Mini-Bibles and onstage shout-outs to J.C.? It must be a Stryper show. Photo by Alan Cox.
As part of their 25th anniversary tour, Christian metal band brought their trademark yellow- and black-striped wardrobe and gear, along with a lot of big hair and MTV ’80s memories to a couple hundred souls gathered at on Tuesday.
While not completely packed, there was a devoted core of middle-aged fans who were more than happy to take a stroll down memory lane and enjoy a rocking set (no ballads tonight, friends) full of songs spanning Stryper’s career, ranging from their debut “Yellow and Black Attack” up through the recently released “Murder by Pride.” Singer-guitarist Michael Sweet — who came to Red Rocks last year as front man of Boston, gave an energetic performance with plenty of hair flips and leg kicks, including a Stryperized version of Boston’s “Peace of Mind.”
Surprising to some, the band also played a portion of Judas Priest’s “Breaking the Law” in homage to their influences. This is a band with an image and catalog that are mostly from an era long gone, but they seemed to be having fun, and so did the crowd — including one 9-year-old up front, whom Sweet called out.
Continuing their longstanding stage tradition, the band tossed out mini-Bibles and Sweet made it clear that he still isn’t afraid to talk about Jesus from the stage. Still, it wasn’t church and there was nothing to make anyone terribly uncomfortable.
I actually found it refreshing to see a fun, upbeat, hard-rockin’ show that I could have taken my own 9-year-old to (and not have to deprogram him on the words he’s not to use at school). This was no typical metal show, and Stryper’s no typical band. If you asked any number of smiling fans what they thought of the show, you’d be likely to hear something like, “Righteous, dude!” And that’s all just fine with me. — Alan Cox
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Alan Cox is the president and creative director of , a Highlands Ranch advertising and marketing firm. He works too much, sleeps too little and spends every free moment coaching boys’ competitive baseball, shooting images and hanging out with his rowdy sons and even rowdier wife.
