There were a decent amount of people there, hundreds, but not nearly as many as I had thought there would be. Maybe it was due to the high ticket price? It was a bit steep, but to see these guys up close, I would have thought it to be a fuller show. It was a Sunday and over early, but still!
My notes are incomplete, and I can't recall if they said Silver Spring or Silver Springs. ugh. Merchandise wise, they had a few shirts, all actually reasonably priced ($25). I didn't get anything. I didn't get a photo but I recall they had the classic log shirt, among others.
They started up with a pretty standard "Hello There" and were pretty much active until the end, with some minor stops for banter. Robin Zander, dressed in some sort of "pimp" jacket and hat, was pretty much looking brilliant in the light, and seemed ghostlike in the photos that resulted. He sounded fine after some initial sound board issues
Guitarist Rick Nielsen looked a bit long in the tooth, but looks were deceiving, as he was no slouch on guitar at all. He was changing his guitar for nearly every song- it was pretty ridiculous. The five neck guitar was sill my favourite. I wonder how heavy it really is. He seemed to play effortlessly and throw a stream of guitar picks like turning on a faucet.
Bassist Tom Petersson was looking like he was part of Enuff Z'nuff, and kinda crazy hair and got to sing a song. He was there, but I kind of lost track of him when he wasn't singing that one odd song. Rick and Robin took up my attention for the most part.
Drummer Daxx Nielsen (son of Rick) completed the foursome. I think since 2010 he has replaced Bun E. Carlos on touring drums. I believe he adds a bit of youthful fire to an already pretty consistently energetic live band. He was good, and fit well with them- I don't think he is a particularly amazing drummer, tho. All in all, it would be a disservice to say anyone performing this evening did a bad job. These guys tour so much that they can't NOT be on their game.
Setlist wise, we had a lot of classics, but no "Mighty Wings." I don't think they'll play that live. No surprises, but I was not really familiar with the 2 covers before "The Flame." I think they could have played... another other song besides that Velvet Underground one. But as my buddy said, even the Cheap Trick songs that I didn't know sounded really good. These guys just are all around great performers.
Overall, it was a very solid show, a great chance to see some living legends live and up close. It was a bit of a shame that there was not a better turnout, but also I liked that it was not oppressively crowded! And the Groupon made it all the nicer deal! I'd def see them again live, no question- they've still got it!
Next show: Brad Paisley
Photos
Setlists
Cheap Trick (thank you Setlist.fm)(8:00 - 9:35)
- Hello There
- Elo Kiddies
- Big Eyes
- Lookout
- California Man (The Move cover)
- If You Want My Love
- On Top of the World
- Borderline
- Ain't That a Shame (Fats Domino cover)
- Need Your Love
- Daddy Should Have Stayed in High School
- The 'In' Crowd (Dobie Gray cover)
- I'm Waiting for the Man (The Velvet Underground cover) (Tom Petersson on lead vocals)
- The Flame
- I Want You to Want Me
- Dream Police
- Bang Zoom Crazy Hello
- Surrender
- Goodnight
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