Bada Bang
We have a very good friend named Steve, but he’s called Bada Bang, or Bang Bang, or Bada, or Bang, or Hibbity (really.)
Anyway – we (James, Bada, our friend John and I) went to see Extreme this past weekend and it rocked very fucking hard. I guess I should give a quick review then get to the rest of the night…
We decided to skip the opening acts (Kings X and Living Colour) to drink in the parking lot and cause a ruckus. Check and check. On the way in, John and I tried to smuggle beers in with our chairs, but got caught red handed and had to put them away. Instead John just tried to throw them over the fence to our eagerly awaiting hands, but we all failed miserably.
As we walked in we realized it was pretty empty and sneaking to the front would probably be easier than we originally planned. So we ditched our lawn chairs on the lawn and walked toward the orchestra section. Somehow, Bada managed to just walk past the security guards unnoticed. I jumped over the fence and when I landed, it made quite a thud. When the guards looked at me, John and James were able to walk behind their backs and we all re-convened at the front of the stage.
Well – EXTREME FUCKING RULES!!! I’ve always loved their music, but never expected the show to be that good. They played the hits, they did a medley of songs from the first album and they played a few new tracks. The new tracks were killer (and so is the rest of the new CD) and Gary Cherone sounded awesome.
The truly great part of the show, though, was Nuno Fuckin’ Bettencourt. He was so on point it was scary. He played “Do You Wanna Play?” note for note with possibly even more accuracy and intensity than on the record. He also played the intro for “He-Man Woman Hater” which I believe is called “Flight of the Wounded Bumblebee” as his solo spot. Again… just fucking insanity. He busted out an acoustic and before we could even groan in anticipation of “More Than Words” he tore the guitar apart with an acoustic solo which I was later told came from “Waiting for the Punchline” which I’ve honestly never even given a shot.
So after all that shred-tastic deliciousness we headed back to my house to continue the party. We tried and tried to get the grill started – not as easy at midnight as it is at noon. And only one of us was able to get it going.
Ladies and gentleman, I present to you “Bada Bang” Steve Levy in “Firecracker Freddy”:
