Concert Review: Night Ranger; Motoring Back to Bethlehem

Rachel Cholko
May 27
8 min read

Three rock musicians playing guitars on a dark stage under spotlight, smiling and singing.

You can still rock in America, and in case you forgot, Night Ranger is here as a heavy reminder.

Launching us into Memorial Day weekend, the famed 1980s hard rock masters made a greater-than-triumphant return to the Wind Creek Event Center in Bethlehem, PA this past Friday. This particular night was the group’s first time back at this integral Lehigh Valley concert venue after a lengthy ten-year absence. Now is it just me, or does Pennsylvania deserve more Night Ranger than what we’re usually given in a year? Call me biased, of course, but those west coast boys need to spend more time out east! All the same, though, this was a show I did not want to miss, and Night Ranger certainly packed ten years’ worth of enthusiasm into one night.

As for my photography endeavors, I had never shot a show at Wind Creek before, and had a case of nerves that was a bit higher than my average level. After a recent string of unlucky happenings at a certain venue, it was both refreshing and reassuring to be treated with such respect and dignity at Wind Creek. With the stage being some 5 feet off the ground and a wide open pit in front of it with no barrier, it felt very freeing as a photographer to have that much room to work with. I’m deeply grateful to all the house staff who made this first shoot at Wind Creek (and first shoot with my huge new lens) such a success.

On with the show!

Night Ranger wants you to know right off the bat that any given one of their shows is a party. In case one does not know this, they send the message across before even taking the stage by dimming the house lights and letting the Beastie Boys song “Fight For Your Right” overtake the crowd first. When the anticipation is at its peak, and when the band finally comes into sight amidst the smoke machines, they lay down the law pretty quickly by exploding into their classic anthem “(You Can Still) Rock In America”. Nearly 43 years later, in a time where rock and roll seems to always be smothered by the mainstream, this track still reigns as true as ever. I truly can’t think of any better song to kick off a high and mighty rock concert.

Shooting during the first three songs is always a blessing and a curse. Capturing one-of-a-kind moments through a digital eye in order to bring that front row experience to far away reaches is something I never tire of doing, but at what cost? Not being able to freak out and dance to some of your favorite songs, that’s what! “Four In the Morning” from the 1985 album Seven Wishes is probably in my top three favorite Night Ranger tracks, and was the one I had to lock in for the most. You see, during the first song, you’re getting used to what you’re working with.You’re normally adjusted by the second song, and you don’t have to worry about the final seconds ticking away— but you have to stay focused. During the third song, you’re freaking out and trying to gather as much as you can before it’s over so you don’t get told off by security for still being up in the pit 5 seconds after the song ends. You learn pretty quickly that concert photography is not all fun and games.

I challenge you to comment below what your favorite Night Ranger album is, because I can’t decide! I always think Seven Wishes has my heart, but when the band slid into “Sing Me Away” from their 1982 debut record Dawn Patrol, I began to second guess myself once again. Having seen Night Ranger on two separate occasions prior to this, I can say that this early, classic material hits so much harder live, and I wish they’d play more of it! The connection to the past that you feel is irreplaceable, especially for someone in my 20-something age group who (lamentably) wasn’t around back then.

Once I was back in my third row seat on stage right, I heard lead vocalist and bassist Jack Blades introduce the one song I’d been most excited to hear them play. If you’re familiar with me, whether it be personally or just from here on Rock DNA, you know I can’t hide that I’m a huge Styx fan. If you didn’t already know, Night Ranger and Styx are a lot like step-siblings, as Blades had formed a “little group called Damn Yankees” with Styx lead singer and guitarist Tommy Shaw in the late 1980s. Although I was already familiar with Night Ranger’s usual setlists, it still exhilarated me to no extent to once again hear them tear through a killer rendition of Damn Yankees’ first single, “Coming of Age”. They add their own flair to this bangin’ track as if they’re having too much fun doing karaoke, and it “kicks the shit outta me!”

With such hard-hitting rock staples, one might temporarily forget that Night Ranger is also among the many masters of the power ballad. And, from a photographer’s standing point, they’re also one of the few masters of putting their drummer front and center. Another one of my all-time favorite Night Ranger tunes is “Sentimental Street” (also off of the Seven Wishes album), for which drummer and lead vocalist Kelly Keagy is once again given the spotlight. The mix of keyboardist Eric “E” Levy’s light piano and heavy synth keys, guitarist Brad Gillis’ searing solo, plus the group’s quick switches to harmonized a cappella vocals at the chorus, it all does this song wonders of justice in a live setting.

After the sassily skeptical “Rumors In the Air” from the 1983 Midnight Madness album, Blades went on to tell the crowd a tale of how the next incoming song came about, and how it was snubbed from a movie deal. With the morals of the story being “never trust a movie producer” and “Michael J. Fox is a fighter!”, the band went into the high-energy, lesser-known track “The Secret of My Success” from 1987’s Big Life.

The crowd was encouraged to take over the “na-na-na’s” at the end of this song, leaving Blades impressed by our volume, so he took things a step further by asking if we knew another particular song as well. To our widespread surprise, he rallied us into chanting the chorus of “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” by Steam, which the overjoyed crowd was all too happy to comply with.

“What’s another ‘na na’ song?” he playfully speculated. Already having the reveal planned, all five band members suddenly sprung into the ending refrain of “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’” by Journey. To say I lost my mind is an understatement; this is my favorite Journey song (depending on my mood, as “Stone In Love” is the other contender), and hearing one of my absolute favorite bands play it as a surprise sent me into a craze.

This wasn’t the end of the “na na” medley, however. The grand finale for this special blend was, in Blades’ opinion, “the best ‘na na’ song”. I couldn’t begin to think of what possibly could’ve topped it off, but I suppose it is kind of hard to beat “Hey Jude” by The Beatles, so I stood very corrected. In my opinion, this unexpected and hearty treat of a medley may have been the highlight of the night.

Don’t you just love when an artist has an eponymous song? For example: “Bad Company” by Bad Company, “Damn Yankees” by Damn Yankees, and so on. Maybe it’s just me, but songs like this are always one the best that the artist has to offer. This also holds true for “Night Ranger”, by Night Ranger, off of their first record Dawn Patrol (hey, two out of three ain’t bad). Though they’re mainly known for a certain ballad-y hit of the ages that I’ll touch on later, many don’t realize that Night Ranger is inherently heavier than one might think them to be at first listen. “Night Ranger” is that steady, brooding track that’s reminiscent of the early 80s “new wave of heavy metal” sound we’ve all come to know and love. It still makes you bang your head like there’s no tomorrow, even before the tempo picks up a lot more at the bridge of the song. Of course, a live performance of this track isn’t complete without all five members (a werewolf mask or two among them) joining Keagy on his drum kit for an extended, collaborative drum solo that always keeps everyone screaming for more.

Back in 1990, when I was at the mild age of -11, some people’s ages were actually a positive integer, and these people were given all of the spoils. I can only fantasize what it might have been like back then to be able to be enthralled by Damn Yankees in their prime, but witnessing Night Ranger perform the definitive power ballad “High Enough” is as close as I’ll ever get to that setting. Though there’s a lack of mercy due to not having a full string section accompanying them for this song, Levy’s work on the keys and their good-natured attitudes do ample justice to the song that put Damn Yankees on top 36 years ago.

Following on the tail end of those emotional Yankees, Blades temporarily left the stage for Keagy to begin the vocals for the melancholy track that concludes the Seven Wishes album; “Goodbye”. Blades has stated before that the song carries a deep personal pain for him after losing his brother, and this pain is palpable in the soft, swelling harmonies he and Keagy blend together. Backed by the acoustic sounds of guitarists Keri Kelli and Brad Gillis, the first half of this song was enough to make my eyes begin to sting.

The mood quickly slid back into nostalgia with the next song, “When You Close Your Eyes”, another stand-out track from the Midnight Madness album. As the music video played on the screen behind the band, I once more felt so closely in touch with a world I wasn’t around for. This song was the beginning of the three grand finale tunes they chose to end their performance with, the second being another one of their most recognizable pieces, 1982’s searing hit “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me”. Every time I hear the guitar solo for this song, I’m reminded of the pure sense it made for Gillis to take over the shredding duties of late Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Randy Rhoads after his tragic passing in 1982. As for Kelli, he was often poised on a smoke-surrounded riser in front of me, his serious, hollering strings driving me to the point of hollering praise right back at him. I’m a sucker for a guitar that moans, and Gillis and Kelli made sure there were plenty to go around at this event.

A surprise to no one, Night Ranger closed out their set with none other than the Top 5 hit that launched them to the forefront of the hard rock scene, “Sister Christian”. Beginning with Levy’s easygoing piano melody, carried on by Keagy’s lyric intended for his sister long ago, the band was still all too happy to perform this one (and to get the crowd involved in singing the chorus back to them when the time came). They know what the weight of having a hit song involves, and it’s always touching to see how some veteran bands never seem to tire of playing their biggest hit for the one billionth time.

The energy of the night was all-around peppy, goofy, and overflowing with sincerity for a shared love. Complete with high kicks, sticker-throwing, jogging (if you know, you know), and hilariously entertaining stories, Night Ranger proved to this wildly appreciative crowd that they truly did miss them. Everyone was on their feet even before the start of the show, hungry for the big delivery, and it did not disappoint. Though most of my favorite Night Ranger songs are ones that are unfortunately omitted from their set lists, I can still say with complete confidence that this is the best show of theirs I’ve attended by far. I feel my pictures reflect this perfectly.

Let’s hope they don’t wait ten more years to motor on back to the Lehigh Valley!

Night Ranger’s new Best Of compilation is releasing August 28th, with physical copies available for preorder now via Frontiers Music Srl. Their tour resumes June 5th in Baton Rouge, LA, with more dates and information available at nightranger.com.

A HUGE thanks to Taylor Cameron at MetalTalk and FemMetal, and to my sister for letting me drag her to a REAL hard rock show…