Rock Guitars And Redemption: Extreme, Tesla & Motley Crue Bring Bangers To Bangor
It was all about the rock guitars and redemption Saturday night at the Maine Savings Amphitheater as Extreme, Tesla and Mötley Crüe took to the stage, rocking loud and proud so everyone in the Queen City could hear it.
The evening started with the Boston-based band, Extreme, who had last played the Maine Savings Amphitheater when Waterfront Concerts brought them in to open for Aerosmith a few years back.
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Gary Cherone, who the next day would turn 65, covered the stage with the energy and flexibility of a 20-year-old yoga instructor.
His powerhouse vocals, paired with Kevin Figueiredo's driving drums and Pat Badger's badass bass, immediately caught the crowd's attention. Guitarist Nuno Bettencourt then reeled them in with some of the fastest fingers the rock world has ever known.
After several driving rock songs, the rest of the band left the stage, and Bettencourt sat down, in the center of it all, himself. Joking that the sitting was his favorite part of the concert because he was now 60 and old, he then exploded into a guitar solo that most musicians in their teens and 20s could never imagine even attempting.
Cherone, accompanied by the audience, returned to the stage to sing "More Than Words" with his bandmate.
Bettencourt, who was once asked by Ozzy Osbourne to join his band (turning that gig down is a regret Benncourt says he still lives with) and who was invited to play Ozzy's last gig, the Back to the Beginning concert last year, then launched into a medly of the Prince of Darkness's "I Don't Know/Bark At The Moon/Crazy Train" with Cherone belting out the lyrics as everyone in attendance cheered.
After a brief pause, Sacramento-based rockers Tesla took to the stage. Founding members, guitarist Frank Hannon, vocalist Jeff Keith, and bassist Brian Wheat joined Dave Rude and Steve Brown for a raucous set of some of their hits.
Keith, who balances his time being front and center with his distinct sound and luminous smile, but also steps back to make room for Hannon's soulful guitar licks and allows him to do his thing with the audience, can still hit all the notes, and did not disappoint.
The band was tight, and there was a wave of sound making its way from Hannon's guitar up over the audience as they moved from tune to tune, eventually ending with their classic rendition of the Five Man Electrical Band hit, "Signs."
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Another short break for the crowd to catch its breath as twilight set in, and then it was time for Motley Crue.
Like many, I saw Vince Neil's solo appearance last year when Waterfront Concerts brought him to town with Stephen Pearcy of Ratt and Bret Michaels of Poison. Neil had just suffered a stroke and was told by doctors that he wouldn't perform again. He did his best, under those circumstances, but people wondered how he would do a year later. There were questions as to whether or not he'd have the stamina or the ability to rock out as he used to.
When he hit the stage with his old bandmates, Tommy Lee, Nikki Sixx, and the newest addition to the lineup, John 5, there was no doubt he'd been putting in the work to heal and came to rock the waterfront.
Neil started strong, as the band made their way through one favorite after another; if he did tire or get lost a bit in the lyrics, the audience was right, singing with him, to help him carry on.
Nikki Sixx stepped into the role of the storyteller, bringing one young fan onto the stage as he thanked not only the old fans, but the younger generations, calling them the best fans in the world.
The audience was treated to a trip down memory lane, as Sixx and Lee explained how one of the band's biggest hits, "Home Sweet Home," was created.
Another highlight came in the form of a ridiculous (meant in the best way possible) guitar solo from John 5, who replaced original guitarist Mick Mars when he left the band as his health started to deteriorate due to a spinal condition called Ankylosing Spondylitis.
5, who played in David Lee Roth's band, then with Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie, fit in very well with the whole Crue vibe. Dressed head to toe in shiny black leather, with huge dark glasses, John 5 looked like something from out of this world, and played like he was from another dimension, too.
Overall, on the heels of what was a really great rock show from The Romantics, Christopher Cross and Toto on Wednesday night, Saturday's Extreme/Tesla/Motley Crue show was even bigger and even louder and a whole lot of fun, too.
While most everyone left the amphitheater with a ringing in their ears, thanks to Crue's end-of-show pyrotechnics explosion, they also left with a smile on their faces. And that's exactly what you want from a rock show.
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