I saw Whitesnake last night in Green Bay, WI, and it was fantastic.
I knew I was in for at treat when they started the show with the classic Coverdale-era Deep Purple tune, "Burn" (they also threw a bit of "Stormbringer" into the middle of it). Later in the show, they played "Feeling Hot" from Coverdale/Page, which also kicked ass in a major way. Both sounded about 100 times better than the studio versions, and I thought it was really cool that they played a couple of tunes from these great bands, since they have a huge Whitesnake catalog to choose from. They also played all the Whitesnake songs I was hoping to hear. More on that below.
Coverdale sounded fantastic and looked almost the same as he does in their videos. His band was great, too: Doug Aldrich and Reb Beach on guitars, and Tommy Aldridge on drums! I don't think I blinked all night, for fear of missing something. For $20 admission!!! My jaw is still hanging open.
The bassist and keyboardist were unknown to me, but both sounded fine. Whitesnake's truck driver told me that the bassist and keyboardist are brothers, which was kind of interesting. I guess the band travels with one truck and 3 buses - Coverdale gets a bus all to himself. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] And after his performance last night, I'd say if that's what he wants, he deserves it. He's one of hard/heavy rock's truly great lead singers IMO.
I'm sorry to say that no Charvels or Jacksons were in sight. Aldrich played Les Pauls all night except for "Slow 'n' Easy," where he played a beat up Telecaster (assuming it had higher action for the slide stuff) - until it cut out right before the solo, in a Tap-esque moment. It turned out really cool, though, as Aldrich got pissed and threw the Tele off the back of the stage, sending it flying over his Marshall stacks, and Reb took over the solo, as a tech got Aldrich another guitar.
Looked like Reb was playing a Koa-bodied Tom Anderson most of the night. He was never on my side of the stage, so I didn't get a really close look, but it looked a lot like a Charvel San Dimas III at first, with the Koa body, gold hardware, etc. Nice axe anyway, with amazing sustain. Oh yeah, it looked like the neck was rosewood, too. Not just the fretboard, the whole neck.
The highlight of the show for me was probably "Crying In the Rain." I love that song, and wasn't sure they'd play it. "Judgment Day" also kicked hard, as did "Still of the Night" (of course), but I knew they'd play those.
The bottom line is that this was a great show, and if Whitesnake comes to your area, I strongly encourage you to check them out.
I knew I was in for at treat when they started the show with the classic Coverdale-era Deep Purple tune, "Burn" (they also threw a bit of "Stormbringer" into the middle of it). Later in the show, they played "Feeling Hot" from Coverdale/Page, which also kicked ass in a major way. Both sounded about 100 times better than the studio versions, and I thought it was really cool that they played a couple of tunes from these great bands, since they have a huge Whitesnake catalog to choose from. They also played all the Whitesnake songs I was hoping to hear. More on that below.
Coverdale sounded fantastic and looked almost the same as he does in their videos. His band was great, too: Doug Aldrich and Reb Beach on guitars, and Tommy Aldridge on drums! I don't think I blinked all night, for fear of missing something. For $20 admission!!! My jaw is still hanging open.
The bassist and keyboardist were unknown to me, but both sounded fine. Whitesnake's truck driver told me that the bassist and keyboardist are brothers, which was kind of interesting. I guess the band travels with one truck and 3 buses - Coverdale gets a bus all to himself. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] And after his performance last night, I'd say if that's what he wants, he deserves it. He's one of hard/heavy rock's truly great lead singers IMO.
I'm sorry to say that no Charvels or Jacksons were in sight. Aldrich played Les Pauls all night except for "Slow 'n' Easy," where he played a beat up Telecaster (assuming it had higher action for the slide stuff) - until it cut out right before the solo, in a Tap-esque moment. It turned out really cool, though, as Aldrich got pissed and threw the Tele off the back of the stage, sending it flying over his Marshall stacks, and Reb took over the solo, as a tech got Aldrich another guitar.
Looked like Reb was playing a Koa-bodied Tom Anderson most of the night. He was never on my side of the stage, so I didn't get a really close look, but it looked a lot like a Charvel San Dimas III at first, with the Koa body, gold hardware, etc. Nice axe anyway, with amazing sustain. Oh yeah, it looked like the neck was rosewood, too. Not just the fretboard, the whole neck.
The highlight of the show for me was probably "Crying In the Rain." I love that song, and wasn't sure they'd play it. "Judgment Day" also kicked hard, as did "Still of the Night" (of course), but I knew they'd play those.
The bottom line is that this was a great show, and if Whitesnake comes to your area, I strongly encourage you to check them out.
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