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Rating: Evening dedicated to rock and guitar virtuosity on Saturday, May 12: I finally get the chance to see the great Paul Gilbert live, one of the best guitar heroes of the last two decades.
The chosen venue is a small pub called "Black Horse" in Cermenate. A very intimate place, so much so that even during the concert you could see people comfortably seated at tables, enjoying dishes and drinks served by waiters moving continuously around the venue.
Having arrived with plenty of time (it was 5:30 PM, and the opening was scheduled for 8:30 PM!) and noticing that there were already 5 people waiting, my friends and I decided to head to nearby Cantù to spend some time and find some relief in a shopping center due to the truly unbearable heat that permeated the afternoon. We returned at 8:00 PM sharp, ready in front of the parking entrance, which had meanwhile filled with about a hundred people; incredibly ahead of the scheduled time (a full fifteen minutes early, unheard of...), the venue doors finally opened, and we could enter and take our spots in front of the tiny stage where the performance would take place, even though we would have to wait a full two hours!
Between a pizza, a beer, and a coffee brought by the waiters to the room where the band dined next to the stage, and after practically revisiting the entire discography of AC/DC, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, and Kiss thanks to the songs played by the venue's DJ, finally, at 10:35 PM, the show starts.. and what a show! Welcomed by the roar of the small but certainly warm and engaging audience, Paul appears with his classic white double-neck Ibanez and immediately kicks off with the title track of his latest all-instrumental album, "Get Out of My Yard", assisted by bassist Mike Szuter (who moved his finger across the various frets) in the execution of this "three-hand" piece.
No time to applaud, and it's immediately "Hurry Up", also from the latest album, followed by three more songs from it, ranging from heavier, more metal moments ("The Curse of Castle Dragon"), to more vibrant ones reminiscent of 70s rock ("Rusty Old Boat", with finally the first real intervention of keyboardist Amy Gilbert), to others spiced with Paul's usual irony and charm ("My Teeth are a Drumset"), all executed with great mastery: I've seen many videos of Paul, but seeing him live, just over 3 meters away, makes his cleanliness in execution and precision in touch even more incredible: truly perfect..!
The choice of the setlist was undoubtedly spot-on (though it could have been a bit richer: 22 pieces, including encores, each lasting 4-5 minutes, made the concert certainly intense but perhaps a bit short, also due to the few moments of "entertainment" and dialogue with the audience by Paul): much space was obviously given to the latest CD, but songs spanning the guitarist's entire career were performed, both as a solo artist and with his groups, Mr. Big and Racer X. Finally, after the initial barrage of instrumental pieces, it was time for a song with a vocal part and "SpaceShip One" came to warm up the vocal cords of Paul, Mike, and the entire audience. Then it's time to jump to the '80s and return to the Racer X days with "Scarified": as usual, the execution of this instrumental was masterful, enriched by the perfect tapping dialogue between guitar and bass and the melodic break midway through the song.
A moment of breath is given by a familiar arpeggio: here comes "To Be With You", a classic Mr. Big ballad, of which Paul only performs the chorus line, sung loudly by those present: what a pity, it would have been a pleasure to hear the excellent electric version that Gilbert proposes at almost every concert. The disappointment is immediately quenched by "Down to Mexico", another classic indispensable in every concert and the first real surprise of the evening: once again Racer X, another instrumental song, here's "Technical Difficulties": nothing to object to in the execution here, as usual flawless. The audience follows carefully and does not fail to give the guitar hero the right applause, who decides to repay us with another surprise: it's time again for Mr. Big, and "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind" triggers a real ovation from those present: here too, verses and choruses sung at the top of one's lungs by everyone, so much so that they almost drown out the instrumentalists' own voices.
Time flies, the songs too, and between a hint of "Twelve Twelve" from the latest album and more jumps to Mr. Big's era ("Nothing But Love", another surprise, as well as Mike's singing skills, really excellent also in the role of singer!) and some lesser-known moments of Paul's solo career (the cheerful "Mt. Fuji Xmas") we come to "Addicted to that Rush": no need to waste words on this song, impressive in its solo-duets (or rather duels :D ) guitar-bass; another round of applause for Mike Szuter, able to switch enviably from pick to using his fingers to pluck the strings of his bass, but especially capable of offering a top-notch performance, with improvisations and tapping worthy of the best Billy Sheehan!
The journey through time is over, we return to the present day and Gilbert's current career: "I Like Rock" is performed in sequence (with a solo executed in unison by Paul and Mike while holding their instruments over their shoulders! Great show, certainly, but it never hurts :D), "My Religion and the energetic "Interaction; then it's time for the greetings... but no, there's still time for the encore! Paul returns on stage with a guitar of the unlikely fuchsia color(!) with a particularity: only 3 strings, all tuned to E, to play "Three E's for Edward; an unusual song but no less masterfully executed, as usual. "I'm not Afraid of the Police" represents another opportunity to involve the audience with this playful and amusing song, and then a classic and necessary tribute to one of his inspiring masters: Jimi Hendrix, honored with a splendid cover of "Foxy Lady. We reach the end, and Paul and his band say goodbye with the song that also closes his latest CD: "You Kids."
Conclusion, presentation of the band, applause, and another endless wait for autographs and the customary photos: worth noting is Paul's friendliness, very kind and willing to sign autographs, pose for photos, and have a quick chat, during which he let slip a promise: "Are you coming back to Italy?"..."Sure!", later confirmed by Szuter, who roamed the venue drinking beer and also proved very willing to chat, give advice, and recount a few amusing band life stories, besides agreeing to the usual autographs and photos, dispensed with extreme courtesy.
In conclusion (I know I've gone on too much), excellent concert, marred, however, by the terrible acoustics during the songs that also included vocals: sometimes the guitar whistled, the bass boomed, and they almost completely covered Paul's and Mike's voices... truly a negative note. Positive, and it couldn't be otherwise, was the performance of all the instrumentalists: I've already extensively spoken about Paul and Mike, but a surprise was Amy Gilbert on the keyboard: the Japanese woman, also Paul's wife, turned out to be a real master of touch and speed, despite a sound that wasn't quite fitting (somewhere between an organ and a synthesizer... meh); good also was Jeff Bowders' performance behind the drums (I admit my ignorance, I don't know who he is...), heavy as needed, but always able to keep up with Gilbert's unpredictable solos.
I came out tired but completely satisfied, with my nice signed ticket but above all with the hope that Paul will fulfill the promise he made just a few minutes earlier...!
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