Artist : Mr. Big
Venue : Le Bataclan
Date : 16-09-2009
Audience : around 1,100 people.
Remember: Mr. Big’s first show in France was in 1991, at the Palais des Sports, in Paris, and featured While Lion as their opening band. The concert had made a pretty strong impression back then already – and remembering is doesn’t make us feel any younger. Mr. Big come on stage at around 8.15 pm and their show starts with the excellent “Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little”, which sets the tone for a very relaxed evening. From the outset, the quality of the musicians’ performance is striking. Mr. Big’s musicians being who they are, skill and cleanliness of performance are obviously tonight’s catchwords.
Mr. Big in France!
The songs follo one another very quickly, and the audience reacts properly, offering the band loud applause but without exactly setting the venue on fire. True, the atmosphere used to be something else, but the fans are still extremely happy to see the fantastic four again. Not a single hit, not a single era of their long career will be forgotten tonight. The band have been around since 1988 but have not released a studio album since Actual Siez in 2001. The sound is faultless and allows the audience to hear every instrument individually. But above all, there are no less than four singers tonight! The fact that every musician takes part in the vocals adds a very pleasant dimension to the performance, especially on the more radio-oriented songs.
A great atmosphere!
There will be a good many guitar and bass solos during this show. A big part of the people present tonight seem to have a musical background, so these are not too shocked. For the lay persons, however, it may appear slightly redundant. Despite all these years, the band are obviously extremely happy to be back on stage, even if the said stage is smaller than, say, those they’re used to in Japan. Don’t forget that their reunion took place at Tokyo’s Budokan, in front of no less than 10,000 people! But yes, they are indeed extremely successful over there.
A bassist run wild!
Time goes by, and we already reach the end of the setlist. Mr. Big consequently offer us their seminal song, “Addicted To That Rush”, during which Paul Gilbert delivers his traditional last solo as an introduction. This cult song from their eponymous first album is not exactly new, but it remains highly effiient on stage and truly embodies the “spirit” of Mr. Big. The crowd sing along to the ballads “Wild World” and “To Be With You”, which take a nice dimension thanks to the aforementioned mix of voices.
Eric Martin
We even get to hear a second encore, with the super cult “Shy Boy” and “Blame It On My Youth”, from the first album. The atmosphere gets a bit wilder on these two songs, and we can’t help thinking that we don’t want to see Mr. Big leave! In any case, Eric Martin’s performance was truly amazing, thanks to his unique voice and his natural kindness. In short, a very nice evening, during which Mr. Big managed to make us forget a 15-year-long absence thanks to faultless compositions and musicians who, despite all these years, still find pleasure in playing together.
When is the next album due, gentlemen?!
See you real soon!
Intro
Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy
Take Cover
Green-Tinted Sixties Mind
Alive And Kicking
Next Time Around
Hold Your Head Up
Just Take my Heart
Temperamental
It’s For You
Drum Solo
Price You Gotta Pay
Wild World
Talk A Walk
Bass/Guitar Solo
Capo
The Whole Worlds Gonna Know
Rock N Roll Over
Guitar Solo
Addicted To That Rush
Encore :
To Be With You
Colorado Bulldog
Second Encore:
Shy Boy
Blame It On My Youth
This post is also available in: French
One Comment: