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Allentown, PA-Out on the road and a long, long way from home Jeff Keith and Co. took the stage inside the Crocodile Rock Café before a gathered mass of about 900 sweaty fans anxious to welcome the boys from Sacramento, CA back to the East Coast. Tesla wasted no time in providing that opportunity by starting the evening with a high voltage cover of UFO’s “Rock Bottom,” and forging straight ahead to “Edison’s Medicine,” minus those unique guitar effects that you hear on the record. Nevertheless, guitars were the center of attention as Frank Hannon and new guitarist, Dave Rude, took command of their respective six-strings (and 12-strings) as they burned up and down the frets with fiery ferocity. Keith’s vocals were in top-notch form, as expected. Also true to form was his jovial demeanor as he teased the crowd with his witty, sometimes sassy comments and rock star swagger.
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Bassist Brian Wheat seemed to meld perfectly with Rude, as they spent a lot of the night exchanging words and playing closely side-by-side. However, Dave did take every opportunity to get right out to the front of the stage and with one foot firmly planted atop the monitors proceeded to go freakin’ berserk on his Les Paul. Hannon and Dave took turns sharing the solo spotlight and many times dueled it out for the cheering fans.
Comin Atcha’ Live, usually an opening selection, was introduced mid-set and sent many to the bar right afterward simply to re-hydrate after banging along to a full throttle display by the band and killer guitar work courtesy of Hannon and Rude once again.
Given the release of the double CD set entitled “Real to Reel,” the guys are touring in support of, I was expecting more cover tunes to be, well, covered. However, the set list included only 5 covers, with the remaining 12 tunes being Tesla traditionals that spanned their catalog, with the exception of anything from the “Bust a Nut” record.
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One outstanding choice was the piercingly sentimental “Song & Emotion,” written in memory of the late Steamin’ Steve Clark of Def Leppard, who Tesla toured with early in their career.
In these times of lean musical talent and stale radio airwaves, it helps to take comfort in the fact that even after 20 of making music and fighting the fickle loyalties in the world of rock, some bands can still manage to keep it solid and keep it “real.” Tesla is one of those bands.
www.teslatheband.com
Set List
Rock Bottom
Edison’s Medicine
Thank You
Modern Day Cowboy
Little Suzi
Lazy Days, Crazy Nights
Love Song
What You Give
Into the Now
Comin Atcha Live
Stealin’
Bad Reputation
Heaven’s Trail
Song & Emotion
Heaven 911
Encore
Signs
Mama’s Fool |
