Well, this was one of the nicest theatres I have been in to see a concert. The concert took place in Rome, NY which is a quaint little city with a small-town feel. The staff at the theatre was super friendly and helpful.
TRIXTER
The last time I saw Trixter was in Irvine, CA for the Hair Nation show. The group has gone through many changes since then, the biggest changes are that instead of being a 4-piece band it is now a 3-piece band. Pete Loran has left the music industry to pursue other endeavours, and Mark “Gus” Scott is no longer in the band. So the only two original band members are PJ Farley (bass) and Steve Brown (guitars/vocals) with Ben Haas taking up drums for the now 3-piece band.
The night was deemed as an “Acoustic” night with Trixter. But that was not what was in store for the crowd. The crowd was at least 600 strong to see what was deemed as The “Big Finish Tour”. Trixter started out the night with a track from Hear (1992) followed by a track from their debut self-titled album Trixter (1990). They delivered tracks from their releases from 2012 and 2015. ”Tattoos & Misery” from New Audio Machine and then “Human Era” from the same-titled album. They reached into their covers album and did a Paul Simon song, they followed that up by one of their biggest hits “One In A Million”. They closed out their set with the biggest hits from their debut album Give It To Me Good.
Steve Brown is not only the wizard behind the guitars for this band. But now he takes on the vocal duties as well. Steve Brown carries himself very well vocally on all the Trixter tracks. And PJ Farley is continuing with his backing vocals and bass duties. Trixter is “One Of A Million”. They are one of the Jersey bands to come out in the early 90s and made it into rock band arena stardom.
Trixter started the night off with an up-tempo set and made sure that they warmed up the crowd for Mr. Big. They brought their “A” game to the stage and their setlist was nonetheless of anything but their strongest hits.
TRIXTER Setlist
Rockin’ Horse
Heart of Steel
Tattoos & Misery
Road of a Thousand Dreams
Human Era
Surrender
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (Paul Simon cover)
One in a Million
Waiting in That Line
Give it to Me Good
MR. BIG
Mr. Big is touting this tour as the Big Finish tour as unfortunately, drummer Pat Torpey passed away in February 2018. Mr. Big had disbanded in 2002 but due to requests from fans, the band regrouped in 2009. The band’s first reunion tour was in Japan in 2010, the band then released its first album in 15 years What If… with the original lineup. Pat Torpey was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2014 while the band was recording The Stories We Could Tell. Defying Gravity from 2017 was the final album that Pat Torpey played on with the original lineup. Mr. Big has come back and said this will be the “Final” Tour for the group. The surviving members have gone into the studio and recorded one final album to be released. As of right now, they are all focussing on the tour. Billy Sheehan (bass), Eric Martin (vocals), Paul Gilbert (guitars) and Nick D’ Virgilio (drums) brought the show to the Rome Capitol Theatre.
Mr. Big took the stage at 9:00 pm the crowd was at a steady 600 strong. Once Mr. Big hit the stage the crowd was on their feet clapping and cheering. Mr. Big opened the show with a track from their first self-titled debut album Mr. Big (1989). The band played the Lean Into It album in its entirety to celebrate its 33rd anniversary. The band played track by track just like listening to the album. Eric Martin had been suffering from the flu prior to this show and the band was forced to cancel a couple of shows. Eric brought his stellar vocals to the stage this night. The band took turns showing off their exceptional skills, you had Paul Gilbert give a strong and stellar guitar solo where he showed off his skills, and then you had Billy Sheehan give a powerful bass solo. Billy Sheehan also showed off his vocal talents and sang a song while Eric Martin took over bass duties.
Mr. Big closed out the night with the who cover “Baba O’Riley”. Mr. Big had the crowd on their feet clapping and singing all night long. Throughout the show, there was a sea of people holding up cell phones to capture parts of the night to remember.
Mr. Big Setlist
Addicted to That Rush
Take Cover
Price You Gotta Pay
Lean Into It
Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song)
Alive and Kickin’
Green-Tinted Sixties Mind
CDFF-Lucky This Time (Jeff Paris cover)
Voodoo Kiss
Never Say Never
Just Take My Heart
My Kinda Woman
A Little Too Loose
Road to Ruin
To Be With You
Wild World (Cat Stevens cover)
Guitar Solo
Colorado Bulldog
Bass Solo
Shy Boy (Talas cover)
30 Days in the Hole (Humble Pie cover)
Good Lovin’ (The Olympics cover) (Instrument switch: Eric/Bass, Billy vocals)
Baba O’Riley (The Who cover)
