Re: Cheap Trick!

I am going to see them tomorrow night at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, and am v excited indeed. One of many bands TP turned me on to in the 70's, they are probably the one American band I most associate with the magazine. Quite a few covers!

This site will tell you about their chequered studio career, but I must say that every London show I have ever seen has been an event of some magnitude - this one sold out early in the year. The last time I saw them Chrissie Hynde joined them onstage, Justine from Elastica stood a few feet from us and Roy Wood held the door open for me before singing 'California Man' onstage with them half an hour later.

I understand in the USA they open for Aerosmith and do festivals in the daylight. Here in London they are single malt Scotch to The Darkness's Bud Light.



"I never make stupid mistakes. Only very, very clever ones." - John Peel

Yes yes. I saw Americas best band in February. They kept heckling these longhairs in the front row saying, "hey everyone there's some cool guys here tonight from the band "BLACKFOOT", all night long this went on...then the next day i heard they were on tour w/ Aerosmith. I wonder who those guys really were up front? PS they played for over 2 hrs alone. No one wanted to go home.

I saw them last fall and it was a great show, if a tad heavy on the hits. I'd been under the impression that they really only played the early stuff anymore. Unfortunately, they played "The Flame" and the crowd went crazy. Oh well - at least there was at least one song from the first album ("Hot Love", I think).

Great, great end of tour performance. Rick Nielsen pointed out and thanked a few 'famous' audience members, but frankly they were from much lesser bands and were hopefully taking notes.

Audience aged 10-60+? and over a third female - unique.

Todd Rundgren got a very funny shout out which might be libelous - I did not get it but my friend The Slider understood and said it referred to something lauded by Peter Tosh.

Rick Nielsen canvassed ticketholders a few hours before the show for setlist suggestions - had I known, I would have taken along my copy of TP 31 and a big felt tip pen.

set list:

Top Of The World
ELO Kiddies
I Can't Take It
Taxman, Mr Thief
Best Friend
I Want You To Want Me
Woke Up With A Monster
Tonight It's You
Fan Club
California Man
The Flame
70's Song
Surrender

Encores:

Scent Of A Woman
Dream Police
Auf Wiedersehen

The audience went MAD for 'Want Me' and totally blank and still for 'The Flame', which no one here knows - The Slider says it sounds like a Coke commercial.



"I never make stupid mistakes. Only very, very clever ones." - John Peel

Saw them in a club in Oklahoma City in the early 1990's, and they did most of the first album. Fans kept yelling for the stuff, and they would look at each other, shrug and smile, and blast into 'em. Since this was around the time of "The Flame," I'm pretty sure they were happy about getting requests for their own fave hits, rather than that power ballad. Got them to sign a Dream Police store display, which they covered with self-deprecating quotes. Possibly the thing I miss the most (along with the autographed Embarrassment albums) after the house flooded in 2000 and so much of my stuff was destroyed.

SAW the band in Gainesville, Florida for the LAP OF LUXURY Tour...I was in the second or third row and was lucky to catch guitar pic from Rick.....
."The Flame" was getting airplay and then a hokey cover of "Don't Be Cruel" became popular too....I was a fan since LIVE AT BUDOKAN...and DREAM POLICE......THEY WERE AWESOME LIVE>>>>>>one of theeeeeeeeeeeee BEST LIVE ACTS to this day........after the show.....We followed the limo to the Holiday Inn and met RICK and Robin in the LOBBY......got them to sign my DREAM POLICE ALBUM (VINYL that is for those who don't even know what vinyl is----scary!) and Bun E. Carlos also signed it, but Tom was NOT around.......Bun E. was in the bar and Rick brought it over to Bun E. to sign it....even got a few pics with them----UNFORTUNATELY, they are NO WHERE TO BE FOUND......GREAT BAND, FAVORITE ALBUM: HEAVEN TONIGHT is tied with DREAM POLICE...........KEEP ROCKING EVERYBODY!!!!!!!! PEACE!!!!!

They did an afternoon festival in our civic center park (for free) a couple years back - I gotta say it floated like a rock. But then, it probably wan't their best venue situation. A couple years before that, they did three nights in local rock venues where they ripped through their first few albums in original track order- The ideal way to see ths band.

I was a soundman in a small bar here in Eugene, and late one night after Cheap Trick had played at our county fair, in walks Robin Zander with some bum he met out on the street. The band that was playing that night was an instrumental pseudo-jazz skronk outfit. Sax, bass, and drums, I think. Anyway, in between songs, I started asking the band to play some Cheap Trick. Robin was sitting about 6 feet in front of these zonked-out hipsters.
In between each song I would yell out a Cheap Trick title or just say "Play some Cheap Trick" Robin was getting a kick out of this because the band would always respond with, "Cheap Trick Sucks!!!". They had no idea who he was because he looks a little more grizzled now. I told some drunk at the bar who he was and the drunk goes over to Robin and says, "Dude, you wrote The Dream Police!" Robin acknowledged who he was and then the band caught on, too. I've never seen such backpedaling, they were apologizing and also trying to say they knew who he was the whole time!
We ended up talking and drinking and other stuff with Robin until 4 a.m. in the alley behind the bar. He was a very friendly, approachable guy and inspired me to keep trying to be a viable musician even though I'm 44.