Concert Review Who: Cheap Trick Where: Private Party, Spokane, Washington. When; July 16 On an evening when a legendary band would seem to hog the headlines, I have to first mention the heat. Dealing with 101 degree weather is usually pretty easy for me, heck I grew up in the San Joaquin Valley in California, but when you combine it with an asphalt parking lot, and several hundred people, you have somewhat of a problem. With the only breeze coming from a KC-135 tanker flying low on final approach to Fairchild Air Force Base, we were all very happy to finally see the sun duck behind a much appreciated cloud in the far west skies. Just a few minutes after that, the band hit the stage, and we soon forgot about that sweltering feeling our feet were having standing on what still had to have been 130-140 degree asphalt. No picnic, weatherwise. Musicwise, a whole different story, even though the music was as hot as can be. I always enjoy seeing an accomplished band, weather a recent one, or a long standing, professional outfit like Cheap Trick, where years of touring and entertaining immediately become apparent. This is a well polished, hard working, well-oiled, Classic Rock Band, sporting exactly the kind of show I want to see, and one I knew I would see, because I manage to see them fairly often. They never fail to entertain. Unlike a lot of other older bands, Cheap Trick has maintained a mostly intact line-up in their decades of being together. The only noticeable variation has been the replacement of original drummer, Bun E. Carlos, with Daxx Neilson, the son of lead guitarist, Rick Neilson. Contract differences necessitated this change, at least thats the reason given. It seems, to this writer at least, that it was a seamless transition, given the fine job turned in by the young drummer. Thankfully, being a replacement drummer is a fairly easy job, unless of course the guy you are replacing isnt named John Bonham or Keith Moon. The rest of the line-up was all original, which I was pleased to see when they took the stage. All the hits were there, even the That 70s Show song, which brought an enthusiastic response from the crowd. Seeing bands like this is always enjoyable, because their vault is pretty full, and they are not shy about playing them well. The only noticeable technical difficulties were the problems Rick Neilson had with his monitors, and a few guitar levels that were not set correctly, especially Neilsons level, which on a lead guitar is very noticeable. I would like to once again thank my oldest son, Chris Riley, for coming through with which has become one of Spokanes most sought after tickets. This is a wonderful affair, with fine food catered by a Spokane institution (Longhorn Bar-B-Que). Hopefully, he can do it again next year (hint...lol). Enjoy the pics and video.
Posted on: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 18:46:19 +0000
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