Pop Music Reviews : Rhoads Trust Benefit a 6-Hour Marathon

More than 60 hard-rock musicians lent their talents--some considerable, others not so--to benefit the Randy Rhoads Charitable Trust Fund at the Palace on Wednesday.

The six-hours-plus show honoring Rhoads--the late Ozzy Osbourne guitarist--was, as in years past, a melange of real bands and loosely organized jams. Whatever musical possibilities may have existed in the various combinations, too often it proved an exercise in stamina for the audience.

Old-school metal that enjoyed 15 minutes of fame in the ‘80s hasn’t aged well, and the slick, melodramatic work by many Wednesday was greeted lukewarmly.

Even a more progressive musical entry, Black Market Flowers, was met with virtual silence from the audience. One highlight was Rhoads’ mother, Delores, a bespectacled former music teacher, offering heartfelt thanks and reading a letter from Osbourne.

Those who made it to 1 a.m. were finally rewarded, if momentarily. Ugly Kid Joe singer Whitfield Crane, backed by former AC/DC drummer Simon Wright and benefit organizer and ex-Osbourne bassist Rudy Sarzo, delivered two Osbourne classics with a passion and humor sorely lacking in most of the evening’s other performances.