Phoenix, AZ — Living Colour could be described as a funk band infused with hard rock, and Extreme, a hard rock band infused with funk. The fusion of these two bands playing the intimate Van Buren venue was magical. The first couple of songs from each band solidified the notion that they were bands that comprised elite musicians with chemistry and executed every musical nuance with collaborative precision. This leg of the “Thicker Than Blood” world tour started with U.S. dates in January, and they’ve had night-after-night to perfect their performance before their arrival in Phoenix.
Both groups emerged on the scene in that bygone era known as the 80s, and their timing couldn’t be better for their resurgence among music lovers craving this nostalgia. It wasn’t just the classic songs that sparked interest in this show. Extreme is touring in support of their new album, SIX, released last June, which has been met with an unexpectedly warm reception. Even the band has been surprised at the response that has shot the album into the top ten in some countries (peaked at 67 in the U.S. so far), and given their music videos millions of views on YouTube.
The music industry may have turned its back on guitar heroes, but the people have spoken. This was a sold out show. They came out en masse to see two of the finest guitarists on earth (and beyond): Vernon Reid of Living Colour, who sets the pace, and the great Nuno Bettencourt, who exceeds all speed limits.
Living Colour
Guitarist Vernon Reid was the first to grace the stage as he strolled out like a long-lost friend, greeting everyone with a smile and a wave, and wearing a Salvador Dali T-shirt and a scally cap hat. Next, singer Corey Glover sauntered onto the stage dressed to the nines, with colorful dreads for days. Next was bassist Doug Wimbish (also known for his Sugar Hill recordings), wearing his signature hat and primed to slap his signature Spector Euro 5-string bass. Noticeably absent was drummer Will Calhoun, but filling in for him was James ‘Biscuit’ Rouse, whose résumé includes stints with Usher, Pharrell, Chic, Stevie Wonder, and more. According to the Living Colour website, Calhoun had some previous commitments for a handful of dates, and this was one of them.
They opened their set with “Middle Man” from their 1988 debut Vivid, and “Leave It Alone” from their 1993 release Stain. Opening thoughts were that Glover’s voice was in top form and so very soulful, and that Reid can get a multitude of sounds from a pedal board that looks like the showroom of a music store. He then takes those sounds and turns them into sonic freight trains of blistering solos and iconic style.
A couple of cover songs landed in the set: The first was “Kick Out The Jams” by MC5, and it improved on the original. Glover’s voice gives more melody to the verses, but keeps the growl as needed for the payoff lines. Then, they performed a medley of hip hop songs from the Wimbish-led Sugar Hill label, including Melle Mel’s “White Lines (Don’t Do It)”, Sugar Hill Gang’s “Jump On It”, and Grandmaster Flash’s “The Message.”
Living Colour wrapped their set up with the Grammy Award-winning “Cult Of Personality,” their breakout hit from 1988 with the music video that introduced them to crossover audiences. It was fantastic to see them back on the stage, doing this song and the handful of other songs that defined their unique brand of fusion rock/funk. They’ve still got it.
Extreme
This band hits the stage with all cylinders firing. Extreme’s high-energy music is amplified by the incomparable showmanship of frontman Gary Cherone, who left no area of the stage untouched. He even climbed the amplifier stacks for higher vantage points, commanding attention with exceptional charisma. His voice seems to have not aged and continues to possess the range for soft, low ballads to the primal screams that teeter on the verge of breaking.
As they opened with “It (‘s A Monster)” and “Decadence Dance” from their double platinum album Pornograffitti, Cherone was dressed in a black snake-skin-pattern sports coat, donning sunglasses with an ‘X’ over the right lens, and sporting his signature headband. His bold look and remarkable stage presence evoked elements of the great Motown performers, and he even mixed in a couple of lines from Sam Cooke’s “Cupid” somewhere in the night.
Fans were anxious to see if guitarist Nuno Bettencourt could pull off the scorching guitar riffs that he had perfected in the studio, and they were not disappointed. He had set the bar pretty high, yet made it look effortless as his left hand (the one with the black fingernail polish) blurred across the high frets of his Washburn N4 guitar. When “Rise” was released (the first single from SIX), the news spread like wildfire that ‘you have to check out Nuno’s new guitar solo!’ …Did he nail it live? It is a resounding yes, but we had to wait until the encore to hear it. It was worth the wait.
Rick Beato (Everything Music Channel) interviewed Bettencourt on his podcast about the massive response and it’s a great interview.
Extreme was not resting on their laurels and playing all catalog hits. “#Rebel” was the first of six new songs to be sprinkled into the setlist. Cherone led the audience to sing-along with the angsty lyric “Hey, you got something to say? You talking to me as you’re walking away?”
Bassist Pat Badger and drummer Kevin Figueiredo may not have been the focal points of the limelight, but their contributions to the Extreme sound and their stellar musicianship did not go unnoticed. Plus, they both multitask with singing vocals while performing their instrumental duties and helping to build the wall of harmonies that elevate each chorus.
The four-part harmonies were spotlighted on the intro to the second song released from the new album, “Banshee,” when they covered Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls.” So cool. It’s clear that Queen had some influence on their individual musical journeys. They also included a bit of “We Will Rock You” during their performance of “Play With Me” that goes way back to their debut album. Check out their 20-minute Queen medley from the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness on April 20, 1992.
Another musical reference that percolated throughout the evening was the mighty Van Halen. To some, Gary Cherone is just a footnote to the historic singers of Van Halen that comprised Diamond Dave and Red Rocker Sammy Hagar. However, his one ill-fated album with the band did go gold, and he had the opportunity to work with the incredible Edward Van Halen. Bettencourt paid homage to Van Halen with a rendition of “Eruption” before transitioning into “Am I Ever Gonna Change.” Later, during the encore, he played the intro to “Woman In Love” and reverently pointed to the heavens, put his fist to his heart, and said, “Happy Birthday, King Edward!”
There were two acoustic moments during the performance. The first included the whole band doing renditions of the new “Other Side Of The Rainbow” and the classic “Hole Hearted.” Bettencourt put on his $7,000 cowboy hat and told the story about buying it in Nashville. Later in the evening, Bettencourt and Cherone did an even more stripped down acoustic montage that showcased their diverse songwriting skills.
As he took a seat with his acoustic guitar, Bettencourt gave a heartfelt thank you to Living Colour and praised the musicianship of guitarist Vernon Reid. He joked that when he realized that Reid would be going on before Extreme, he called Reid before the tour and asked him to ‘pull it back a little bit.’ He also spoke to all of the aspiring guitarists in the room with this motivational speech:
“Man, I just need to tell you one thing. Whether you’re doing this up here or in a fucking arena or a stadium or a club or whatever it is, that shit don’t mean anything. What matters is that you are playing this guitar. Whether it’s in your basement, whether it’s in a garage, whether it’s online, whether you’re a fucking great cover band… don’t worry about that shit if you’re doing it for the love of it. The success is playing this instrument right here! …This is like a super power, man. Nobody can fuck with you when you have this thing on, I’m telling you right now. And you can hit somebody hard with it if they do try to fuck with you. (smiles) Give it up for all the guitar players in the room keeping guitar alive, especially all you youngsters out there as well.” – Nuno Bettencourt
Then, he proceeded to give a master class on acoustic guitar prowess by playing the acoustic solo, “Midnight Express” from the Waiting For The Punchline album. Bettencourt then introduced the next song from the new album, called “Hurricane.” He discussed the universal experience of losing someone near and dear to us and mentioned that someone in the audience had lost their mother earlier that day. He dedicated the song to that audience member and anyone else trying to heal up from loss in their lives. The emotional lyrics culminate in the chorus, “My heart is in a hurricane, an eye of emptiness and pain, is this the storm before the calm?”
The mood subtly switched from somber to celebration as the familiar chords of “More Than Words” filled the room. This is the number 1 song that everyone knows, and everyone is singing along with their cell phones raised. Through these two songs, Cherone and Bettencourt traded lead vocal segments, but the magic was in their signature harmonies. Definitely a highlight of the show.
The high-velocity slingshot back into high gear with “Banshee” and the country-hoe-down-on-steroids, “Take Us Alive” that melted into yet another throwback to the Elvis hit “That’s Alright,” another song perfectly suited for Cherone’s persona. Guitar solos throughout the night satisfied the legions of Nuno followers, but the pinnacle show stopper was his blazing shredding on “Flight Of The Wounded Bumblebee” that seems like a million notes in just a minute and a half. This kid is ah-mazing!
The night was seemingly coming to a close as they launched into their signature song from the 80s, “Get The Funk Out.” This was the one that first thrust them into the world stage and heavy rotation on MTV. It was fantastic and the harmonies were fun, with a few expletives added for good measure. The only thing missing was the horn section. As the song ended, the cheers went up and the lights went down as they left the stage. Many assumed that that was the end of the show since it was their obvious show closer… But the house lights did not come on. Some fans started to trickle out of the venue, but the die-hard fans just cheered louder till eventually the quartet returned to the stage.
It is almost unheard of for a band to do new material during their encore. It’s a ballsy move, but boy did it ever pay off. The encore started with the Eddie Van Halen tribute mentioned above, and then continued with “Small Town Beautiful” infused at the outro chorus with the anthemic “Song For Love” from the Pornograffitti album. Had people still carried lighters, the room would have been aglow with their flickering flames. Ultimately, the show closed with rocker “Rise,” featuring the extraordinary guitar solo and the fist-pumping “EXTREME” groove that is absolutely infectious. No one would disagree that this was the perfect choice of an anthem to end the deluge of great music.
Witnessing bands genuinely expressing their gratitude towards their fans at the end of the night is always heartwarming. Extreme spent several minutes thanking the crowd and tossing out picks, sticks, and setlists, before finally lying down on the stage to take a selfie with all of us fans. Well played, Extreme, well played.
Photo Gallery
Photographer: Mark Greenawalt
Extreme & Living Colour – The Van Buren 2-23-24
Photography © Mark Greenawalt.
All Rights Reserved