Extreme, Mr Big @ Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide 7/6/2018
It was extreme, it was big!
It was a cold, wintry Thursday night in Adelaide which probably stopped a few extra punters heading down to Thebarton Theatre to see a stellar double act Extreme and Mr Big from playing their long awaited and much anticipated show here. I just hope fellow Adelaidians keep in mind that we have to keep giving promoters and tour companies a reason to not leave Adelaide out on any tour schedule. Enough said on that.
Punters were treated to three hours of rock music with both bands playing a headline set of around eighty or ninety minutes. Mr Big are a classy, super slick rock outfit who make all the right noises and have a back catalogue full of hits. The band features the vocals of Eric Martin, Billy Sheehan on bass, Paul Gilbert on guitar and Matt Star on drums. Eric mentioned during the set that someone was missing refer to Pat Torpey who passed away earlier this year due to illness. The tribute Take Cover to Pat was well received by the crowd.
No doubt that fans would have been licking their lips as Mr Big delved right back in to the back catalogue giving it a right ‘ole going over. Kicking off with Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song) was followed by other gems including Just Take My Heart and Green Tinted Sixties Mind to the more recent Everybody Needs A Little Trouble. A set staple for the last twenty nine years was the Yusuf (Cat Stevens) cover Wild World. The band’s first hit single Addicted To That Rush went down a treat but the big camera phone moment was the chart busting hit To Be With You. It was a spirited moment and awesome to hear the fans singing this one back to the band, just awesome. Colorado Bulldog brought their set to an end and let’s hope there’s a return visit from Mr Big sometime soon.
Extreme really did turn it on stepping up their performance and raising the energy levels in the Thebbie. Straight out of the blocks the band meant business opening with It(‘s A Monster) and Li’l Jack Horny from their classic album Pornograffiti. Lead singer Gary Cherone is the ultimate front man busting out all the rock moves. The first part of the set was literally a procession of hits with Get The Funk Out and Rest In Peace. Nuno Bettencourt acknowledged that it has been way to long since they were last back in 1993 and saying it would be fair for Adelaide to be “pissed off” waiting for so long. Fair to say that absence makes the heart grow fonder with the band stripping back the next couple with the acoustic guitar in tow for Tragic Comic and one of their mega hits Hole Hearted. Absolutely love that song! The next couple had the spotlight focus on Nuno with Midnight Express (with a snippet of Bon Jovi’s Wanted Dead Or Alive followed by Nuno saying that he wished he wrote that song) and Cupids Dream.
It almost seemed as if the crowd were literally waiting for the big rock monster ballad More Than Words. If awards were being given out for sing-a-longs Adelaide’s response would have won hands down, what a moment! Definitely one of those songs that transports you back to that moment in time when it came out… priceless! Opening to the buzz of bees it was Flight Of The Bumblebees next wrapping things up with Decadence Dance. Let’s hope that Extreme make good on their word that they’ll back next year for another tour.
Live Review by Rob Lyon