Mr. Big Makes It Worth The Wait For Santa Ana

Rating:

Setlist | Billy Sheehan interview | Paul Gilbert interview

By Aniruddh "Andrew" Bansal, August 4th 2011, Galaxy Theater, Santa Ana CA: There are very few bands for whom I would get on a three-hour bus ride to reach the venue they're playing at. Mr. Big happens to be one of them. After all, it's a band that includes in its ranks my favorite guitarist and bassist Paul Gilbert and Billy Sheehan respectively, along with original members Eric Martin on vocals and Pat Torpey on drums, who are killer musicians in their own right. Much to the delight of not only their fans but rock music lovers around the globe, the band recently decided to reunite. I was fortunate enough to witness their first show on U.S. soil in 15 years when they rocked the Sunset House Of Blues in April this year, and I went in to the Galaxy Theatre today expecting nothing less than an amazing show. The band took the stage here as part of their first U.S. tour in a long, long time.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the show actually started off with a Blues band led 10-year old guitarist who goes by the name of Ray Goren. The kid took center stage with his guitar and played 45 highly delightful minutes of sweet, pristine Blues music. Besides being brilliant on the guitar, his soulful voice complemented the music very well. The crowd was really appreciative in their applause for the guy, and I would say he chose the perfect stage to display his skills, at a great sounding venue like the Galaxy, opening for a band like Mr. Big.

Next up were Ninth Circle, a band I would describe as melodic rock with elements of prog rock and power metal. They've been around for quite a few years, and they've put on great performances every time I've seen them in the past. Their guitarist/vocalist Dennis told me about the time he met Paul Gilbert during the Racer X days and took guitar lessons from him. So I was glad to see that he got his chance to share the stage with his favorite guitarist. Tonight they were as good as ever, performing a set of nicely crafted, melodic, rich-sounding tunes. The trio got generous applause from this crowd during and after their 45-minute set. It was good on the venue's part to keep it down to 2 openers tonight, giving us the chance to properly absorb these excellent bands by getting to watch them for 45 minutes each, instead of the usual 25.

The wait wasn't too long before the members of Mr. Big appeared on the stage one by one, and kicked off their high-energy set. I was already enjoying myself a lot more than I did at the House Of Blues, because it was easier to get close to the stage at this venue, plus there was more breathing space because of its relatively bigger size. They treated us to a show that went on for over two hours, decorated with classics, lively new tunes, a cover tune, and some breathtaking solos and duels. In other words, the show had more than everything you could ask for as a paying fan. They changed up the set list from that House of Blues show quite a bit, dropping the cover tunes they did that night, as well as the ballad from the new album. This resulted in a much better set overall, with more of their original tunes and a show that never relented in terms of its energy.

Besides mentioning the obvious and saying that Paul and Billy were giants in every sense of the word, Pat Torpey was phenomenal on drums even as he contributed backing vocals for a large portion of the show. Frontman Eric Martin put on a charismatic performance and I got a close look at how he was interacting with the crowd. He maintained great camaraderie with his band mates up on stage throughout the show, and his voice was beyond outstanding. He started out great with the opening tune "Daddy, Brother, Lover and Little Boy", and it only kept moving from 'great' to 'amazing' from then on. This might sound strange but he had a bit of Bon Jovi about him because of his charisma and mannerisms, an aspect I thoroughly enjoyed. But the most striking feature of the performance was the powerful chorus the four of them created on vocals. Paul, Billy and Pat hit the high notes not only on their instruments but also on the vocals, adding further oomph to Eric's vocals and making the band sound 'big' in the truest sense.

There were many highlights in the set, in fact the whole of it was a highlight. But if I had to pick, I would say the best of the new tunes was definitely "Still Ain't Enough For Me". It's just about the perfect example of why I'm such a huge fan of theirs. Besides that, Paul and Billy thrilled the crowd as they took center stage with their solos, giving us a snippet of what they are capable of. Their duel was equally enjoyable as well. But the most memorable part of the show for me was the cover of Deep Purple's "Smoke On The Water" they did near the end of the show, not just because of the song itself, but because they switched instruments to perform it. Paul took the drums while Eric strapped on the guitar, Pat took bass and Billy started singing. And they weren't just goofing around, they actually did a great job on instruments they don't usually play. This is the kind of thing that makes them stand far above other bands out there, the fact that they put in this much effort and think outside the box to put on a show for their audience. They switched again after the first part of the song, with Billy now on guitar, Eric on bass and Pat doing a splendid job on vocals. This song alone went a long way towards truly winning over this grateful crowd. As if this wasn't already enough, they ended with "Shy Boy", bringing the show to the exciting finish it deserved.

Mr. Big thrilled this crowd here tonight with what turned out to be their first Orange County show in 15 years, and they definitely made it worth the wait for everyone in attendance.

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