Mr Big returned with a rocking set that mesmerised fans with tight performances.
AH, those were the glory days of rock, back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Ball-busting tights, garish contrasting colour clothing, big hair and campy onstage swagger.
For American hard rock supergroup, Mr Big, it was the added technical capabilities of instrument playing and melodic rocking songs that got them noticed as well.
Thankfully, the muso method and timeless tunes are the only ones that remain till today, as witnessed recently in the band’s concert at Mega Star Arena in Kuala Lumpur.
Dubbed Mr Big Live in Malaysia 2017, the show was in support of the band’s ninth and latest album, Defying Gravity.
And the boys (or should I say men in their 50s and 60s) certainly defied gravity with their youthful vigour onstage, bringing on a wave of nostalgia with their music that rocked over 2,000 audience members.
The crowd was a wild combination of typical black and jacket-clad rockers, tudung-wearing ladies and the odd pregnant woman. Young and old were grooving to the catchy and rocking riffs. Spotted in the sea of Big fans were small kids too, with one rightfully wearing ear mufflers!
By the end of the over two-hour, searing 23-song set, my ears were ringing. It’s been a while though since Mr Big was in town. Formed in 1988, the band last played in Malaysia back in the 1990s.
During the earlier part of the concert, jovial singer and frontman Eric Martin screamed: “It’s been a long time but we didn’t forget about you, Malaysia!”
Hailing from California, Mr Big went through a breakup in 2002, but after overwhelming requests from fans, the members got back together in 2009 and has continued rocking the music scene ever since.
And the band was a rocking powerhouse that night, with its accessible music that catered to a diverse crowd.
The tunes were entertaining, fun, nostalgic and punctuated with great musicianship.
Those who wanted heavy rocking songs got numbers like Addicted To That Rush and Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song).
Others who preferred stadium arena, cigarette light-waving anthems got To Be With You and Wild World.
The band played about five songs from the new album, including its title track for the final encore number. The rest were a combination from its wide repertoire, with the bulk, not surprisingly, made up of tracks from the more famous Lean Into It (1991) and Bump Ahead (1993) albums.
Fans were entertained by Green-Tinted Sixties Mind, Just Take My Heart, Alive and Kickin’, Colorado Bulldog, Promise Her The Moon and Temperamental.
Although Martin apparently fumbled on a few lyrics to one of the songs initially, he sang well throughout the concert, organised by Plan 7 Production, and was a charismatic presence onstage.
The rest of the original band line-up that performed was bassist Billy Sheehan, guitarist Paul Gilbert and drummer Pat Torpey, who all provided backup vocals during certain parts as well.
Torpey, who’s had Parkinson’s disease since 2014, played percussion, while touring member Matt Star sat on the drum throne. Despite his condition, Torpey was all smiles during the concert and fans showed their appreciation by cheering him on each time.
The multi-platinum record-selling band’s secret weapons were Sheehan and Gilbert, who each got to showcase their talents on the bass and guitar respectively in sizzling solo segments.
Their fiery fingers aggressively caressed and crisscrossed the fretboards in various arpeggio modes, which got the crowd screaming in delight.
At one point, the two also duelled with each other before morphing into a dynamic duet.
Flash and smash aside, the band knew how to have fun as well. This was expressed via an encore track of a cover of the 1970s hit, Joy To The World, with Torpey singing, Martin playing bass and Gilbert on drums, with Sheehan and Star on guitars.
The audience got a big treat and the band got an even bigger applause, which sums up the experience that night.