Quiet Riot at the Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center -- December 31.
Wednesday, December 31, 10:30 p.m.
Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center, 7077 Elmore Avenue, Davenport IA
With the lineup currently boasting the heavy-metal talents of bassist Rudy Sarzo, guitarist Alex Grossi, lead vocalist Jizzy Pearl, and drummer Johnny Kelly, the hard rockers of Quiet Riot bring their tour to Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center for a free concert on New Year's Eve, the group that originally debuted in 1973 currently included among VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock."
Founded in Los Angeles in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads, bassist Kelly Garni, and vocalist Kevin DuBrow, the debuting Quiet Riot lineup featured Rhoads and Garni with lead vocalist Kevin DuBrow and drummer Drew Forsyth. Their most commercially successful lineup consisted of DuBrow alongside guitarist Carlos Cavazo, bassist Rudy Sarzo, and drummer Frankie Banali, and in 1983, the rockers released their breakthrough album Metal Health, which is known for being the first heavy metal album to top the Billboard album chart.
Their hard driving pop-metal sound was deemed “out” by record labels at the time, so the debut album was decidedly against the grain. Driven, however, by the irresistible double whammy of the rendition of the old Slade chestnut "Cum on Feel the Noize,” and their original song “Metal Health (Bang Your Head)," the album stormed up the U.S. charts, duly reaching the number-one spot and going platinum five times over in the process. Against all odds, it jumped over Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Synchronicity by The Police to land in the number one slot on the Billboard album chart. This opened the door for the other Sunset Strip “hair metal” bands to get their record deals and kicked off the craze that dominated MTV and radio in the 1980s, and the sales of Mental Health have now well exceeded the 10 million mark worldwide.
Despite several lineup changes and brief breakups, Quiet Riot continued to record and tour until DuBrow's death in 2007. Although there are no original members left in the band, Banali (who had been a member on and off since 1982) reformed Quiet Riot in 2010, and by 2020, it had consisted of himself on drums, lead vocalist Jizzy Pearl, bassist Chuck Wright, and guitarist Alex Grossi. The band has continued to record and tour following DuBrow's death. In 2014, they released their first album in eight years, titled Quiet Riot 10, which was followed by Road Rage in 2017 and Hollywood Cowboys in 2019. Banali died in August 2020 following a 16-month battle with pancreatic cancer. About three weeks after his death, the surviving members of the band announced that they would move forward without Banali, who wished that they continue by keeping the Quiet Riot name alive; he was replaced by Johnny Kelly. In August 2021, Quiet Riot released a statement saying that bassist Rudy Sarzo would be rejoining the band, as well as announcing the departure of Wright.
With their December 31 Davenport show preceded by a free 9:30 p.m. set by Big Hair Mafia, Quiet Riot take the Event Center stage at 10:30 p.m., and the free concert will include celebrity-lookalike photo ops and a champagne toast to 2026. For more information on the New Year's Eve event, call (563)328-8000 and visit RhythmCityCasino.com.
