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A Bigger Bang Tour 2006

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Topic: (NSC) Cheap Trick at the Wiltern 11/2/06 Return to archive
4th November 2006 04:43 PM
Dan More reviews to follow, maybe, if I have any brain capacity left since I am on a hardcore concert run unlike anything I have done in a few years.
------------------------------------------------------

Went to go see Cheap Trick for at least the 50th time at the Wiltern Theatre. Saw a fire sale through Goldstar Events selling tickets for $15. Didn't jump on it because
I figured it would mean $10 outside. I know it's a tacky
way to do concerts, but getting in on my own terms is half the fun.

There were scalpers there buying up some extras and also
likely holding broker overstock. No one wanted to take my
offer and the scalpers were openly laughing at me and
paying $15 for any extra floors that came their way. Didn't bother me, because I usually have the last laugh, especially when they finally say "okay, gimme $10."
However, tonight someone came out of nowhere and said
"Just one? I am on the guest list, follow me!"

I insisted on buying him a drink at least. Actually ran
into him again at another show the next night and got his
contact info so I can hit him back with a show sometime
since it seems like we end up at the same place a lot.

Seen Cheap Trick so many times that I stopped going for
awhile due to the law of diminishing returns and rarely
taking me the heights of the brilliant 1996-1998 shows
which I still remember as the some of the greatest rock
shows in history as opposed to just merely great shows
now. I liken the experience to watching Taxi re-runs, one of the best shows to watch but don't necessarily watch it every night anymore. At least they have a new album out so I am guaranteed a few setlist changes.

Unfortunately they used the reserved seating configuration
with GA pit only and I was stuck under the overhang which
tends to cut off the high end sending it upward. Luckily I
was able to find an empty seat in the balcony where the
sound was a bit better.

They started as usual with "Hello There," and was once
again reminded of yet another (thing) that puts them above
many contemporaries on tour - sparing nothing in the
volume department. Even on the balcony, it was LOUD! Tom's
bass was a little to uncomfortable on the ears so I had to
move to the far left on Rick's side to even out the sound
a bit.

It was the standard setlist they have been playing the last few years with a few new songs. The highlight of the set was "Best Friend," with Wayne Kramer of the MC5 guesting on guitar. As usual, this song alone would be worth the price of admission and the extra guitar cranked it up a notch.

Other than that it was a typical Cheap Trick show. Robin Zander sounded absolutely perfect as always. Rick played the 5 neck during "Surrender." I think it was the first time I have been on a balcony during "Dream Police." Funny watching the whole pit hit the floor when the handfuls of pics went flying out. The show ended with a skull crushing rendition of "Auf Wiedersehen"

Good show, great seeing everybody and maybe I will see Cheap Trick again soon.

setlist

01. Hello There
02. Big Eyes
03. Oh Candy
04. Welcome To The World
05. If You Want My Love
06. Come On Come On Come On
07. Best Friend (with Wayne Kramer)
08. I Want You To Want Me
10. I Know What I Want
11. Voices
12. If It Takes A Lifetime
13. The Flame
14. That 70s Song
15. Surrender
------
16. Dream Police
17. Auf Wiedersehen
18. Goodnight
4th November 2006 07:25 PM
JuanTCB Awesome.

Nice set list but a little shorter than what they were doing 7 or 8 years ago. Would have loved to have seen "Downed", "Southern Girls", or "He's A Whore" in there, but I can't complain as I wasn't at the show and probably won't be again as they seem to be allergic to post-9/11 NYC. It's ok, guys - you can come back. It's safe.

I'm glad to hear I discovered them during the '96-'98 hot streak - saw 'em about 8 or 9 times in that era and each show was in the stratosphere (from opening for Stone Temple Pilots in a college basketball gym to the three album shows at Irving Plaza to sneaking in to the Music For Hangovers record release party/gig at CBGBs).

The fact that those midwestern bastards aren't in the Hall Of Fame yet really chaps my ass.
4th November 2006 07:38 PM
Homercles Totally cool, great setlist - I really love this band, I think they are totally underrated. I saw them here in Perth Australia around about 1991/92 - they were the support act for aussie legends The Angels who I think go by the name Angel City in the US. It was an awesome show & for the Angels encore both bands jammed on AC/DC's Highway to Hell.
4th November 2006 07:46 PM
Dan They are playing the Beacon Theatre with Soul Asylum on Nov 16. Wish they would have opened the Wiltern too. I also heard they were doing an Australian/New Zealand tour in December but there are no dates on the official site.
4th November 2006 08:16 PM
WattsAtScotts Awesome setlist, I've have seen Cheap Trick over 20times and I never tire of seeing and hearing them
[Edited by WattsAtScotts]
6th November 2006 02:29 PM
Dan here is a review I found on another board, not sure what publication but Paul Gargano was the Metal Edge editor I believe.


November 03, 2006 03:43 PM
by Paul Gargano


There's nothing sadder than watching an aging band of veteran rockers ache and pain their way through a set that tries to relive the glory days of their storied past.
Fortunately, that wasn't the case with Cheap Trick's performance Thursday night (11/2) in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, it was symptomatic of the predominantly middle-aged crowd that filled little more than half of the Wiltern Theater.

Make no mistake, Cheap Trick could play in front of a crowd of corpses, if need be (and probably have, in their 30 years as a band). While the crowd this night may have resembled that description at times, they did have a pulse, as evidenced when they stood up midway through the band's 17-song, 75-minute set, seemingly in approval of the first "hit" of the night, "I Want You to Want Me." It must have been a long day at work, though, because they were sitting again before Tom Petersson could dust off his bass intro to "I Know What I Want," from the 1979 classic "Dream Police."

Sure, there was polite applause for "If You Want My Love," but considering the not-so-polite heckling that was scattered amidst "The Flame" ("Never play that song again!" muttered one guy) and the lackluster response to the feel-good television hit "That '70s Song" (yes, the theme song from "That '70s Show"), you'd have hoped that the crowd were such die-hards that they'd have been ecstatic to hear the band lay into the hook-laden pop of the bittersweet "Oh, Candy," from their '77 debut. But that didn't seem the case.

The opening/closing tandem of "Hello There"/"Goodnight" and the rumbling, low-end grind of "Big Eyes" were also musical highlights of the band's early years, yet with the exception of the obvious standards "Dream Police" and "Surrender," there was seldom more than an isolated display of dancing and base-level applause. It was as if the audience paid to hear Cheap Trick, and were ambivalent to the fact that the band were performing before them. It was as if every stereotype about lackluster Los Angeles crowds had come to fruition, even if not for the band's lack of trying.

Robin Zander has defied time, looking every bit the rock star frontman he's epitomized since the early '80s, and his vocals were crisp, his lyrics precise, and the band's power-pop melodies as effervescent as ever. As always, though, it was Rick Nielsen who stole the onstage spotlight, his pre-song banter delivered with a comic's timing, and his adept playing unfurled with an unassuming style and quiet genius. One of the night's highlights? Watching the master axe-man secure his 75-pound, five-necked custom guitar with one hand, and fumble with his earpiece while shooting guitar picks into the crowd with the other at the outset of "Surrender."

While they didn't go out of their way to hawk new release "Rockford," the album was well-represented throughout the night, with "Welcome to the World," "Come on Come on Come on" and "If it Takes a Lifetime" anchoring the set, just as drummer Bun E. Carlos anchored the band's near-flawless execution. When the band was joined by MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer on "Best Friend," it was one of the night's energetic highs.

If only someone could have removed the anchors from the seats and hoisted the apathetic crowd onto their feet, maybe that energy might have been contagious.

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