A Welcome Surprise: Holiday Benefit Show in Nashville with Rudy Sarzo, Kip Winger, Vinny Appice, and more!

I was eating at one of my favorite pizzerias in Nashville tonight, checking e-mails and browsing my Twitter feed. It's been very cold here in Nashville for the past few days, so I expected to head back to my dorm early. However, my night took a sudden turn for the better when I noticed a Tweet from Kip Winger urging fans to join him at 12th and Porter downtown for a special, one-time Christmas benefit show.After looking up the details, I learned that several hard rock icons were playing, including Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, Dio), Carlos Cavazo (Quiet Riot, Ratt), Vinny Appice (Black Sabbath, Dio, Heaven & Hell), Mark Slaughter, Chas West (Bonham), and Scott Warren (Dio).

The only problem was that the show was scheduled to begun 20 minutes after I had learned about it. There was no way I was going to miss this one though, so I called a cab and, fortunately, arrived right as the band took the stage.

They opened with a cover of Dio-era Sabbath's "The Mob Rules" and played a plethora of other classics from Zeppelin, Dio, Black Sabbath, Whitesnake, and even the Beatles. I was especially delighted to hear the band play "Wait For You," an old Bonham track.

The line-up on stage revolved quite a bit, but Chas West assumed most of the vocal duties, and Cavazo and Appice remained on stage throughout the show. Surprisingly, Mark Slaughter played guitar more than he sang, and Kip Winger only played on a few songs. Elton John's and Kid Rock's guitarists also guested.

I haven't seen a good hard rock show in Nashville since I've been here in August, so tonight was a welcome surprise. I can't complain.