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Issue date: 1/29/09 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: Ben Hansen Shaun White and Billy Duffy rocked the building hard during the Camp Freddy concert January 26. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Ben Hansen All of the members of Camp Freddy played to an high-energy crowd during their concert at Sundance. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Ben Hansen Cory Taylor of Slipknot was one special guest during the Camp Freddy concert. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Ben Hansen ZZ Top legend Billy Gibbons kept the crowd pumped during the Camp Freddy Concert. [Click to enlarge]

What if a concert experience could be something that bends the normal and does something entirely new? Something very different, beyond just a band's look, a guitar effect, or a flash pot explosion? They can, and that band is Camp Freddy.

Camp Freddy is a band of established rock musicians who come together to jam out cover songs from both their prior bands and other artists. The core of this group consists of drummer Matt Sorum (The Cult, Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver), bass player Chris Chaney (Jane's Addiction, Alanis Morisette), guitarist Billy Morrison (The Cult, Circus Diablo), guitarist Dave Navarro (Jane's Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers), and vocalist Donovan Leitch.

The differentiating factor with these guys is that they are all there to have a good time and put on a great show. At any time, band members may trade out or join up with "guest musicians", throwing a completely different element into the live set. Prior to Monday's show at the world-famous Harry O's, some of the past guest appearances have included Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day), Kid Rock, Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Steven Tyler (Aerosmith), and Slash (Guns N' Roses), to name a few. The big question on everyone's mind before the show was, "Who is going to show tonight?"

As Camp Freddy took the stage and the lights hit, the answers became very evident. The lineup of the band itself was different, with guitarist Steve Stevens (Billy Idol, Vince Neil) playing in place of Dave Navarro. Stevens rocked the house all night long, while the audience enjoyed both the combination of his technical soloing and his cigarette-smoking, Nikki Sixx hairdo circa 'Shout at the Devil' appearance.

The band took off, most appropriately, with a cover of the song "Hello There Ladies and Gentlemen" by Cheap Trick. Lead vocalist Donavan Leitch reached out to the audience during this song, emphatically singing, "Do you want to do a number with me?"

The band's lineup stayed the same only through the second song, the classic "Tie Your Mother Down" by Queen. Following Donavan's screams at the end of the song, he informed the crowd that they were going to bring a lot of rock stars on the stage tonight, and immediately introduced the first guest performer of the night, singer Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray. He joked with the audience about Robert Redford asking to sing some Ted Nugent, and the band immediately broke into Ted's 1970's staple "Cat Scratch Fever."

Following this song, McGrath introduced each member of the band, one by one. When he introduced drummer Matt Sorum, he humorously stated, "You all know this guy. He's the best drummer in the past 3 decades. We've all grown up with him…Velvet Revolver, The Cult, Guns N' Roses, the Jonas Brothers - Matt Sorum."

After jamming a cover of The Sex Pistols' "EFI", another surprise was unveiled - special guest and legendary guitarist from The Cult, Billy Duffy, walked out onto the stage. Duffy made multiple appearances throughout the night, including a smoking cover of Thin Lizzy's "Jailbreak," and Steve Steven's own "White Wedding" from his days with Billy Idol.

The biggest surprise of the night came towards the end of the band's set. Everyone knew as advertised that Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top was going to be a special guest this evening, so when the band announced that the next guest was going to blow their minds, the audience thought that they knew what to expect. It came as a shock to everyone however when the band announced, "Give it up for Cory Taylor from Slipknot."

As the audience screamed with excitement, Cory smiled, grabbed the microphone, and stated "See what you can do with this one." Guitarist Steve Stevens immediately launched into the opening riff off one of his most beloved Billy Idol classics, "Rebel Yell." Cory's vocals sounded surprisingly better than Idol's on the song, and continued to wow through a cover of Van Halen's "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" , followed by the high point of the evening - Motorhead's "The Ace of Spades." Even he was impressed once the song was finished, proclaiming to the audience, "Good Lord! I think I just had a … aneurism!"

The band was not done there. Billy Gibbons made his appearance as anticipated, playing his ZZ Top smash "La Grange," with the audience singing along. Billy still had his famously long beard and was sporting his signature sunglasses, which he raised after the song while telling the audience, "It's crazy tonight, and it's gonna get crazier." He then led the band through a cover of Jimmy Hendrix's "Foxy Lady."

Billy Gibbons walked off the stage, and it appeared the set was coming to a close. Suddenly, all of the guests began re-emerging with one last special guest. Shaun White, the top snowboarder in the world, hit the stage with his guitar in hand, ready to rock. Shaun, Cory Taylor, Billy Duffy, and everyone else rocked the building hard for the final song, Iggy Pop's "I Wanna Be Your Dog."

My heart did not stop pounding for about 10 minutes after the show, nor did my head for quite some time after that. Simply put, this show blew my mind. I had no idea what to expect going into this, and came out initially not realizing what had just hit me. Camp Freddy delivers a monster show worthy of seeing more than once. I, for one, will definitely be checking them out again.

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