First up, Diamond Dave. Though without the long hair, he still strutted and high-kicked his way from the opener of You Really Got Me, right through to the encore of 1984 and Jump. Great leather pants, though they weren't assless on this tour.
His voice has changed, but he still does the screaming, and relates with the audience, explaining the story behind Ice Cream Man.The biggest difference with him actually, was that he didn't forget a single word. Not one, the whole show. Compared to all the old concert videos I've seen, they gave a much tighter performance, emphasizing the music above all else. And the music was great. They actually played Romeo Delight and Little Dreamer, to name two songs I wasn't expecting.
Wolfgang has picked up showmanship pretty fast, playing his bass vertically, and jumping around, though he's very much overshadowed by his dad, who more than once slid to his knees, or flipped the guitar upside-down by the amps to build feedback. And Eddie hasn't been in such good shape in a long time, if ever. The facial hair was a bit odd, but he and Dave were ripped and athletic, and the guitar playing was, as you'd expect, utterly fantastic.
The biggest surprise was Alex, I never realized just how hilarious his constant facial expressions are. During the drum solo, he made us clap along to the rhythm as he increased it, and pretty soon we'd have needed to have a seizure to keep up.
I didn't sit down once at this show, which considering I was in a high side seat is quite an achievement. The band hardly gave us any breathing space - they crammed in as many songs as possible at the cost of interaction, but it was worth it. The brief comments we got were fine, though, like Dave and Eddie high-fiving or trading off melodies. Having Wolfgang say the "C'mon Dave, give me a break" line during Unchained was also awesome, and so funny.
The most memorable moment for me was probably during Jamie's Crying, where I was singing "love should mean more than one night stands" while grinding with one of my friends.
Seeing the band together and rocking out was just amazing, and I believe that they stand a good chance at staying together this time. As far as I'm concerned, last night was April 2 1985 (as evidenced by my acid-washed jeans
) and all that happened the day before was the Michael Anthony magically vanished, without much of a difference. And right now, I can barely see the road, with all the heat coming off.
