Extreme may be the opening act for Motley Crue’s Return of The Carnival of Sins Tour but they are “hole heartedly” a stand alone band. As iconic as Motley Crue was, their show leans heavily on stage props and barely legal half naked dancers. Extreme on the other hand, forgoes the extra distractions and focuses on their craft. The band still embodies: explosive energy, tight technical skills, stage stewardship, and oozes charisma. Not only did they sound absolutely amazing, but their stage presence is top notch making all of the “extras” unnecessary.
Even though it was a cold, wet evening on July 29th at SPAC in Saratoga Springs, children and parents alike jumped out of their seats and danced for joy with the band as they performed. Parents reminisced with the newest generation of Extreme fans and bragged with neighboring concert goers about bringing their offspring to the show. Making the experience a family affair and continuing the love of late eighties – early nineties hard rock, funk music.
Throughout the evening the band’s passion for their craft was evident through their showmanship. Nuno Bettencourt used story telling to get intimate with the crowd and continued to amaze fans with his precisely intricate guitar solos. Lead singer Gary Cherone has somehow maintained his incredibly warm, powerful, vocal range that still hits every note on point. While the rhythm part of the band, bassist Pat Badger and drummer Kevin Figueiredo kept the band tight.
Visually the stage props were not only stunning but extremely practical. Demonstrating that talent doesn’t need to rely on flash and dash the band bookends the stage with a wall of beautifully lit speakers and a well lit lifted drum stage. Consequently, accomplishing a performance that is not only easy to see from any seat in the house, but visually stimulating, wonderfully entertaining and talent that is expressed with more than words but raw, unfiltered talent. If you don’t agree with me you can get the funk out.
Set List: Decadence Dance, #Rebel, Banshee, Play With Me, Hole Hearted, Midnight Express, More Than Words, Flight of the Wounded Bumblebee, Get the Funk Out, Rise, then wrapped up the set with an Ozzy Osbourne tribute with I Don’t Know & Bark at the Moon / Crazy Train.
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