Sons of Apollo with Sifting live at Town Ballroom – Buffalo, New York – February 16, 2018

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Joel Naphin

**Sons of Apollo** at Town Ballroom in Buffalo, NY Feb. 16. (Photo Credit: Joel Naphin)

Sons of Apollo with Sifting
Town Ballroom
Buffalo, New York
February 16, 2018

A packed Town Ballroom hosted hometown bassist extraordinaire Billy Sheehan and his latest project, Sons of Apollo, last Friday night when the band stopped in Buffalo for an unforgettable night of music. Sons of Apollo is currently on a North American tour in support of their latest album, Psychotic Symphony, released last Fall. Aside from Sheehan, the band also consists of these stellar musicians: singer Jeff Scott Soto (Soto, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Yngwie Malmsteen, W.E.T., Journey), guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (Guns N’ Roses, Art of Anarchy), drummer Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, The Winery Dogs) and keyboardist Derek Sherenian (Dream Theater, Black Country Communion).

Anticipation and excitement grew just after 9p.m. as Intruder by Van Halen blasted through the speakers. Before you knew it, Sons of Apollo was on stage and began their set with God of the Sun, off Psychotic Symphony followed by other album tracks Signs of the Time, Figaro’s Whore and Divine Addiction. These were followed by Just Let Me Breathe – the first of two Dream Theater covers. Other covers included The Pink Panther Theme by Harry Mancini, Save Me by Queen and Van Halen‘s And the Cradle Will Rock – the first of a two-song encore (Coming Home ended the night).

And of course there were the solos. Sheehan wowed his hometown fans with a great bass solo on his double-neck bass, showing that many years playing with such acts as Talas, UFO, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big and The Winery Dogs has paid off for him and that he isn’t finished yet.

Ending the main set Sherenian took the spotlight for a bit playing multi-keyboards before going into the second Dream Theater song of the night, Lines in the Sand.

Soto’s voice is a great fit for this line-up. He dedicated Alive to his brother and to Sheehan’s good friend and Mr. Big bandmate Pat Torpey who passed away from Parkinson’s less than two weeks prior to this show on Feb. 7.

Bumblefoot’s guitar playing was great and was fun to watch while Portnoy’s chops behind the drum kit kept it all together. All in all, Sons of Apollo put on a great show and did not disappoint.

Sifting, a progressive metal band based out of Los Angeles, opened the show. They have been together since 2010 and their new album, Not From Here, was recorded and produced by award-winning producer Ryan Williams (Velvet Revolver, Pearl Jam, Rage Against The Machine). Not From Here was released worldwide on September 29, 2017 via Eclipse Records.

Be sure to catch Sifting and Sons of Apollo when they come to a venue near you!

And be sure to check out our interview with Jeff Scott Soto here.

Set List:
Intruder (Van Halen, intro)
God of the Sun
Signs of the Times
Figaro’s Whore
Divine Addiction
Just Let Me Breathe (Dream Theater cover)
Labyrinth
Billy Sheehan bass solo
Lost in Oblivion
The Prophet’s Song/Save Me (Queen cover)
Alive
The Pink Panther Theme (Henry Mancini cover)
Opus Maximus
Derek Sherinian keyboard solo
Lines in the Sand (Dream Theater cover)