Page 63 - Black Velvet Issue 95

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EXTREME / DAN REED NETWORK – BIRMINGHAM O2 ACADEMY, 17.12.17
While we’re all still anxiously awaiting a new Extreme album – the band’s last studio album was released in 2008 (‘Saudades de Rock’) – the band
continue to sell out large venues around the world as a touring band. Gary Cherone, Nuno Bettencourt, Pat Badger and Kevin Figueiredo last came
to Birmingham in 2014 on their ‘Pornograffitti’ 25th Anniversary Tour – although they did step on UK soil earlier this year for Ramblin’ Man Fair in Kent.
This time they bring with them Dan Reed Network, another band that originally formed in the 80s. Both bands received success in the 80s and 90s
before taking hiatuses of varying lengths. Dan Reed Network’s hiatus came much earlier than Extreme’s, with the Portland, OR based outfit taking a
break from late ’93. They didn’t actually reunite until 2012, but have since been all guns blazing again. With their 2016-released album being entitled
‘Fight Another Day’, they are definitely doing
that, impressing the audience with their new
songs and stage performance. From the new
album, the band perform ‘Champion’, a dreamy,
soft rock song about hanging out with positive
people, instead of drama queens and those that
suck the life out of you. It’s very gentle and
melodic, although doesn’t quite beat the beauti-
ful classic ‘Rainbow Child’, which touches ever
nerve in your body. All the feels… all the feels.
Dan Reed, himself, has the best stage moves –
he’s the perfect frontman to photograph – you
can definitely tell that these guys are pros. Qual-
ity solos from Brion James and funky basslines
from Melvin Brannon II add to the songs. ‘Under
My Skin’ definitely gets under your skin with its
jazzy danciness. A solid set.
Opening with ‘It’s A Monster’, Extreme in-
stantly have the crowd singing along. With a
scarf wrapped around his head, Gary Cherone
moves like an athletic theatre star, performing
with charisma and style as he sings. “Birming-
ham, are you ready to rock?” he asks before ‘Lil
Jack Horny’. Of course the answer is “Yes”. The
song ups the funk level.
If you haven’t joined the party already, then
when ‘Get The Funk Out’ starts, you’ll be ham-
mering at the door to get involved. It is the con-
summate rock sing along. With it being in the
25th anniversary of ‘III Sides To Every Story’, the
band add in songs such as ‘Tragic Comic’, which
Gary says it’s difficult to remember the words of
as they haven’t played it for years – only on this
tour. Kevin Figueiredo (AKA kFigg) comes closer
to the front with a smaller makeshift drumkit, and
the band all stand closer together. The perform-
ance of ‘Tragic Kingdom’ is nice, and it paves the
way for ‘Hole Hearted’, one of the real highlights
of the set, with Nuno telling the audience at the
end that they sound awesome and should swap
emails and start a band together. Nuno com-
pares the crowd to giving the band a drug, say-
ing they’re nothing without them, He sits on a
stool for ‘Midnight Express’ – almost bursting into
the opening line of ‘Wanted Dead Or Alive’ first.
It’s funny, as we first saw both Extreme and Dan
Reed Network opening for Bon Jovi – so it’s nice
to see an accidental nod of the head to the NJ
legends, who are to be inducted into the Rock
‘N’ Roll Hall Of Fame next year.
The band wrap the main part of their show
up with ‘Decadence Dance’, which is another
that everyone in the house knows and loves –
before returning for a few more songs, beginning
with ‘More Than Words’, which of course sees
Gary and Nuno sat down on stools. The crowd
take over with the lyrics, singing the loudest that
they have all night. We get ‘Warheads’ and
‘Peacemaker Die’, two more songs from ‘III
Sides To Every Story’, before the band wrap
things up with a cover of Queen’s ‘We Are The
Champions’. Nuno says it’s a celebration of
tonight with the audience. Tonight we definitely
celebrated Extreme and their contribution to
music. With a new album hopefully coming next
year, we can’t wait to see what they will bring us
next.
YYYYY
Shari Black Velvet
Gary Cherone (Extreme) Photo By
Shari Black Velvet
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