My visit to Backstage to see SuperZero

By Valerie Schiavone

Backstage is a club located in Haverhill, MA and owned by ex-Extreme drummer Paul Geary. I was most excited to go to see what the club looked like, as well to see the group SuperZero that was scheduled to appear. I had seen Flesh open for Extreme during the "Waiting for the Punchline" tour and thought they were fun and likeable. From that group, Flesh, Markus Cherone and Steve Powell are together again in SuperZero.

First, let's explain what Backstage looks like. Backstage is nestled in a rather industrial section of Haverhill, which is about a 45-minute car trip north of Boston. The club looks small from the outside; you could miss it if you were not looking for it. I snapped a shot of the outside of the club, showing the scheduled list of acts to play there.

Inside, it's very clean (for a club). It has the required semi-dark atmosphere; however, it does not have that seedy feeling you get from some places. Reminiscent of the Hard Rock Café and Planet Hollywood, Backstage also has the glass cases containing music memorabilia. I found a signed guitar from Johnny Lang, Brad Delp's (former member of the local group, Boston) shoes, and Eddie Van Halen's guitar. Much to my delight, I also found in a case behind the bar, a black and white shoe (the left one only, where's its mate?) from the one and only - Gary Cherone. I, of course, had to try to snap a pic of this as well, and the bartender was only too happy to oblige my request, providing he appears in the picture. Take a peek!!

The club is a bit on the small side. As you walk in, the bar is on your left, in front of you are some tables and chairs. As you make your way to the right, the small stage appears in front of you. The Backstage logo appears on the floor as well as behind the stage. [Photos: Left - a crowd shot. Note the disco ball; also note the Elvis bust on the right side of the photo. Right - another crowd shot. No, those are not all OUR empties, thank you! You can sort of see the Backstage logo on the floor].

My friend Kathy Rouille (thanks for going with me!!) and I got there around 8:45 p.m; we were able to get a table, which turned out to be a good thing, as we had a long wait ahead of us. SuperZero had set up a table at the door selling t-shirts and CD's. They also kindly provided a CD player for one to take a sneak peek before purchasing - a nice idea!

Around 10:00 p.m., the opener Knotting Beads (same group that opened for the Celebrity Jam in December) came on. They are a cover band, mostly 70's music. The lead singer had Alanis Morrisette complex - her looks and particularly her hair were very similar to Alanis' in the video "Live and Learn". The band were quite good, actually. The singer is okay, her voice a bit on the gravely side, sometimes a bit off key. They covered Led Zepplin, the Kinks, Average White Band, Aerosmith, to name a few. Anyway, here's the good part! During their first set, this group of people walk in . I'm looking at one of them thinking, hmm, kinda looks like Pat Badger. Kathy, on the other hand, thought I had lost my mind. He goes to the bar and then comes over to stand with his companions RIGHT IN FRONT OF US. Now I'm thinking, yeah, it's gotta be him, but still not sure. Much to Kathy's mortification (is that a word?) I go over and tap him on the shoulder - "Excuse me, are you Pat Badger?" - Yeah, it was!!!! I then exclaim "OH MY GOD, I knew it was you! I love Extreme so much and miss you guys. You are great!" I wanted to say more, but it was too loud to talk, so I just thanked him, shook his hand, and left him alone. I was glad I spoke to him, but wished I could have come up with something a little more clever. Oh well. See, Kathy! I was right!!

The opener took a ˝ hour break and then continued for another torturous ˝ hour set - Kathy and I were quite ready for SuperZero and quite done with the Knotting Beads. How many overplayed 70's songs can you listen to? Anyway, during the set, I think I saw Mark arrive, although I did not know it was him at the time. Also, Paul Geary did make an appearance; however he looked far too busy to approach, so I did not bother.

Finally - SuperZero! Can I just say, they make quite an entrance! Very flamboyantly attired, both Markus and Tommy Dempsey, the lead singer, wore these silk-like jackets trimmed in boa-feathers. The band exploded on stage with a funky, hard beat. The entire band did not stop moving for their entire set. As Markus said, "it's not just a show, it's an aerobic workout".

To introduce the band to you, we start with Markus Cherone, who plays lead guitar and vocals. Markus now has dark hair, and wore make-up and glitter on his face - very cool! Picture this with the silk jacket, under which he had several other layers of clothes he peeled off during the performance. He's very good and creative with the guitar - sometimes "posing" in the consummate guitarist pose (in jest, I believe!) when he's not impressing the heck out of you. Tommy Dempsey, lead singer, is excellent. He immediately sets up a rapport with the audience. His look kinda reminded me of Johnny Rotten, minus the bad attitude. His singing is great! Steve Powell, the happy bass player (as Kathy calls him) is excellent. Robbie Dempsey (Tommy's brother), plays drums and is also excellent. Together Steve and Robbie give a solid beat and kept things moving.

Some adjectives to describe the show: FUN, energetic, harmonious, loud, frenetic, campy - some of the songs reminded me of the group Space Hogg and Cheap Trick. The band is very tight and works very hard. I liked the music so much, I bought the CD, which has not left my player since.

I would strongly recommend visiting their website, www.super0.com to take a sneak peek at their music. And definitely check them out should they come to a venue near you!!