Trina Green on March 2nd, 2019

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From the personal to the fashion sense to the musicality to the band lineup, a lot has changed for Dorothy Martin since Dorothy (the band) occupied the stage at the Satellite for a month of Mondays in April for a residency back in 2015. Perhaps we can sum up the difference with one word: Freedom. And this show was the last of 30 on Dorothy’s “The Freedom Tour 2019.”

After taking the Regent Theater stage shortly after 10 p.m. on Saturday night and a customary lighting of incense, Dorothy dove into “Naked Eye” (from the 2017 “Served Like a Girl” compilation) and the head-banging hell-raiser of 2015’s “Raise Hell,” which — just like original single “After Midnight” — has morphed from a fun, scuzzy stomper into a finer-tuned shot of adrenaline just as equally appreciable to the ears. That has everything to do with razor sharp band regulars Eli Wulfmeier (guitar), Eliot Lorango (bass) and Jason Ganberg (drums) holding down the music along with the additional axe-slinging from Nick Perri who brings the winding, can’t-look-away, classic rock guitar solos to the musical mix, as he did on “Ain’t Our Time To Die.”

Plus, that crew was responsible for one of best moments during the show: a four-minute block of time where Martin actually left the stage allowing for Wulfmeier, Lorango, Ganberg and Perri to masterfully jam the audience into screaming, Dio devil horns-in-the-air submission.

The 12-song set was classic Dorothy Martin v. 2.0: The Martin who has evolved from simply promoting a good time to channeling good music, love and awareness while being open about her own dark struggles with addiction, relationships and life. Now you might that this kind of stage banter subject matter might temper a rock show, but it is the meat of her 2018 album, the Linda Perry-produced “28 Days In The Valley,” so the honesty had the exact opposite effect on the crowd, especially when Martin appealed to everyone to “pay attention” to their feelings and not “stuff them down in a box.” She was equal parts fierce songstress and rock shaman, and even after two months on the road, her spirits seemed as free, high-flying and tenacious as her dynamic vocals were. Prior to launching into “Flawless,” she even read a prepared speech/confession/thank-you, which she ditched midway, crumpled up and tossed into the audience because she knew what she wanted to say, which ended with:

“Freedom is today, right here and now with all of you. Thank you for bringing our dream to life and being part of the Freedom Tour.”

The funked-up rock of Brooklyn’s Spirit Animal (who were special guests on the tour) never fails to be a good time, and the quartet helped kick the night off by playing every song from their 2018 album, “Born Yesterday” — just in a “random order” as pointed out by frontman Steve Cooper. The muscular, lockstep grooves and guitar blasts from songs like “Karma” and “YEAH!,” along with Cooper riding the rails between singing and rapping, found a lot of favor among the crowd. One such fan even had Cooper sign her sneakers.

L.A. locals Joyous Wolf opened the night.

Photos by Trina Green