Photos by Micah Gummel
Review by Dale Jr.
Show Photos HERE
The band that made it big with the “Live at Budokan” album, and VH1 named one of the greatest artists of hard rock, Cheap Trick, found their way into the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom on Sunday night in front of a packed house. The influential hard rock band is known for their hits “Surrender”, “Dream Police” and what might be the greatest pop song of all time, “I Want You To Want Me”, but is often not given credit for their influence in the world of hard rock. The band has been said to influence the likes of Motley Crue, Guns N’ Roses, Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, Weezer, Green Day, Stone Temple Pilots, Red Hot Chili Peppers and many more.
The band came out to huge cheers, and opened up with “Hello There”, the fast paced and in-your-face track from their album, “In Color”. Right away, you could see that the band were up to their old tricks, with Robin Zander coming out with a leather ensemble, and Rick Neilsen with his trademark checker board on his amps, with bright lights that lit up around the heads. Neilsen was also the one with the witty banter in between each one of the songs that were performed by a really talented group of musicians. The show rolled on with the band playing classic tracks from their first three albums, with the likes of “Big Eyes”, “Lookout”, “California Man”, “On Top Of The World” and “Stiff Competition”. From there, the band went into their cover of the Fats Domino classic, “Ain’t That A Shame”, which first appeared on “Live at Budokan”. The set list the rolled on with three more tracks from “Dream Police” before playing the Rick Neilsen written song of “Borderline” from “Next Position Please”. The band then played more tracks from the 70s and 80s before playing their big hit, “I Want You To Want Me”, which got everyone up out of their seat in the Ballroom; singing and dancing. A few songs later, the band wrapped up their set with “Dream Police”, which was pulled off perfectly by the band. The band then came back out for their encore, in which Rick Neilsen pulled former Massachusetts Senator, Scott Brown, onstage to play rhythm guitar on “Surrender”. The Senator did a great job, and it must have been a thrill of a lifetime for him. The band then went on and played “Gonna Raise Hell”, a hard hitting rock song from the “Dream Police” album. They then closed out the show with a version of “Hello There” but with the lyrics changed to “good night”.
The band that was so influential to many hard rock acts was still comprised of many of the original members, excluding Bun E. Carlos on drums. He has been replaced by Rick Neilsen’s son, Daxx. Rick Neilsen is still up to all his old tricks, even though he’s 64, he’s still the same old Rick, and that’s something I’m perfectly happy with. Robin Zander still has it vocally, and can still put on one hell of a show himself. Overall, you can’t help be impressed with the level of talent that still plays so many shows a year, and can still play at that high of a level. Cheap Trick is a show not to be missed.
Scott Brown Jams With Cheap Trick At Hampton Beach