Hey everyone. Didn't come up with any specific threads on Extreme (the band), so I thought I'd start one.
My wife and I went to back-to-back shows this weekend. Extreme headlining with Living Colour as the opener. We were blown away. Just an amazing 48 hours of great music, travel, some surprises, and a huge appreciation for the talent in both bands.
Before I give a big review, my wife and I are hardcore fans of both bands. Our daughter is also a big fan of Living Colour. So this was a dream bill for us. While I saw Extreme last fall opening for Cheap Trick (my wife couldn't make it), we hadn't seen Extreme headline a show since August 2008...when my wife was pregnant with our daughter! LOL! Funny story...but King's X opened for Extreme, and after that show, we met the band, and Doug Pinnick asked to rub my wife's belly! Still have pics of that, and our daughter just laughs. Anyway...
On Friday, August 25, we went up to the Silver Legacy Resort Casino in Reno, Nevada. We had purchased the soundcheck experience tickets. I didn't find out until probably a month ago that they were VIP. Not just soundcheck, but picture with the band from the stage, early merch, early entry, a signed poster, etc. So my wife and I (daughter had school) hiked it up the hill early, and got to the venue about 1:30. Figured we get lunch, relax, and be at the soundcheck at 3:30 p.m., as instructed.
I'm not a casino guy, but I've been to Reno many times for other things, so I know the good places to eat at the Silver Legacy. We stroll in, head toward the spot we usually go to, and we literally walk into (almost literally), Gary Cherone and Pat Badger, in workout clothes, trying to figure out where to eat. I say hello (we were dressed for the show with concert t-shirts). They say hello, and Gary says "nice shirt" to me (I was wearing a Queen shirt). I ask them if they are looking for a good place to eat. They say "yes," and I said to follow me. Showed them where we were headed, they looked at the menu, we said our goodbyes, and they sat down, and we sat down in another area of the place. I asked our server to put their order on our tab. Just wanted to do something nice for a band my wife and I both respect and have gotten so much enjoyment out of.
About 35-40 minutes go by, and over walks Gary and Pat. They explain their meal is comped, so they didn't want us to waste our money by paying for it. But they really appreciated the gesture. They take a picture with us, and put us on the aftershow list. We thank them, and say "we were trying to do something nice for you, and now you've done something nice for us!" We all have a laugh, and off they go. Anyway, 3:30 rolls around, we get into soundcheck (it was more like 4:30 before it started). We get there, walk up to the stage, and Pat and Gary immediately recognize us, and Pat goes "hey, there's our lunch friends!" There were about 20 people, total. Extreme runs through "Warheads," and "Li'l Jack Horny," which were not on the setlist all tour (and weren't these two nights), so that was a treat. After "Warheads," i say to Nuno that I've been waiting 30 years to hear that song. He gives me a hard time, sarcastically saying "where the hell have you been for 30 years?!"
That's the thing about Nuno. He's a rock star, he knows it, but he's also a goofball and very sarcastic. I heard some stories about things he says to people at soundcheck, and people were negative. I get it -- had my wife not whispered that he's being sarcastic (I'm a little slow on recognizing it), I might have been like "WTF, man?" But once she said it, I picked up on all his sarcastic little remarks. They really were meant to lighten things up and get people to laugh.
Anyway, after they finish the second song, and people ask some questions, a dad and his 12 year old (the kid's name was Liam) ask if Liam can jam "Cupid's Dead" with them. Nuno thought the kid said he was a guitarist, and said "sure! I can get a break, I never get a break!" They invite the kid on stage, and all of us applaud. Turns out the kid is a drummer. So the kid settles in behind K-Fig's kit, counts it in, and holy shit, off they go. The kid SLAYED. His dad's grin was as wide as could be. The whole band were shocked. Liam got a little lost in the breakdown, but he pushed the tempo of the song, and the band all laughed because it kept them going. After it was over, Nuno told K-Fig he was out of a job, and the kid Liam was exhausted, wide-eyed, and couldn't believe what happened. There was a no recording or photos policy at soundcheck (which I respect), but they allowed the dad to record that. It was amazing. Absolutely made everyone's day. I asked the father and the kid later how long he had been a drummer, and Liam replied he's played for two years. So cool.
After soundcheck, we were able to buy merch. Bought merch, and while waiting, Corey Glover of Living Colour pops his head out the door. No one but us knew who he was. When we said hello to him, he was like "don't mind me, just buy merch!" and laughed, and we told him have a great show. Corey is one of our favorite singers, and very engaging and funny. We've met him a few times, and he's always great. Once we bought stuff, we dropped all of it in the car. We had about an hour and a half to kill, so we walked around, got a snack, and then got the aftershow passes left for us at will call. Headed down to the venue. Got in, got to our seats. Third row aisle, directly in front of Nuno. Our spare set of tickets was aisle on the section to our left, sixth row, so basically between Gary and Pat. Sucked we couldn't get rid of them. But...
I noticed Liam and his father (who told us they had front row seats) in the front row...but way, way off to the side, so they couldn't see Nuno or most of the stage. I mean, front row, but horrible tickets. No view whatsoever really. Since we had the spare set of seats, I went over there and made the kid's day. I transferred the tickets we had that were sixth row center on the aisle to his dad, so both of them could see. During the show I look over, made eye contact with the dad and LIam, and both gave me the thumbs up. That kid will NEVER forget that day. I am so glad that while I couldn't sell them, I was able to help make the day even better for a dad and his son sharing music like that.
Living Colour got on at 8 sharp. Great 45-minute set, based primarily on
Vivid and
Stain. They are just so tight. Professional. Engaging. Funny. Played that casino ballroom like it was an arena. Corey Glover went out into the crowd for a song, walking all over the venue. It was amazing. They had to cut "Type" (unfortunately), because they knew they were running long and had to get "Cult of Personality" in, so they did and still went three minutes over (there was a clock). Great performance though. All of them are virtuosos. Something Nuno would acknowledge at both shows, saying something about it. Corey remarked from the stage how great it is to have the two bands together. He called Living Colour the "Black version of Extreme," and Extreme the "White version of Living Colour." And it's true, many similar elements. Great pairing. Highlights of the set were a couple of
Stain tunes for me. I managed to get Doug Wimbish's setlist at the end of the set. Turns out, they planned to play "Nothingness," from
Stain, but taped over it and wrote "Love Rears" (for "Love Rears Its Ugly Head") instead. So that was a bummer for me. Still great, but the more
Stain I can get, the better.
Extreme gets on about...I want to say they were on at 9:20. Wow. Just wow. The energy is amazing. For those that don't know, Gary Cherone is 62 years old. SIXTY-TWO. He'd give Bruce Dickinson a run for his money about how active and engaging he is on stage. What a showman, what a voice. They played something from every album. The newest album,
SIX, I was lukewarm on going in. I liked it, but the songs really popped better for me in a live setting. Thoroughly enjoyed the new tracks, and they did probably four or five. Of the old material, my favorite record from them is
III Sides to Every Story, and they did a bunch. "Rest in Peace," "Cupid's Dead," "Tragic Comic," and my favorite song from them, "Am I Ever Gonna Change." The opener was awesome, "It's a Monster" from
Pornografitti. My wife and I had such a great time. And I have to say...the harmonies. Extreme have the best harmonies in rock today. And that's saying something with King's X still active. Gary, Nuno, and Pat just have a beautiful three-part harmony that just lifts you up when you hear it.
Nuno was Nuno. The rock star, amazing performer that he is. My wife and I sat back after both shows and talked about how special it was to see guys like Vernon Reid and Nuno Bettencourt play. In fact, at both shows, Nuno sung the praises of Vernon Reid, as many people don't realize until they see him just how incredible he is. Anyway, Nuno paid a special tribute to EVH between songs, noodling on some Eddie riffs.
Extreme played for two hours and two minutes. A full, old-school, proper headline set. It was outstanding. Absolutely outstanding.
After the show, we were asked to wait by merch. After about a half-hour, out strolls Gary and Pat. We talk for about 15 minutes (there were just a couple more people there) about a variety of things. Told Gary how much we loved the Tribe of Judah record he did, and how he was one of my first interviews back in late-2002 about that record. I told him I still had the article, and he asked to see it. I told him I'd get it to him in San Francisco the next night. Took another picture with him and Pat (Pat is awesome by the way). And then spoke to their tour manager (and merch guy) Austin, about connecting the next night. He is actually from the town right over from where we live, and we talked food and stuff. He hadn't been home in over two years. So he asked about a local bakery, and if we could acquire one of their specialties for him. We said yes and would see him the next night. Made the two hour drive home, and was in bed at 3 a.m.
On Saturday, we got to San Francisco (this time with our daughter) early. We had some baked goods in-hand we needed to drop off. Both my wife and I brought our soundcheck-VIP laminates from the night before. We didn't purchase soundcheck for SF, but I was thinking, while we probably wouldn't get in to see soundcheck, we could probably get in early if we had them. The Regency Ballroom in SF has an early entry pass for $20. So we bought one of those for my wife, who handed her laminate to our daughter, and hatched a plan to get in the VIP line and get in early. We had balcony tickets, and if you want front row on Nuno's side, you have to be early. So that was the plan.
Anyway, we get there early, spot Austin, who was absolutely overwhelmed we remembered and gave him a big bag full of hometown treats. He took my Tribe of Judah article as well, and said he'd hand it to Gary (more on that later). We then went to have dinner at a pizza joint around the corner. Came back, got in line, and our trick worked. In walked myself and my daughter with the VIPs, nobody the wiser. And my wife followed 10 minutes later before general admission. We got perfect seats front row, close to the stage but away enough so that we'll hear properly. You could see us clearly from the stage.
Went down to merch briefly, Austin promised us a signed SIX LP, but had to get the guys to sign it, and to come back after the show. We said we would, and then went back to our seats for Living Colour. Another great set by LC. They played a similar set, but swapped in "Open Letter (To a Landlord)" instead of "Love Rears Its Ugly Head" this time. Now, unlike the Silver Legacy in Reno, which was fully seated, The Regency Ballroom was standing room on the floor. Only seats are in the balcony. And the place was PACKED. The floor…everyone squished. You couldn’t move. (I was very thankful for the seats in the balcony.) But Corey being Corey, he walked up the stairs mid-song, and then did a loop around the balcony, engaging fans, singing, it was amazing. Later on, he dropped into the photo pit, and wanted to get in the crowd, but thought better of it. Let’s just say the 55+ year old Corey had a harder time with all the running around than the Body Glove-wearing 20-something Corey in the late-80s. LOL.
Extreme came on, did the same set, except that they added #Rebel to the set as well. Both bands were tired. Extreme was doing their third show in three nights at this point. Living Colour I think was on show six in six nights (they played a headline show on the last day off). Vocally, both Corey and Gary were tired. You could tell Corey was a little more gravelly with his voice than normal, and Gary was cautious on some of the high notes.
But it didn’t matter. Honestly, crazy energy off the stage, another full two-hour set, and TBH, Gary got better as the set went on, and then he was gold the last half. I really loved this medley of “Small Town Beautiful” and “Song for Love” that they did in the encore. All the new songs were done really well. I can’t say enough good things about both bands, and about this tour. If you had the means and were able to go, and chose not to, you missed out big time. Those of you in Portland and Seattle, I encourage you to go. It’s worth every single penny.
Now, during the show, in Extreme’s set, the band obviously points to the crowd. During one of the songs, it was VERY, VERY obvious that Gary Cherone spotted the three of us. During one line, he pointed at me, but not just a point. He pointed, stared, pointed again twice more, right at me and my wife and smiled. Tells me that Austin did in fact share my article with him. He acknowledged us another time or two as well. Made my night. And in pure Extreme fashion, once done, their song “Here’s to the Losers” plays on the PA. Classic.
When the gig was done, we went down by merch to say goodbye to Austin. He was swamped. He saw us and said “You guys are leaving already?” I said we had to, and he said he wasn’t going to be able to get the LP signed by the band until later. But he asked me to put my contact info on the back of a poser and promised to get in touch and send it as the tour wines down this week.
I’m not banking on anything. If he follows through, cool. If not, the weekend was awesome just as it was. I feel really fortunate to have seen this tour on back-to-back nights, and have those experiences with Gary and Pat that we did. And I’ll always remember Liam in Reno, and hope to see that young man follow his dream and be on stage with his own band one day.
Here are non-arranged (haven’t had time to arrange them yet) playlists of videos I took over the course of both nights from both bands:
Extreme -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uazAfjCWZo&list=PLJI-MjWF9aD9asHvrObEB8b3jYSdlq1ZQLiving Colour -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNOLr3XTXqM&list=PLJI-MjWF9aD8Kr8G_Kg4rfaQfgeLPGFbQ
Topic: Extreme (the band) - Official Thread. V. SIX (Read 5203 times)
