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Rating: After Paul Gilbert and Richie Kotzen, another member of one of the best and most virtuosic hard rock bands of the '90s (and also one of the most underrated, unfortunately), Mr. Big, is performing in Italy for a tour: frontman singer Eric Martin.
Arriving at the designated pub for the concert well ahead of time and waiting for the usual 2 hours or so, the moment of the show finally arrives: Eric, with his eternal youthful look despite 46 springs, accompanied by an all-Italian band, takes the stage with ""I Wish You Were Here"", a song from the CD resulting from his collaboration with Japanese guitar hero Tak Matsumoto. After this initial track, the first real adrenaline rush for those present (actually quite a few) ensues: Mr. Big's "Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy", welcomed with a roar and sung at the top of their voices by the entire audience: the band's performance was good, even though the times of the guitar-bass-drill Makita duels of Paul Gilbert-Billy Sheehan are far behind.
The setlist mainly focused on the American band's tracks, a somewhat obligatory choice given the low popularity of Eric's solo releases in our country: so, between a few excerpts from his solo adventure (including the compelling "Untouchable") and an excellent "Wonderland", also extracted from the work with the Tak Matsumoto Group, songs were proposed that spanned widely across the Mr. Big repertoire: highly appreciated were the energetic "Electrified", the lively and decisive ballad "Shine", the engaging funky rhythm of "Dancin' With My Devils".
Surprises weren't lacking either, little almost forgotten gems and therefore even more appreciated, such as "A Rose Alone" and the splendid "Temperamental", an irresistible track in its progression, introduced by Eric with a humorous introduction based on his family life and particularly the women who animate it; an execution of "Voodoo Kiss" from the historic album "Lean Into It" was also performed, an album significantly drawn from: in addition to the already mentioned "Daddy, ...", two other inevitable classics were retrieved, the sweet ballad "Just Take My Heart" (performed together with a lucky girl from the audience, who was invited to the stage to duet by Eric himself), and the song that perhaps gave Mr. Big more fame, the acoustic "To Be With You", executed with great audience participation.
The more acoustic side of the group was a significant part of the show, particularly thanks to Eric's improvisational skills who, grabbing his acoustic guitar, launched into a lengthy and much-appreciated medley, featuring the country rhythm of "Goin' Where the Wind Blows", the melancholic and introspective "The Chain" and, on request, another sweet ballad like "Promise Her the Moon", captivating even in this new version. A special mention certainly deserves another great classic, "Wild World", where the originally guitar-executed scale of notes in the chorus by Paul Gilbert was replaced by a "Lala-lala-lala-lala-la" chorus from the audience, perhaps not perfectly in tune but enough to make them more involved and capable of causing amusement to a pleased Eric.
Between songs, skits between the singer and the audience, the approximately 2-hour concert passes very pleasantly and all too quickly and, after the goodbyes, the band returns to the stage for a quick encore with "30 Days in the Hole", also highly appreciated and the site of numerous contributions from those present, encouraged by the frontman to join the band in singing the chorus. After this, more farewells to the audience, which, though not very numerous, never stopped making themselves heard and giving the band and especially the real protagonist of the evening the right amount of applause.
A few words precisely for him, Eric Martin, the charismatic leader of what was once Mr. Big and the star of the show, a perfect blend of great singer, good guitarist, but also a great entertainer: his skits, stories, and anecdotes, told with great irony and humor, generating strong hilarity and even greater involvement in the venue, are countless (particularly hilarious the episode of the visit to Como with the family, with his wife immediately asking about George Clooney, causing the singer's exhaustion as he addresses her with a not-so-kind word during this story, then "threatening" those present not to spread the video with the incriminating term on YouTube, lest they incur the wrath of the gentle half and a new divorce, or the not-so-happy relationships with a girlfriend, guilty of making him cut his long black hair until he resembled a gigantic... male organ!).
An Eric Martin who also gave a great lesson in humility: the days of filling stadiums with Mr. Big and each concert with the band being a sold-out event, particularly in Japan and the famous Budokan theatre, are long gone; here, the atmosphere was totally different, the small venue probably didn't even hold 250 people, yet the frontman did not hold back, he gave his soul in every song, on every note, and in the end, thanked, concluding with one of his best concerts.
A nod also to the band (consisting of a guitarist, bassist, drummer, and a backup singer) who, despite only 3 days of rehearsal with the American, distinguished themselves for skill and professionalism, well-guided by Eric, capable of leading and dictating the tempos of the tracks and the song starts, rendered difficult by his numerous improvisations; also good was the venue's acoustics (despite some microphone issues), with well-distinguished sounds and Eric's voice always in the foreground.
Ultimately, a great concert and a magnificent Eric Martin, one of the best pop-rock singers of recent years and one of the few (perhaps among the last) truly genuine rockers, friendly, available for autographs and ritual photos, but above all admirable in always and invariably giving the maximum for his audience, whoever they may be: a fact that greatly intensifies the regret for an artist too often and too unjustly underrated in our parts...
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