Gig review: MR. BIG- Shepherds Bush Empire, London, 23 March 2024

March 31st, 2024 by andynathan

Mr.Big’s last UK tour was here six years ago and when original drummer Pat Torpey passed away months later, the band were effectively put on ice. However the surviving three members have decided to go out one more time, with Spock’s Beard’s Nick D’virgilio on drums continuing the highest standards of musicianship we associate with the band.

The set was an exercise in pure nostalgia rather than an attempt to prove continuing relevance with not a single song from the three post reunion albums in the 2000s and featuring ‘ Lean Into It’ ’in full. After a rather spotty debut, considering the pedigree of the musicians involved, this sophomore album from 1991 is that rarity, an album without filler and their most consistent and accomplished as well as easily their biggest selling, though one particular and atypical song had much to do with that…

For a band with a modest profile over here their shows always seem to sell better than I expect , probably owing to the followings virtuoso instrumentalists Billy Sheehan and Paul Gilbert have in their own right, and the 2000-capacity Shepherds Bush Empire sold out some weeks before.

A familiar figure on the UK gig scene for many years, Wisconsin native Jared James Nichols, opened up. Sporting a slightly shorter hairstyle these days, and leading a very tight power trio, his stock in trade is still supercharged blues rock in the mould of Pat Travers and Johnny Winter, but he has diversified a little since I last saw him pre-pandemic.

Opener ‘Easy Come Easy Go’ had a lively commercial edge and among reliable rockers like ‘Down the Drain’ and ‘Skin and Bone’, ‘Threw Me to the Wolves’ had a looser, funkier feel meaning that a brief extract of the Stones ‘Miss You’ was fully in keeping.

Time constraints meant a shorter set than many of his on the tour ended with his trademark and authentic cover of ‘Mississippi Queen’. With his infectious enthusiasm and hundred per cent effort he is always an easy act to warm to.

As for Mr. Big, the UK tour had not begun smoothly with some form of ‘lurgy’ failing Eric Martin’s voice, to the extent that there were reports of disillusioned fans leaving the shows early. However rather than ignore the elephant in the room, or pull the tour, with commendable honesty he chose a third way, drafting in Michele Luppi as an additional singer.

As well as singing with a Mr Big tribute act the Italian’s spell in Whitesnake gave him the perfect experience to provide back up. The two did not duet as such but his supporting vocals reinforced Eric’s and kept the sound authentic at times when he skipped lines or was sounding rough. Though he was in the shadows next to the drum kit, and not introduced (rather gracelessly I thought) the arrangement worked a treat and ensured any vocal shortcomings did not prove a distracting talking point. The singer, whose hair has grown out somewhat, was his usual genial self though I struggled to interpret some of his quirky and rapid fire between song banter.

‘Addicted To That Rush’ was moved from a more traditional end of set position to open and from my balcony vantage point there was an encouraging number of fists punching the air. ‘’Take Cover’ was dedicated to Pat Torpey while ‘Price You Gotta Pay’ showed their bluesier side with Paul on slide and Billy harmonica.

The ‘Lean Into It’ section was delivered not only to the album running order but in a manner pretty faithful to the originals with no embellishments. That meant three in a row of crowd favourites that feature on every Mr Big set in ‘Daddy, Brother, Lover,Little Boy’, complete with a blink and you miss it electric drill playing from the pair, ‘Alive and Kicking’ and ‘Green Tinted Sixties Mind’. The latter was a particularly good illustration of the effortless arpeggios and melodic solos of Paul Gilbert, even if his new image of thick glasses and sharp skinny suit had me reaching for Elvis Costello comparisons.

Their precise vocal harmonies were to the fore on ‘Lucky This Time’, before the looser, yet still concise, jam feel of ‘Voodoo Koss’. The full album treatment though is a chance to revisit overlooked gems and that was certainly the case for me with ‘Never Say Never’, even before Eric conducted a swaying of hands to the closing ‘na-na-na’s, and ‘My Kinda Woman’ had apparently not even been played live before this tour. In between I wondered whether Eric might leave the smooth ‘Just Take My Heart’ (imho the greatly superior if lesser selling of the two ballads on the album) to Michele, but he battled through.

‘A Little Too Loose’ introduced some swampy blues to the mix, notably in Billy’s vocal intro and ‘Road To Ruin’ sparkled, before band intros led into the inevitable ‘To Be With You’, the crowd relieving Eric of most of the heavy lifting.

In fact the singalongs continued with he and Paul donning acoustic guitars for ‘Wild World’, and only then were the indulgent though entirely forgivable solo slots, Paul on guitar then ‘Colorado Bulldog’, a vehicle for he and Billy to play as fast as possible. The latter’s bass solo led into him singing what surely is his signature song in ‘Shy Boy’.

After mentioning how the band originally formed around a shard love of bands like Free and Humble Pie, ‘30 Days In The Hole’ was (to pardon the pun) smoking. Albeit to a simpler musical backdrop of a sixties garage rock cover ‘Good Lovin’ they then showed off those musical talents with an instrument swap, Paul looking very comfortable indeed at the drum kit, Nick on guitar, Eric on bass and Billy singing.

You could argue that the presence of so many covers exposes the thinness of their own back catalogue, but the way Paul in particular captured so effectively the spirit and nuances of ‘Baba O’Riley’ without the synthesisers and violin!) so prominent in the original is testament to their musical talents.

It has not been a smooth ride, but this show proved the merits of getting the band together one last time, and with further summer dates including Maid Of Stone festival it’s still not too late to see for yourself their legacy of stellar musicianship wrapped in accessible melodic rock packaging.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

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Power Plays w/c 28 October 2024

THE RASMUS Rest In Pieces (Better Noise Music)
THE PLAGUE What Else Can I Do (FiXT)
STAR CIRCUS Turn The Tide (indie)
DEFENCES Breathe It In (Long Branch Records)

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09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)