By Toni-Matti Karjalainen
Helsinki, Nosturi, September 6
London, Shepherd’s Bush Empire, September 12
Seoul, Olympic Gymnastics Gymnasium, October 24
If someone had told me in the early 90´s when a band called Mr. Big was experiencing its success peak that I would go and watch the band three times in 2009, I would have ignored the whole idea due to its impossibility. I did listen to the band in small quantities back then, but it’s more rockier side and recognizable tone created by the unique playing of Billy Sheehan (bass) and Paul Gilbert (guitar) were overshadowed by the cheesy dominance of the few hit songs like “To Be With You” and “Just Take My Heart”.
Anyway, when news about the Mr. Big reunion tour emerged and finally resulted in a list of dates also including Helsinki, I sure got interested in seeing the band live, not only to experience the great Sheehan-Gilbert duet but also to check if Eric Martin (singer) still sounds and look the same (yes he does) and to see how well the songs have managed the test of time. Then, by chance, I happened to be a week later in London and seven weeks later in Seoul when the band played in these cities. Even if Mr. Big may not really lie at the core of the BogFires interests, this trilogy also offered a nice opportunity for some analytical contemplation. It was interesting to experience the band and audiences within three different cultures and settings: at the Nosturi club, a semi-sized venue in Helsinki, in a theatre environment at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London, and in a larger arena atmosphere of the Olympic Gymnastics Gymnasium in Seoul.The set lists were very similar in all three places, as were the guys’ gestures, clothes, solos and contact with the audience. The only notable difference between the shows was the video screens used only in Seoul. And in Seoul, the band played a highly amusing extra number in the beginning of their second encore, as the guys swapped their instruments and played “Smoke on the Water”. Yes, sounds like a bad idea when you hear it, but worked really well in that context. And the Korean audience went really crazy seeing that.
So in overall, I basically the same show for three times. Which was in a way good, because then it was easier to recognize more nuances in the set as well as to pay more attention on the behavior of the audiences. You know, keeping one variable constant to analyse another one in a more rigorous manner in order to practice more reliable science… For those interested, the Mr.Big 2009 appearance is captured in almost the same form in the recently released “Back to Budokan” DVD.
The shows were great, much more than I initially expected. The band played flawlessly, with an amazing presence and sense of humour. The guys seem to be genuinely having good time, which was instantly transferred to the audiences as well. Mr. Big it is a band that is very nice and fun to watch. And the appeal is really created by the great presence and chemistry between Sheehan, Gilbert, Martin and Pat Torpey (drums). There are no extra gimmicks used, if you don’t count the double neck guitar and bass to be one. The band just played well. And most importantly, they play as The Band! Eric still nails the songs in convincing manner and Pat performs with a good charisma, and Billy’s and Pauls’s playing and gesturing – that form the core of the performance – are truly unique. And all the members really appear down-to-earth, easy going and approachable. This impression was verified when I had the opportunity to briefly meet the guys personally after the London gig.
Mr. Big has some catchy songs and some less attractive ones. The lack of really strong song material that would carry the high mood consistently throughout the whole set is the only negative thing to say about the band. However, many of the classical songs still sound fresh and accurate, like my favourite “Green-Tinted Sixties Mind”. The sets involved lots of soloing and jamming from Billy and Paul. It was something that many in the audience seemingly liked a lot, but a bit too much especially when seeing the same thing three times.
The show thus worked well in a club, in a theatre and in an arena, which I guess is a sign of strong professionalism. What concerns the audiences, they were different. Helsinki and London crowds appeared, in general, quite similar in their behaviour, seemingly happy to see the band alive and kicking after many years. But the Seoul gig was definitely the loudest and wildest of these three, the audience jumping up and down, making good noise and singing along the songs. The concert only filled half of the seats of the large hall in the first Seoul night (followed by another one on the following day), but the atmosphere was great. High profile ending for the trilogy indeed!
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