It was a very impressive night of rock at the stately House of Blues in Anaheim, as Swedish guitar shredder Yngwie Malmsteen and his band headlined an impressive array of legends for an approving crowd. “Yngwie who?” you may ask, if you are unfamiliar with this very talented musician. One look at the back of so many black T-shirts that were scattered about the crowd answered that particular question in white block letters: “YNGWIE F*CKING MALMSTEEN, THAT’S WHO.”
The evening’s opening acts were tremendous. Chicago’s Steve Ramone Band, which included fellow Chicago native, and Enuff Z’ Nuff leader Chip Z’Nuff on bass guitar, rocked a quick set of electric blues, that included a terrific take on Kenny Wayne Sheppard’s “Somehow, Somewhere, Someway.”
Former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke and his terrific trio – EJ Curse on bass and drummer Jimmy D’Anda – cranked out a raucous combination of original and cover songs, such as Thin Lizzy’s “Cowboy Song” and the Rolling Stones’ “It’s Only Rock N Roll.”
Clarke is a solid guitarist and he and his band went over very well with the still-arriving crowd. The spirited D’Anda is always a treat to see, and he kept his drum tech busy by bashing the hell out of the house drum kit. The band finished off their set with Clarke’s personal tale of debauchery, “Tijuana Jail.” This is a great band to see in a bar, and it gave off that same feel in the cavernous confines of the Anaheim House of Blues as well.
As direct support for Yngwie Malmsteen on this tour was another rock legend. The moniker “The Voice of Rock” has long been bestowed on vocalist Glenn Hughes, and at 72 years of age, he sounds fantastic. A more powerful, seasoned voice, you will be hard pressed to find. At an age, where many in the business have long ago lost their capacity to create and recreate, Hughes has not. He sounds as good now as he did when I first heard him in the early 1970s.
Hughes and his solid band were saluting his work in Deep Purple exclusively, in particular the 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking “Burn,” in which he played bass and sang alongside David Coverdale. Naturally, Hughes supplied all the vocals this evening and did so, splendidly.
Opening with a rousing version Deep Purple’s “Stormbringer,” Hughes and company brought soul and feeling to every note. Clearly pleased to be back in his long-time home of Southern California (he expressed this a number of times during the set), he looked and sounded just like he did at the famous California Jam of 1974 – minus the shiny, satin suit!
A treat for me was the inclusion of “Might Just Take Your Life” and “Sail Away” from the afore-mentioned “Burn.” These two “deep cuts” from one of my favorite rock recordings are rarely heard live, and for Hughes to include these numbers and to perform them in the same key really made my night. The large crowd roared their approval, as the clearly touched Hughes smiled a huge grin at songs end and thanked them.
Sandwiched in-between powerful readings of Purple classics “Mistreated” and “You Keep on Moving” – which were superb in their showcasing of the soulful side of Hughes voice – was his tribute to his former band member and collaborator, the late, brilliant guitarist Tommy Bolin. The funky Bolin/Hughes single rocked the HOB crowd, as Hughes rocked his funky bass guitar beats and sang it pitch perfect.
After a nice take on the pre-Hughes version of Deep Purple’s classic “Highway Star” was performed, Hughes and company ripped the set closing title track to “Burn” and it did just that. The band was on fire. The crowd sang and stomped and raised their hands in the air. It was a truly a satisfying performance, and a great set-up to Malmsteen. A beaming Hughes thanked the crowd for coming and promised to return to the Southern California concert stage again.
Malmsteen, or “The Maestro” as he is known in some circles, put on a hearty 24-song set that featured a host of his material from the last 40 years of his career output. He has released over 22 studio albums, and took bits and pieces of most of them to showcase his skills. Opening with the title track of his first solo LP, 1984’s “Rising Force” it set the tone of things to come with its combination of sweeping arpeggios combined with crunchy, fat chords from his scallop-necked Fender guitar.
Sporting his trademark black, open shirt with gold chains and black leather pants and boots, Malmsteen looks exactly like he has for years. He uses a very flamboyant style that includes flipping his guitar, playing with his teeth, and stretching his legs, and sent plenty of the fans scrambling for the many guitar picks that he threw or kicked into the crowd throughout the set.
A very impressive stage set up of 50 Marshall amplifiers backed up his four-piece band, which included drummer Brian Wilson, bassist Emilio Martinez, and keyboardist and sometimes vocalist Nick Marino. It was, naturally, skull-crushing loud, and that suits Malmsteen and most of his guitar-loving crowd just fine.
Volume aside, it was all about seeing a talented guitarist at work. Malmsteen’s hands are his paintbrush, and he effortlessly flows from the classics to the contemporary. Case in point was the neo-classical composition “Into Valhalla/Baroque & Roll” combination which is a prime example of his appreciation of both classical and rock. His blazing speed up and down the fretboard, is breathtaking.
He did do some of his own interpretations of actual classics, such as Paganini’s “4th in D Minor” which brought the violin concerto into the electric guitar world. Malmsteen is totally focused while playing, a far cry from his younger years, when he always seemed distracted. A solid take on his “Far Beyond the Sun” segued into a lovely version of “The Star Spangled Banner” which I thought was quite clever.
Malmsteen seemed quite at ease and interacted a few times with the crowd. He also saluted a contemporary hero of his, former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore with a version of their classic “Smoke on the Water” in which Malmsteen also provided the vocals. More sweeps and blasts of his extraordinary fingers on the fretboard led to his set ending “You Don’t Remember, I’ll Never Forget” had the crowd chanting for more.
The band returned to the stage for an encore of Malmsteen performing an acoustic solo, which wowed the still cheering crowd, many of them standing still with mouths agape, watching this fret-master apply his numerous notes at lightning speed. Malmsteen and company sent the adoring crowd home with “Black Star,” which starts on acoustic guitar and turns electric, ending an impressive set.
As a resident rocker, and a guitar-oriented music fan, I have to say this evening was real treat. So much talent in one evening together, could have easily been sub-divided into four shows. My adrenaline is STILL going at top speed just writing about it.
