Mr Big 02 Shepherds Bush Empire 12/09/09
The only UK date in their European tour: it was fairly safe to say early on that tonight’s show was going to pack out and rock out Shepherd’s Bush Empire and then some! The band strut on like they never had left and tear straight into Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy sounding as tight and focused as ever. Of course the moment Paul Gilbert rips into the first of his million solos, the room cheers knowing fully well that tonight is going to a be full-on wankfest. And a great one at that, but more importantly Mr. Big always stood for more than that: allowing their songwriting to showcase technical ability and not the other way round. So why not throw a guitar / bass solo picked by an electric drill in the middle of a great rock song?
They look a bit older and wiser, but it’s mindblowing to see the chemistry these guys still have together, even after so long apart (Gilbert left the band in 1997 and the whole band broke up in 2002). As always, Paul Gilbert terrifies us with his blistering picking and finger twisting arpeggios but seeing Billy Sheehan stroll on and start a duel is what makes this show truly memorable.
Tonight’s ‘Greatest Hits’ set is quite rightly based around the more successful first 3 albums, mixing heavier numbers like Addicted To That Rush with power ballads such as Just Take My Heart. Saying that, it’s great that the band manage to sneak in some unexpected tracks like Take Cover and Price You Gotta Pay, as well as the classics. Singer Eric Martin proves he can still hit the high notes on their worthy cover of Cat Stevens’ Wild World and seems pretty chuffed with himself for it.
The band start their encores with their biggest hit, To Be With You, which sounds as contemporary and catchy as it did back in 1991 but waste no time in following up with the more ballsy Colorado Bulldog to keep up momentum. The best moment tonight is when the band seem to be wrapping it up and someone throws a hand scrawled ‘Play Shyboy’ banner on stage – so they look at each other as if to say why the hell not and just go for it. Fucking Epic.
Setlist:
Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song)
Take Cover
Green Tinted Sixties Mind
Alive and Kickin’
Next Time Around
Hold Your Head Up
Just Take My Heart
Temperamental
It’s For You
Price You Gotta Pay
Wild World
Take a Walk
The Whole World’s Gonna Know
Rock & Roll Over
Addicted to that Rush
Encores:
To Be With You
Colorado Bulldog
Baba O’Riley
Shy Boy
