Cheap Trick at Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton
Illinois rockers Cheap Trick have been called the "American Beatles" and it's not hard to see why.
Cheap Trick
Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton
Concert review by Ian Harvey
Illinois rockers Cheap Trick have been called the "American Beatles" and it's not hard to see why.
"We've had 40 years of stealing English music," announced guitarist Rick Nielsen in a night which saw them cover Black Country heroes Slade's When The Lights Are Out and The Yardbirds' I Wish You Would.
But in fact the most English they sounded all night was when they performed Closer (The Ballad of Burt and Linda) from new album The Latest, a song which effortlessly recreated the swagger of Oasis in their prime.
Cheap Trick dispensed with their biggest hit, I Want You To Want Me, as early as the fourth number, singer Robin Zander resplendent in shades and peaked cap. But they kept the Wulfrun crowd baying for more throughout.
The sound was simply immense, a whole notch up from the recorded versions, as they powered through classics including the mighty Surrender, Dream Police and their idiosyncratic take on Elvis Presley's Don't Be Cruel.
Sick Man Of Europe showed their new material is right up there with their illustrious past and, of course, Rick Nielsen ended the night wielding his trademark five-necked guitar, as his son Daxx, pounded the skins, standing in for regular drummer Bun E Carlos.
