I really enjoy double bills like this because I’m a fan of the 80’s music. What made it even better is the fact that it who’s at grand casino. They have a very nice indoor venue as well as outdoor shed. The staff is always wonderful and helpful. But it’s the fans that make these shows special. It seems when I attend concerts that are not right in the metro area the people that show up to see shows like this really love them. You can tell they’re all excited to be there and having a wonderful time. I’m sure some of it has to do with the fact that you can get a hotel room and stay for the night.
Tonight, Slaughter opened the show and came out of the gate with a lot of energy as they always do. They opened with “Mad About You” and followed up with “Burning Bridges” to get the concert going. Once they had everybody on their feet, they continued with a wonderful set that included “Immigrant Song”, “The Wildlife”, “Fly to the Angels”, and their biggest hit, “Up All Night”. This band is made up of solid group of musicians. This includes Dana Strum on bass, Jeff Blando on guitars, Will Hunt who plays with Evanescence and of course Mark Slaughter himself.
I wasn’t sure which version of Great White I was going to see. For those of you that may not know there are two versions. This one I refer to as version one, which is the original Great White with new singer Mitch Malloy. The last time I saw this version, I gave them less than a good review. The reason for this was due to the singer they had at the time. I don’t expect a singer to jump into Jack Russell’s shoes and sound just like him. If the songs are good, then a new singer can bring a different take to them. I’m happy to say that they fired that other guy and hired Mitch Malloy. That move made all the difference in the world!
This time I’m going to be able to say, they were fun to watch and sounded great. They played all the hits that you would expect them to, as well as some deeper cuts. I will leave it up to you to decide which version you like better. I only wish they would make it a little more obvious as to which version you are seeing. I can say this version improved measurably by getting a new singer. If you are a fan of Great White, you owe it to yourself to check out both versions and decide for yourself.
