Here at LocalBozo we respect anyone who truly rocks. As you have seen from any of the previous interviews or shows we have covered, New York City is a favorite place for hard rocking bands to come out and put on their best performances. On Saturday, Park Slope Brooklyn’s Union Hall bar would be turned into a blistering metal club. It was the night that two outstanding hard rock and heavy metal tribute acts would take the stage, both of which feature an all female roster. The first would be Body Talk, a Ratt tribute, and the headliners, Misstallica an all female tribute to, you guessed it, the mighty Metallica.

Union Hall is usually known for having music of the Indie variety, so I was pleased to see that they were housing a show like this one. When I arrived, I was very happy to see the place was almost completely sold out and loaded with true blue metal heads. Fans of both of these storied bands were chomping at the bit for the show to start. They knew they would hear songs from these tribute acts, that the real bands rarely or never play. Needless to say the beer was flowing quite liberally at this point in the night.

The Ratt tribute, Body Talk, took the stage first a little after 9pm. The crowd in the front row went insane as soon as these women took the stage. It’s great to see that today people still appreciate this fun 1980′s hair metal. Body Talk was all business and laid right into the Ratt classic, “You’re In Love” as the opener of their set. They were so spot on both lyrically and instrumentally that it was like seeing the real band on stage, if they had been woman. As the set motored on, the rabid fans got every song they wanted and gave the ladies plenty of praise along the way, with horns raised high in the air. Also included in the set was “Back For More,” and the famed Ratt closer and all around rock anthem “Round And Round.” The women of Body Talk ripped out this Ratt staple, causing the capacity crowd to sing along and at times drowning out the band.

The packed house was extremely pumped up and ready for some more rock. After drinking down a few more tall boys it was time for the headliner. The main attraction of the night was of course, Misstallica, the Philadelphia based, all female tribute to the legendary thrash metal band, Metallica. The four piece quickly took the stage around 10pm to thunderous cheers and applause. Misstallica is lead by Gigi Gleason who takes on the James Hetfield role as singer and also plays lead guitar. She is a powerhouse and reminds me of great female leads like Lita Ford and Doro from the German band, Warlock. Gigi commands the stage with a intense presence while having a huge respect for the historic music the band plays.

The set started out with a blistering version of “The Four Horsemen” from Metallica’s landmark first album “Kill Em All.” The shredding guitars and vocals were so on point, it caused the crowd to rush the stage with great veracity. Everyone in the audience was digging it from the first chord. The entire band has mastered the Metallica catalog, giving the inventors of the tunes a run for their money. On bass, Teddi Tarnoff pulled off a sick solo reminiscent of Cliff Burton. While Kaleen Reading mirrored Lars Ulrich on the first four albums with masterful drumming skills. During the hour long set the ladies of Misstallica pulled out every classic imaginable. This is far from the full list of classics they pulled out, but some of the stand outs included “Trapped Under Ice,” “Fade To Black,” “Master Of Puppets,” and “Disposable Heroes.” If you are a fan of old school Metallica or just a fan of hard rock and heavy metal, you have to check out Misstallica.

I can’t say enough how amazing these women performed. Each of them would dominate in an original band. When they aren’t paying tribute to Metallica, you can catch them as a King Diamond tribute act called, “Queen Diamond.” They are work horses and demand your respect- because, they deserve it.

- Alan Smithee