When you attend a BLACK LABEL SOCIETY concert, you expect to see plenty of bikers with beards and jackets with patches.

However; what you probably don’t expect is to see grown men who look more like Vikings moved to tears. We got all of this and more when Black Label Society stormed into the House of Blues inside the Mandalay Bay on February 23, 2018. The show featured many highlights, but none more moving than when ZAKK WYLDE sat behind the piano and played his beautiful tribute to DARRELL “DIMEBAG” ABBOTT titled “In This River”. This obviously was not the first time ZAKK paid tribute to his childhood friend, but what made this one so special and had the crowd moved to tears was that this one came in front of Dime’s brother, VINNIE PAUL.

Any BLACK LABEL SOCIETY show will always begin and end with the iconic front-man and former OZZY OSBOURNE lead guitarist ZAKK WYLDE. The iconic lead man is responsible for the look and the sound that is BLACK LABEL SOCIETY. What was special tonight was that this show felt just a little bit different due to Las Vegas’ own and hometown hero DARIO LORINA on guitar next to ZAKK. As ZAKK introduced the members of the band, it was obvious he had saved for last the one we had all been waiting for. The crowd swelled to a roar as ZAKK announced “from the Las Vegas Chapter” Mr. Dario Lorina!

What those of us who have been lucky enough to watch Dario’s career blossom right here in Vegas already knew, and what the rest of the crowd soon found out, is that this is a man of so many talents, and they were on full display on this evening. In addition to shredding next to ZAKK all night, DARIO also took a turn behind the piano, brought out his fiddle bow, and even handled lead guitar duties while ZAKK sat behind the piano. DARIO’S incredible musical showcase made many in the Las Vegas crowd that have known him for years feel like proud parents watching his incredible musical transformation come full circle.

As stated earlier, there were plenty of bikers with beards and jackets with patches as expected at any BLACK LABEL SOCIETY show, but this one had a little bit of everything from some awesome pyrotechnics to open the show to ZAKK WYLDE making a trip through the entire crowd, including the balcony, during the encore. Hats off to ZAKK WYLDE, DARIO LORINA and all of BLACK LABEL SOCIETY for such an entertaining show!

Photos: Paul ROCK Santos