I’ve always been aware of Living Colour more because of the guitar player Vernon Reed than anything else. I have a lot of friends who are musicians that constantly talk about how amazing he is, and they are 100% correct. He is truly an amazing musician; the entire band are incredible musicians. I can’t get over how amazing they sound as a unit. But even more so, Corey Glover their lead singer. His voice hasn’t changed in 30 plus years. I don’t know how he does it but it’s downright inconceivable that he still sounds this great. They were the perfect opener for this double bill, and I really enjoyed their entire set although I only knew 2 songs.
Really all I have to say about the headliner Extreme is there one of the greatest rock bands to ever exist on this planet and they were truly jaw-dropping last night. I literally could stop there because it encapsulates everything, I feel about what I experienced last night. When you hear fans complain about different bands not sounding great anymore for a myriad of reasons, I think you could point to Extreme as the exception to that. I can’t imagine there’s one person in this world that would ever accuse them of being any less than perfect.
They treated the crowd to a full 2 hour set last night that encompassed all of their career and releases period from their first debut album Extreme to their latest offering Six. It was a nice mix of songs from their entire career. I can’t pick out a highlight simply because the whole show was a highlight. Admittedly I am a fan of theirs and have been since their first record so, it’s a bit easier for me to write a review like this. But to hold their feet to the fire, I will pick at them a little bit. In my opinion I believe that their song Mutha (Don’t Wanna Go to School Today) is one of their very best. And they chose to put it at the end of a medley from their first album and barely give it a mention. I think that totally sucks! The other thing that I would pick at them about is, I met some very enthusiastic fans who told me that during their VIP meet and greet and the sound check, they played the entire Van Halen song, Mean Streets. That would have been the cherry on top of the whipped cream for me if they would have performed that song live in front of their entire audience. That’s literally the most I can rip them for, and I am nitpicking. But both of those songs in my opinion are among the greatest of all time.
Back to the positive, one of the things I really enjoy is how the guitar player Nuno Bettencourt would take time between songs to talk to the audience. I’ve always felt at a live show when the band goes out of their way to have a conversation and share stories it just adds to the overall performance. He was very introspective in some stories talking about the love of playing a musical instrument and that how it didn’t matter whether you played in a cover band, tribute band or you were on the stage in a touring band like Extreme; nothing will replace the feeling of playing in the garage as you first got started for no one but yourself. His passion and love for music and the instrument filled the showroom and truly brought a smile to my face. Gary Cherone has not lost a step and sounds just as great as the very first time I saw them back in the day. Plus, Pat Badger the bass player and Kevin Figueiredo the drummer is the glue that holds this whole thing together and are truly the backbone of this band.
Extreme is a band that I will always follow and see whenever I get the chance. Their latest record Six is probably one of their strongest to date. It’s exactly the type of record I would expect from this band, and it adds to their legacy. Extreme Is a band that deserves your attention and your respect. I’ve always felt they did it the right way. It would have been very easy for them to fall into the hair metal genre in the late 80s and fizzle out like so many of their contemporaries. But there’s something special about them that kept them out of the middle of that nonsense. Their music to me rose above so much of that other music from the time. Don’t be fooled because they have been around for many decades, there’s still a lot of great music for you to discover of theirs if you are not a fan or only know one of their hits like more than words. Take a few moments of your day and look them up on Spotify and give them a listen. I believe you’ll be pleasantly surprised, and I will be equally surprised if you don’t become a fan.
EXTREME GALLERY
LIVING COLOUR GALLERY
