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I saw Yngwie on Friday at a club in Orlando.
Let me set this up. Back in 2000 (?) I took my 9 year old son to see Yngwie and Dio at the House of Blues in Orlando. Thirteen years later my son spots Yngwie's name on the billboard at the "Plaza" in Orlando. Being the great kid that he is, he snags tickets and doesn't tell me. He invites me down and gives me an early father's day/birthday present. I owe him big time.
The venue was a perfect size. It had a balcony, general seating and an open standing area in front of the stage. I am not good at estimating the club size, but would guess the capacity would be about 1000 people. There were two opening bands - Martyrd and Burning Heat featuring Ethan Brosh. Couldn't comment much on Martyrd - difficult to hear, but good energy. Burning Heat was OK. Ethan Brosh was phenomenal!!!! Very clear tone and tasty. I definitely need to get his CD's. Very young with all of the Shrapnel Shredding - but again..very tasty.
We were right up against the stage barriers on the left side. I am old and have been to see Yngwie about 6 different times during his career. I brought hearing protection for both me and my son. For the first two bands, the sound levels were reasonable. When Yngwie's tech plugged in and hit some notes, the hearing protection went in - Holy Shit!!! I know this was a show and the stage was set-up with the "Wall of Malmsteen". I am waiting for my kid to send me the photos he took. There were 28 Marshall heads with the power LEDs lit - yes 28!!! And if something went wrong, there were 12 spares on the side. There was also 12 cabinets. I did see that two of the heads had chords plugged in and two cabinets were mic'ed. It did look awesome though.
Yngwie started the show in his typical fashion - lights down, fog, with him noodling behind the amps with his distinctive style and tone. He ripped it up!!! He played a wide range of tunes spanning just about every album he had in his catalog. I can't remember all of the tunes exactly, but here is a list of the ones I remember: (no apparent order)
Far Beyond the Sun
Black Star
Seventh Sign
Spellbound
Blue
Heaven Tonight
Gates of Babylon (Deep Purple)
I'll See the Light Tonight
Rising Force
...and a lot more
I had a shit eatin' grin on my face from the first note he played until the last. He was spot on the entire night. As a showman he nailed it. He played non-stop for two hours and I don't think there was one bored person in the audience. For a guy pushing 47,48, 50? he had tons of energy. I think you get the idea that I would recommend checking him out if you get the chance. I know his music has gotten repetitive over the years, but he did change the world of guitar and inspire and continues to inspire generations of players.
As a final note, if you are expecting to see a "band", you will be disappointed. The band is a side show. The drummer, keyboardist, and bass player are off to the side of the stage for the entire show. There is no interaction between the members. It was definitely understood that this was an Yngwie Malmsteen show. I did not recognize the bassist or keyboardist. I think the drummer was John Macaluso - ironically the drummer for the Dio show in 2000.
All in all, a great show.
Let me set this up. Back in 2000 (?) I took my 9 year old son to see Yngwie and Dio at the House of Blues in Orlando. Thirteen years later my son spots Yngwie's name on the billboard at the "Plaza" in Orlando. Being the great kid that he is, he snags tickets and doesn't tell me. He invites me down and gives me an early father's day/birthday present. I owe him big time.
The venue was a perfect size. It had a balcony, general seating and an open standing area in front of the stage. I am not good at estimating the club size, but would guess the capacity would be about 1000 people. There were two opening bands - Martyrd and Burning Heat featuring Ethan Brosh. Couldn't comment much on Martyrd - difficult to hear, but good energy. Burning Heat was OK. Ethan Brosh was phenomenal!!!! Very clear tone and tasty. I definitely need to get his CD's. Very young with all of the Shrapnel Shredding - but again..very tasty.
We were right up against the stage barriers on the left side. I am old and have been to see Yngwie about 6 different times during his career. I brought hearing protection for both me and my son. For the first two bands, the sound levels were reasonable. When Yngwie's tech plugged in and hit some notes, the hearing protection went in - Holy Shit!!! I know this was a show and the stage was set-up with the "Wall of Malmsteen". I am waiting for my kid to send me the photos he took. There were 28 Marshall heads with the power LEDs lit - yes 28!!! And if something went wrong, there were 12 spares on the side. There was also 12 cabinets. I did see that two of the heads had chords plugged in and two cabinets were mic'ed. It did look awesome though.
Yngwie started the show in his typical fashion - lights down, fog, with him noodling behind the amps with his distinctive style and tone. He ripped it up!!! He played a wide range of tunes spanning just about every album he had in his catalog. I can't remember all of the tunes exactly, but here is a list of the ones I remember: (no apparent order)
Far Beyond the Sun
Black Star
Seventh Sign
Spellbound
Blue
Heaven Tonight
Gates of Babylon (Deep Purple)
I'll See the Light Tonight
Rising Force
...and a lot more
I had a shit eatin' grin on my face from the first note he played until the last. He was spot on the entire night. As a showman he nailed it. He played non-stop for two hours and I don't think there was one bored person in the audience. For a guy pushing 47,48, 50? he had tons of energy. I think you get the idea that I would recommend checking him out if you get the chance. I know his music has gotten repetitive over the years, but he did change the world of guitar and inspire and continues to inspire generations of players.
As a final note, if you are expecting to see a "band", you will be disappointed. The band is a side show. The drummer, keyboardist, and bass player are off to the side of the stage for the entire show. There is no interaction between the members. It was definitely understood that this was an Yngwie Malmsteen show. I did not recognize the bassist or keyboardist. I think the drummer was John Macaluso - ironically the drummer for the Dio show in 2000.
All in all, a great show.
Cant wait to see the pics.
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