‘THE BIG FINISH TOUR’
American rock sensations, Mr Big, are bringing down the curtain on their amazing rock journey with the aptly named ‘The Big Finish’ and tonight is they brought it to Glasgow and the famous Barrowlands Ballroom.
It’s been a while since they graced the city with their cultured, mainstream rock and, with more than a few big hits under their belt, ticket sales were good. Not sold out but not too far off… this promises to be a good night, especially when you factor in the guest band… Living Colour.
An earlier than usual start meant Living Colour were on stage at about 7:30 and a good number of the fans were already in the venue and in high spirits as dreadlocked Corey Glover immediately took command of the venue.
His striking appearance needs to be seen; fascinating, striking and the dreads take on a life of their own as he moves around the stage.
The multi-platinum and grammy winners played as though it was the last ever time whilst blasting out tune after tune to much crowd acclaim and even treated the now swelling audience to a rendition of the Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five classic ‘The Message”… mixed with a bit of ‘White Lines’
This was the cue for many middle-aged rockers in the crowd attempting to dance a la Los Angeles rapper… they danced like no one was watching!
The NY rockers (with a touch of funk) closed out the set with their biggest hit ‘Cult of Personality’
The usual hard work by the stage crew during the change over is always good to watch; it might be a short shift but boy do they work!
It was now time for the headliners… Mr Big
Hailing from the United States, Mr Big have a classic rock sound which tilts towards the commercial pop side of rock.
As the lads take to the stage the first thing that is evident is the absence of drummer Pat Topey. Sadly, Pat lost his battle with Parkinsons Disease…
The enigmatic vocalist, Eric Martin, briefly mentioned their loss before introducing the new drummer, Nick D’Virgilio.
Kicking off with ‘Addicted to That Rush’ the rockers were straight into their stride; just like riding a bike… you never forget how to do it!
They run through the set at 100 miles an hour with all the good stuff associated with their style of rock. Eric would occasionally stop to garner endorsement from the crowd… even with a band as big and commercially successful as Mr Big needs a comfort blanket sometimes. If you’re good then a Glasgow crowd will metaphorically shout the roof down in praise… by the end of the night Barrowlands Ballroom was without a roof…metaphorically obviously!
As well as all the songs you’d expect to hear from them Mr Big threw in a few cover versions from other musical legends including The Who and Cat Stevens. Edging towards the end of the set the Barrowlands was treated to solos by Paul Gilbert on guitar and Billy Sheehan on Bass; these guys are serious musicians!
Eric Martin has well documented issues with his voice and, unfortunately, it was very evident on the night as he struggled at times. It’s to his credit that he soldiered on despite the obvious dangers to himself and the tour in general.
All in all this was a decent night out for those in attendance and a very fitting send off for Mr Big as they see out their massive musical odyssey. Bon Voyage lads and as Glasgow raised a glass in their honour the Mr Big juggernaut set off onto the next port of call.
Review & Photographs by John Brown Photography
