And so, after some thirty-six years (hiatus notwithstanding), Mr Big are calling it a day. However, as might be expected from a band who do nothing in half measures, they’re ending on a substantial farewell tour, airing a setlist packed with hits as a thank you to the faithful who have been with them since the beginning.
Tonight’s show, the first of four dates in the UK, lands at Nottingham’s Rock City and, as we arrive, the queue snakes around the block. Fortunately, the venue work quickly to get us all inside because, before we get to the main event, we have the wonderful Jared James Nichols.
Over the last few years, the effusive guitarist has taken to playing bigger and better stages, and it’s a delight to see, because he more than deserves it. A hard working, hard rocking musician, he has the charisma of a young Bon Scott, and you can tell that he lives to tear up the stage.
Tonight, he’s entertaining a partisan crowd, and so it’s no small testament to Jared’s appeal that the place has filled up early, the audience eager to catch his set – whooping and cheering the moment he sets foot on stage.
Opting for a blistering set that rarely takes its foot off the gas, Jared hits hard and often, delivering a lean, mean run of cracking tracks that really warm up the crowd. Easy Come Easy Go is a huge, ballsy rocker with a healthy dose of Bon Scott-era AC/DC embedded in its DNA and a Hendrix touch on the solos. In contrast, Down The Drain maintains the weight but, with its descending riff and mid-tempo pace, showcases the Alice in Chains’ influence that Jared recently made explicit with his cover of Man In The Box.
The alt rock influence remains on Hard Wired, which sounds like Soundgarden covering Deep Purple, Jared standing on the barrier, soloing directly to the delighted crowd. Next up, Jared kicks out a rather more blues-oriented jam with Threw Me To The Wolves. A varied track that allows for a funky jam, a thunderous drum solo, and even elements of the Rolling Stones’ Miss You (delivered as a grin-inducing solo), it epitomises Jared’s ability to have the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand.
From there, Jared’s on the home straight and, having promised to give everyone at the bar a big sweaty hug, he tears through Skin ‘N’ Bone, Good Time Girl (the latter eliciting a massive cheer from the crowd), and Honey Forgive Me, before exiting the stage like the rock ‘n’ roll conqueror that he is. It’s surely time for Jared to be headlining stages like this in his own right, but tonight there’s absolutely no doubt that he delivered the goods.
The crowd has grown by the time the Ramones’ evergreen Blitzkrieg Bop rattles out of the speakers, announcing the arrival of Mr Big. They make quite the entrance, with Paul Gilbert and Billy Sheehan attacking their instruments with vigour backed by the pounding drums of Nick D’Virgilio (brought in to fill the drum stool following the tragic passing of Pat Torpey). Yet, despite the energy, something’s not quite right and it’s clear that Eric Martin is struggling with his voice. Often, and especially during opening number Addicted To That Rush, it sounds obscured in the mix, and it’s completely overpowered when Paul and Billy join the fray. Although things do improve on Take Cover, Eric still seems to be pushing, although the crowd are more than happy to jump in, driving the chorus and paving the way for some great bluesy guitar licks.
By the time we get to the massive drums of Price You Gotta Pay, the band have settled into a solid groove and Eric has clearly warmed up (although issues remain), but he delivers the track with gusto, and his performance throughout blazes with energy. Meanwhile it’s fun to see him quite literally lending Billy a hand as the latter trades his bass for the harmonica. It’s moments like this that make Mr Big so much fun to watch, and it’s clear that the absolutely packed and sweltering Rock City crowd is along for the ride.
This being the final tour, the set list is a lengthy one, packed with hits and the band’s immensely popular 1991 album, Lean Into It, played in full. In consequence, the band have to maintain a breathless pace to fit it all in. Paul has plenty of opportunities to showcase his astonishing guitar skills, blasting out Happy Birthday (in honour of Billy), before launching into the Lean portion of the set with the blazing hard rock of Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy, which sees him abusing his fretboard with an electric drill. It’s utterly ludicrous, of course, but it’s all part of the showmanship that went hand-in-hand with the arena stylings of the L.A. scene circa 1988, and the band appear to have lost none of their energy in the intervening years.
Elsewhere, the opening solo for Green-Tinted Sixties Mind elicits a huge cheer from the crowd, as does a touching moment where a birthday cake, complete with candles, is brought out for a grinning Billy. It’s not often you hear Rock City echoing to the strains of a packed-out crowd singing Happy Birthday, and it adds to the sense of occasion. The audience isn’t done singing, either, as the band don acoustics for the ubiquitous To Be With You. Honestly, it’s always felt like something of a relic of its era to me, but the audience are in raptures, and their response galvanises the band for the final stretch.
The remainder of the set sees Mr Big offer up a generous assortment of covers, peppered with solo spots. The covers, which see the band pay tribute to their influences are most welcome, although the solo spots hark back to the arena days where this sort of thing was rather unavoidable and, while there’s absolutely no doubting the talent on display, after so long a show you kind of want them to stick to the point. Nevertheless, it’s a strong finale and, while it’s surprising that their cover of Free’s Mr Big fails to make an appearance, with tracks ranging ranging from their well-worn take on 30 Days In The Hole (Humble Pie), to a raucous rendition of The Who’s Baba O’Riley, the band bid farewell in style, and it makes for a suitably emotional event for long-time fans.
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