When this show was announced I must admit I wondered if we’d ever see it come to be. Extreme and Mr Big are of course both huge names in late eighties/early nineties rock but the former made it over to Australia only once previously way back in 1993 and Mr Big have never made the trip despite being frequent visitors to Japan and South East Asia. Would the fans still be there? Well 25 years might be a mighty long time to wait but you have to give full credit to promoter Zaccaria Concerts and Touring for pulling this off. Rounding the corner to Metro City it was clear that this was going to be a big night with the queue stretched way back down the block as the rain slowly started drifting out of the Perth night sky.
Mr Big really shouldn’t have left it this long and they are greeted like conquering heroes as they set foot on stage in front of a packed Metro City. They waste no time getting to the meat of what made them such an interesting band back in the day with the masters of the fret-board – Paul Gilbert and Billy Sheehan taking control of a wild and furiously paced set laced with moments of tranquility in the shape of some of their biggest hits. Indeed its a strange quirk of fate that these two bands are both best known for uncharacteristically slow numbers – for Mr Big it’s the magical ‘To Be With You’ and for Extreme it’s the radio staple ‘More Than Words.’ Make no mistake though tonight it really is about the rockers.
Kicking of with the ‘drill song’ ‘Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy’ was of course the only way to start: gloriously over-the-top and dripping in over-indulgence it’s a song that really marked Mr Big as something rather different back in the day and it’s great to see both Billy Sheehan and Paul Gilbert handed electric drills with guitar picks attached and put them to good use! You’d think after that there was nowhere to go but you’d be surprised by the depth and quality of a band celebrating their 30th Anniversary this year.
Sadly of course 2018 is also the year we lost original Mr Big drummer Pat Torpey and the band dedicate ‘Take Cover’ to him amidst a set that drips with ‘should have been hits.’ Australia like the rest of the world embraced Mr Big’s lighter moments and early on ‘Just Take My Heart’ sees the first extended sing-along. The thing that really grips you about the set though is the huge sound that Sheehan’s effects rig gives the songs and the real mastery of Gilbert, who has of course been down under before with his guitar clinics.
My favourite Mr Big song ‘Green Tinted Sixties Mind’ crops up early on, alongside a slice from the latest 2017 offering ‘Defying Gravity’ in the shape of ‘Everybody Needs a Little Trouble’ which is exactly the sort of song that underlines the ongoing quality of these four guys.
In a set full of crowd-pleasers its the unexpected moments like Gilbert inserting AC/DC into his solo spot in the style of his covers album ‘Stone Pushing Uphill Man’ that really shine a light on the musicianship here, that and Martin hitting every note like he did in his twenties. It really is unfair!
The band got through a huge set-list tonight and the crowd didn’t miss a beat and were with them all the way, and to see the room in unison sing every word to ‘To Be With You’ was goosebump material of the highest order. With a response like that you’d have to think that these guys may well be back soon.
MR BIG SETLIST: Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song) | Undertow | Alive and Kickin’ | Just Take My Heart | Take Cover | Green Tinted Sixties Mind | Everybody Needs a Little Trouble | Price You Gotta Pay | Guitar Solo | Open Your Eyes | Wild World (Cat Stevens cover) | Rock & Roll Over | Around the World | Bass Solo (Billy Sheehan) | Addicted to That Rush | To Be With You | Colorado Bulldog
After being mightily impressed by Mr Big and an interval that saw more technicians on stage then I think I’ve ever seen it was clear that Extreme had been set a challenge. As someone who has seen the band a number of times over the years though this was the night that topped them all.
Last visiting Australia in 1993 the band never made it to the West and so like Mr Big before them this was their first taste of Western hospitality. You could clearly feel the love in the air from the first second the band burst onto stage with, as it turned out, my favourite song by the band – the “impossible not to be moved by” ‘It (‘s a Monster)’ which serves up the thickest meatiest groove you could imagine with one of rock’s greatest riffs.
Firing opening salvos from Pornograffitti was the perfect way to blitz the crowd into submission and ‘Lil Jack Horny’ and ‘Get the Funk Out’ followed in sizzling style with Nuno dazzling and the rest of the band similarly on fire in what has to be one of the most energetic starts to a set I’ve ever seen.
Tonight it’s all about celebrating the music and the core of course is that wonderful second album ‘Pornograffitti’ which along with ‘Three Sides to Every Story’ tracks dominates the set that has only a snatch of the band’s most recent album – 2008’s ‘Saudades de Rock’ – the rather good ‘Take Us Alive’ and nothing at all from their 1989 debut which is a shame.
Still it’s hard to know what they could have dropped when everywhere you look there are show-stoppers. There’s a huge version of ‘Rest in Peace’ and a crunching ‘Hip Today’ before the sheer adrenaline rush and showmanship of ‘Play With Me’ has the crowd transfixed dazzled by both the playing and the wonderful harmonies.
There follows a wonderful diversion as Pat Badger gets to show off on his best song ‘Tragic Comic’ and drummer Kevin Figueredo joins the band at the front of the stage with a micro drum kit! It’s a great song and the band stays in that formation for a wonderfully lush rendition of ‘Hole Hearted’ and an amazing run through the Bettencourt-fueled ‘Midnight Express’ the whole section with the band so close to the crowd is a clear highlight for many.
It’s back to full speed and full force rocking for the power pairing of ‘Cupid’s Dead’ and ‘Am I Ever Gonna Change’, and it’s at speed you appreciate the stage craft at it’s peak – Cherone is a monster performer and commands the stage like few others, and Nuno has to be one of the most charismatic guitarists out there.
Eventually though it’s time to wind things down and Cherone and Bettencourt take to stools for ‘More Than Words’ the song that made them huge. The crowd makes sure they don’t even need to take the first verse, and sing and feel every single second of the song along with the band. It’s the mellowest moment and comes juxtaposed to another moment of extreme joy- a huge over-the-top extended race through ‘Decadence Dance’ which again has the crowd in raptures. What a way to end a show!
The band clearly didn’t want to leave us though and after taking their bows and firing pics and sticks into the crowd both Gary and Nuno jumped off stage and shook as many outstretched hands as they could in a goodbye that took more than five minutes. If I’m honest I’d never seen anything quite like that and it clearly meant a huge amount to the crowd who just stood in awe that the band was taking so much time to show their appreciation.This wasn’t just the show of the year it was a show that so many of us are going to cherish forever.
EXTREME SETLIST: It (‘s a Monster) | Li’l Jack Horny | Get the Funk Out | Rest in Peace | Hip Today | Play with Me | Tragic Comic | Hole Hearted | Midnight Express | Cupid’s Dead | Am I Ever Gonna Change | Take Us Alive | More Than Words | Flight of the Wounded Bumblebee | He Man Woman Hater | Decadence Dance
