcohol to my pain meds while on stage” at the Huntington concert “and it destroyed my performance.”
Croucier and Pearcy are the sole remaining original members in RATT‘s current incarnation, which also includes drummer Pete Holmes (BLACK ‘N BLUE) and guitarists Jordan Ziff (RAZER) and Chris Sanders (BRITNY FOX, KNIGHT FURY).
This past summer, Pearcy said that Warren DeMartini “didn’t wanna go out there” and play shows with RATT, leading to the guitarist’s departure from the group. “We wanted to clean house, and that’s it, and go out and enjoy ourselves for once,” he added. ‘Enough drama. We’ve been through enough.”
He continued: “It’s very simple — you either like what you’re doing or you don’t,” he said. “And we do. But it has to be with the right people. It’s not like we need to hire Jimmy Page or somebody. We’re gonna work with people that we have a great time with.”
Pressed about the specific issues that Warren and other two members of RATT‘s classic lineup couldn’t agree on, Stephen said: “I can’t speak for the guy… The guy didn’t wanna go out there. I wouldn’t even call it work. We’re privileged enough, 35 years later, to be able to go out and do what we do. And there’s still a lot of great fans out there who’d love to hear the music. That’s all that concerns me. So if somebody else doesn’t wanna do it in the band, regardless [of whether it’s Warren] or somebody else, [they can] take a hike.”
Pearcy went on to stress that “Warren was not fired — he wasn’t fired at all. He just took it upon himself to not be involved, but I’m not gonna dwell on that subject anymore either; it’s not worth it,” he said.
Asked how RATT found its latest additions, Pearcy said: “We went through auditions — many people — and we invited a lot of people to come down. We move forward; we don’t waste time — or at least Juan and I don’t. We didn’t want this just to hit a curb. So we auditioned all these people and decided on guys that we thought would hang around for a bit and grow and hopefully see a few more years out of this… And it wasn’t a simple task, by any means, but that’s what we settled with. We didn’t settle — we actually wanted it to work. And so far… we have lift-off.”
RATT‘s new lineup made its live debut on July 7 in Mulvane, Kansas.
Fonte: Blabbermouth.net