“I wish” reasons Jared James Nichols, “that I could play here all night.”. He would, too, you’d guess. There’s something about him on stage, but more than that, there is something about him as opening act. I’d wager, there is no artist ever, that I’ve seen anyway, that is as comfortable in front of someone else’s gear as JJN.
Much of the set, comes from last year’s self-titled album. And there is a real vibrancy about him as he plays these songs. “Hard Wired” in particular sounds impressive, there is a real balance between crunch and groove as the trio plays things like “Skin N Bone”.
“Bad Roots” all energy and riff, remains arguably his best moment, and where at most of his other shows, he ends with a cover of “Mississippi Queen”, whenever he comes to this area, it is always “War Pigs” that finishes the set. Of course, on one hand that is just a homage to Black Sabbath an acknowledgement of the world’s debt to the music of the West Midlands, yet when JJN does it, it signifies slightly more. Somewhere between Mountain and Sabbath he sits, never quite fitting in and yet being able to fit in everywhere. He deserves to shake off the tag of “world’s finest support band” but for now, it is always a treat to watch Jared James Nichols play.
It probably wasn’t how you planned it.
You’re on your final tour. You even called it The Big Finish. Then, your singer goes down with an illness.
Lesser bands would cancel shows. Not Mr. Big, so they draft in Michele Luppi. He may be best known for his keyboard work in Whitesnake, before that, though, he was in a Mr. Big tribute band and provided support to Eric Martin throughout the evening.
This show, perhaps because it is the penultimate one they will play in the UK, feels like an event. KK’s is packed to the rafters even before “Addicted To That Rush” (perhaps a metaphor for why they playing these shows in the first place) heralds the opening.
That one was the opening track on their debut album some 35 years ago. But that, “Take Cover” and “The Price You Gotta Pay” only act as the mere aperitif to what we might refer to as the “main course”.
Chucked in the middle of the set – and played in full – is the “Lean Into It” album. It spawned mega hits, made them stars, the whole nine yards. Simply put: if you liked rock’n’roll music in that period, Then you would probably have owned a copy.
I’d listened to the album on the way to the gig, actually, for the first time in a long time, and it was striking how many of these songs I still knew. That is the way I suppose with the truly excellent “Daddy, Brother Lover, Little Boy”, “Green-Tinted Sixties Mind” and the likes are staples of course, but there is more to it than that. It wasn’t just about the hits, everything from “Never Say Never” to “Just Take My Heart” or “My Kinda Woman” – which Martin shares was never meant to be on the album and they barely played live at the time – has a real class and skill about it.
That is true of the “deep cuts” too, and “Road To Ruin” almost underlines what a good album this was on its own.
And right at the end, is the one if you will. “To Be With You” and I watch as they play here, and its lost none of its ability to connect with people, even if frankly such overt romanticism has never done a great deal for me.
Album over and done with, there is one other big hit to play and “Wild World” is it given the Mr. Big treatment.
Oddly though that is nowhere near the end of the show. There was after all something that always set them apart. And that is it the musicianship they possessed. So, Paul Gilbert plays his customary solo that is both tech wizardry and fun (taking in the Rocky Theme for example) and Billy Sheehan’s bewildering bass skills also gets time in the spotlight.
It is rather strange though, the big games with four covers in a row. Admittedly one of them gives them the chance to swap instruments. Drummer Nick D’Virgilio – recently seen over here with Spock’s Beard – takes guitar, Martin bass and Sheehan vocals for The Olympics “Good Lovin’” while Talas’ “Shy Boy”, Humble Pie’s “Thirty Days In The Hole” and The Who’s “Baba O’Reilly” are all well done even if it makes for a slightly incongruous goodbye.
But goodbye it is, as they take their bows, promising that they “we’ll meet again, even if we don’t know where and when”, it appears that’s it for Mr Big. And what is clear is this: in a world of superficiality, their only gimmick was to have great songs. Sometimes that’s all you need.
