marnold
June 27th, 2009, 08:54 AM
Last night I saw Whitesnake as they kicked off their summer tour in my hometown of Bay City, MI. It was an outdoor concert at Vet's Park. The weather was absolutely perfect. The rest of the tour will be co-headlining with Judas Priest (who will be playing British Steel in its entirety).
Figuring that the crowd might be too excited, the first group was a local band playing acoustic versions of Pink Floyd tunes, sans solos, concluding with "Wish You Were Here." They did a decent job, but not exactly what the crowd was looking for. It was the auditory equivalent of giving the crowd a horse tranquilizer. Next was a local band called "Dr. Rock". I quipped that the last time I was in B.C., they hadn't received their doctorate. They played some Bon Jovi, Journey, etc. The highlight was their cover of Queensryche's "Eyes of a Stranger." The singer nailed the vocals but the guitarist wasn't quite as successful with the licks. Finally came someone named Brent Grunow. He's got an EP out and is from nearby Frankenmuth. The band was OK, but not hard rock. The crowd listened patiently, but not particularly enthusiastically.
At 9:15, Whitesnake hit the stage. They opened up with "Best Years" off "Good to be Bad." Here's the set list as I remember it, by album:
"Good to be Bad"
Best Years
Can You Hear the Wind Blow
All I Want, All I Need
Good to be Bad
Lay Down Your Love
(Note: I was pleased to hear so many tunes from this album--killer.)
"Slip of the Tongue"
The Deeper the Love (the most lamentable choice on the setlist, although it did give Doug Aldrich the opportunity to show off some acoustic chops)
"Whitesnake"
Crying in the Rain
Bad Boys
Still of the Night (encore)
Here I Go Again
Give Me All Your Love
Is This Love
"Slide It In"
Love Ain't No Stranger
Slow an' Easy
I would have liked to have heard more from "Slide It In," but by and large I can't complain about the set list. For a first concert, the boys were in prime form. David Coverdale's voice has lost some high-end power, but not any enthusiasm. He is a huge personality on stage and was at his mic-stand-twirling best. He and the rest of the band seemed genuinely pleased to be there. The crowd responded in kind.
Naturally, most here want to know about the guitar playing. Somewhat to my surprise, Doug Aldrich handled the majority of the lead duties. He played a goldtop and sparkly silver Les Paul. Reb Beach played his ubiquitous brown HSS Superstrat that he's been playing since the 80s and a blue Fender Strat with a white pickguard. Both of them stuck pretty much to the recorded solos, but added their own flairs to the older ones. Both guitarists are monster players with chops to spare. It was inspiring and amazing. Their tone was to die for.
They had a dueling guitar solo with both guitarists trading licks and then finally coming together in a heavy blues jam. Overindulgent? Perhaps. Awesome? You're damn right it was. The most interesting part was the difference between the two. Aldrich took a more flatpicked, blues-based approach to shreddery. Beach countered with a more legato, tapped, 80s-tinged technique. Very enjoyable, humbling, and inspiring.
The Snake were at their best with the heavier tunes. I had forgotten how fun it is to be punched in the chest by palm-muted chords launching out of the P.A. Basically, if you don't like Whitesnake there was nothing at the concert that would change your mind. If you do, you will enjoy yourself thoroughly.
I left the concert the way I think I person should: a little happier, a little more inspired to play, a little harder of hearing, and thoroughly rawked. I give it five head-banging smilies:
:dude: :dude: :dude: :dude: :dude:
Figuring that the crowd might be too excited, the first group was a local band playing acoustic versions of Pink Floyd tunes, sans solos, concluding with "Wish You Were Here." They did a decent job, but not exactly what the crowd was looking for. It was the auditory equivalent of giving the crowd a horse tranquilizer. Next was a local band called "Dr. Rock". I quipped that the last time I was in B.C., they hadn't received their doctorate. They played some Bon Jovi, Journey, etc. The highlight was their cover of Queensryche's "Eyes of a Stranger." The singer nailed the vocals but the guitarist wasn't quite as successful with the licks. Finally came someone named Brent Grunow. He's got an EP out and is from nearby Frankenmuth. The band was OK, but not hard rock. The crowd listened patiently, but not particularly enthusiastically.
At 9:15, Whitesnake hit the stage. They opened up with "Best Years" off "Good to be Bad." Here's the set list as I remember it, by album:
"Good to be Bad"
Best Years
Can You Hear the Wind Blow
All I Want, All I Need
Good to be Bad
Lay Down Your Love
(Note: I was pleased to hear so many tunes from this album--killer.)
"Slip of the Tongue"
The Deeper the Love (the most lamentable choice on the setlist, although it did give Doug Aldrich the opportunity to show off some acoustic chops)
"Whitesnake"
Crying in the Rain
Bad Boys
Still of the Night (encore)
Here I Go Again
Give Me All Your Love
Is This Love
"Slide It In"
Love Ain't No Stranger
Slow an' Easy
I would have liked to have heard more from "Slide It In," but by and large I can't complain about the set list. For a first concert, the boys were in prime form. David Coverdale's voice has lost some high-end power, but not any enthusiasm. He is a huge personality on stage and was at his mic-stand-twirling best. He and the rest of the band seemed genuinely pleased to be there. The crowd responded in kind.
Naturally, most here want to know about the guitar playing. Somewhat to my surprise, Doug Aldrich handled the majority of the lead duties. He played a goldtop and sparkly silver Les Paul. Reb Beach played his ubiquitous brown HSS Superstrat that he's been playing since the 80s and a blue Fender Strat with a white pickguard. Both of them stuck pretty much to the recorded solos, but added their own flairs to the older ones. Both guitarists are monster players with chops to spare. It was inspiring and amazing. Their tone was to die for.
They had a dueling guitar solo with both guitarists trading licks and then finally coming together in a heavy blues jam. Overindulgent? Perhaps. Awesome? You're damn right it was. The most interesting part was the difference between the two. Aldrich took a more flatpicked, blues-based approach to shreddery. Beach countered with a more legato, tapped, 80s-tinged technique. Very enjoyable, humbling, and inspiring.
The Snake were at their best with the heavier tunes. I had forgotten how fun it is to be punched in the chest by palm-muted chords launching out of the P.A. Basically, if you don't like Whitesnake there was nothing at the concert that would change your mind. If you do, you will enjoy yourself thoroughly.
I left the concert the way I think I person should: a little happier, a little more inspired to play, a little harder of hearing, and thoroughly rawked. I give it five head-banging smilies:
:dude: :dude: :dude: :dude: :dude: