This was my first concert in a few years and I was very excited to see the original MR.BIG line-up. I had been a fan of Paul and Billy since their days in Racer X and Talas, respectively. As I left the Alrosa that night, I realized that I had just witnessed THE greatest rock concert that I had ever experienced.
The opening acts Karma10 and Dirty Side Down were both good warm-up acts. Karma performed several covers and a few original tunes (which I always appreciate). DSD were more of a straight-forward cover band--lots of Metallica, Megadeth, Maiden, and the like.
Lynch Mob gave us a somewhat lackluster performance, which was surprising considering the caliber of entertainer that George Lynch is. He never once made eye contact with the crowd, drummer was brand-new, and the vocalist often referred to the lyric book that he had hidden behind the monitors. Perhaps a few more months of practice and Lynch Mob will be back up to their former glory.
MR.BIG performed for the small crowd as if we were in a sold-out arena. I've seen most of their 2009 Budokan video and they showed the same energy, regardless the size of the crowd. Their set list included everything from "Addicted to the Rush" to "Undertow" and even a little "Smoke on the Water." No one dared to leave after their final number, because they shortly came back for a five-number encore. My two teenage sons felt that this was one of the greatest nights of their lives. Shortly after the show, Billy and Eric came out into the parking lot and signed autographs, took pictures, and even passed out some candy because "the show was so long that our blood sugar may be a little low." Both of these guys are super nice and very down to earth. My son mentioned to Billy that this was his first concert and Billy immediately went into the memories of his first rock show, Jimi Hendrix. Overall, this show will never be forgotten and I truly cannot wait for these four excellent musicians to come back to Columbus, Ohio.