Whitesnake and the Indestructible David Coverdale: A Passionate Tornado Over Zagreb (2019)
Location: Zagreb / ŠRC Šalata / Croatia
Date: Wednesday, 03.07.2019
Whitesnake. New album, new tour. These hard rock legends, who we figured more than ten years ago were probably on a farewell tour, or at least one of their last, are not giving up. Neither is their ultimate chieftain, the charismatic and inexhaustible David Coverdale, who keeps the machine rolling. This May the band dropped another studio album, the new »Flesh & Blood« (RockLine review HERE), which is once again very strong and justifies the band’s status as a big name on the world rock map. Among the new European tour dates, they also added a stop in Zagreb, with an open-air show at ŠRC Šalata.
For the support slot, we simply couldn’t have wished for a better choice. Zagreb’s own Animal Drive hit the stage at exactly eight in the evening, in broad »daylight« that is, and played an outstanding half-hour set. As vocalist Dino Jelušić said in one of his addresses to the crowd, the band got the gig by the express choice, or rather invitation, of none other than the esteemed Coverdale and his Whitesnake. The band has been around since 2017, but it’s a quintet made up of incredibly experienced musicians, led by the outstanding voice of Dino Jelušić. Last February the band released their studio debut »Bite!«, and this year a new EP, »Back to the Roots«. That this is a band of exceptional caliber is confirmed by their deal with Frontiers Records, a reference that says flat out there’s no messing around with this group. Potent young stallions hungry to prove themselves, brimming with excess testosterone and high-octane voltage, they instantly »exploded« across the stage and showed they already know how to handle bigger venues too. True, it was the excellent Jelušić, who by the way also sings with Trans Siberian Orchestra, who grabbed the attention with his talent, his bravura vocal execution and his stage presence in general, but the great »gear« used by the rest of the band deserves a mention too. The guitar riffs literally crunched as their thunder rang out through the great sound system (great for a support act, I should say), and, on their own and in the spirit of great magnetism, pulled rocker hearts toward them. Wound-up, rattling bass lines, raging behind the drum fortress, and a Hammond sound that amped up the juiciness and punch of sturdy, instantly memorable hooks that grab you from the first second. This is a band that carries something more than just a ride on a bare hard rock recipe. They’re not strangers to the occasional syncopated rhythm either (the transition into The Look, an incredibly inventive cover of the Roxette original), which hints that the crew is also extremely well versed on the technical side, though of course above all they follow the gospel of predatory musical punch with catchy choruses front and center. The band’s adrenaline rush! It was like stepping on an anthill of red ants and getting them furious! The ritual had to wrap up in half an hour. Along the way the band slipped in the Roxette cover you can hear on the new EP, played the best moments of the studio debut, and added a song sung in Croatian. A get-together that flew by in a flash, and hand on heart, this author had been trying to catch Animal Drive on stage for quite a while, and finally managed it in Zagreb. In the best possible light.
Things unfolded in true German-style concert organization, where nothing is allowed to go wrong. And nothing did! So the show by the great Whitesnake kicked off right on schedule, at nine (in the evening). First onto the stage (both from the right) were Tommy Aldridge on drums and Reb Beach on guitar, and just a moment later, together with Joel Hoekstra and Michael Devin, who came on from the left, the great David Coverdale walked out to center stage! Striding toward the front of the stage, he theatrically bugged his eyes out in delight and clapped a hand over his mouth as he took in the packed Šalata grounds in Zagreb. Both the stands and the floor were well filled, and a proper festive rock mass for rockers and rockerettes was on the cards. This was our fourth Whitesnake visit in Croatia, and their shows on the soil of our southern neighbor have always boiled like a steam kettle, thanks to the sheer temperament of the crowd here and the packed venues in general.
The opening section catapulted the crowd straight into delirium. Why wouldn’t it? A triple punch of heavy-hitting catalysts, in the form of Bad Boys and Slide It In, followed by the thoroughly gripping Love Ain’t No Stranger, did its job right away, and the crowd was eating out of David’s hand. Whitesnake are a sextet, and alongside Coverdale the other five are a truly seasoned squad, with every name in the lineup speaking for itself, but »Flesh & Blood« is also the first real studio album for Joel Hoekstra (ex Night Ranger), who replaced the overbooked Doug Aldrich (The Dead Daisies,…) almost four years ago. In mid-July 2016 Whitesnake played Ljubljana for the third time, and the concert repertoire has barely changed from that tour to the current one. In fact, Coverdale only swapped out a few of the songs from back then for fresh tracks from »Flesh & Blood«, and otherwise didn’t touch the running order of the set list.
The band’s show lasted a little under an hour and a half. At his mature age Coverdale is still a proper little imp and rough-edged rascal on stage, forever playing with the mic stand, flinging it high into the air as he flirts with the crowd. He was, is and remains a great charmer. He can’t get out of his own skin. A rock legend turned kid again. And it suits him incredibly well. Even though his vocal cords showed their wear long ago, Coverdale’s stage show, with that sheer towering charisma of his, is the factor that still contributes hugely to making every one of the band’s concerts, even in 2019, a hard rock spectacle in its own right. Also thanks to Coverdale’s unbreakable longevity, which shows no sign of slowing down. The man and his crew simply enjoy themselves to the fullest. Relaxed and bubbling over. From the first to the last second of every concert.
In the mix, Michele Luppi’s keyboards were occasionally a touch »muffled«, but that’s hardly surprising, since the guitars of Hoekstra and Beach thunder past all limits as they build the bulk of the venomously destructive sound of the »rejuvenated« Whitesnake, who have been going through a renaissance transformation with Coverdale since 2003. Because Coverdale, like the old and seasoned fox he is, knows well that his vocal capacity is limited for his age, the middle part of the shows is usually given over to longer solo spots, which are an attraction of their own, one you simply can’t meet with indifference. First Reb Beach fired up the crowd with his own solo show, introduced very resourcefully by Coverdale for this concert as »Zag-Reb Beach«, followed by Joel Hoekstra. For the finale they stood shoulder to shoulder and pulled off a joint closing melody. Coverdale returned to the stage, the band played the short, new, mocking and catchy Shut Up & Kiss Me, and then the next ten minutes belonged to Tommy Aldridge, the famous drummer who has weathered every era of rock and whose career is longer than Coverdale’s. Aldridge, a true drumming original, of course didn’t forget to deliver the segment where he slaps the drum fortress with his bare hands. He remains a literally wild, unhinged stage animal who breaks free of his chains the moment you give him some room. Crazy drumming. Nor should we overlook the contributions of Luppi and Devin, who perfectly cover the highest registers, compensating for David Coverdale’s vocal limitations and nicely relieving the legendary singer. Coverdale’s crew is made up of excellent backing vocalists too, not just instrumentalists, who, with the exception of Aldridge, harmonize Coverdale’s lead vocal lines very carefully, skillfully and expertly.
After the drum solo came Is This Love. All of Šalata turned into a sea of phone lights, the girls »pushed« into the front rows and the heat climbed even higher. With this song you realize why Whitesnake are truly great. Right at the moment you feel that kind of reaction from the crowd. When everyone lets loose, when hearts unbind, emotions unbutton, when there are no brakes left at all. Šalata simply turned into boundless revelry and a cumulus of nothing but positive vibes and feelings. A moment that actually pays you back for the whole concert visit. That chemical magic the band creates with the crowd. That’s the thing. The main thing. At the same time it was clear that playing this song meant only one thing. The concert was tipping into its closing stretch, which Give Me All Your Love extended a little, but when the band squeezed the last atoms of strength out of the crowd by tackling the monster hit Here I Go Again, it was clear we were at the end of the show.
Without any big dramatics about leaving the stage, the band of course saved one of the best compositions created and recorded in the band’s post Marsden-Moody era for the encore. The eagerly awaited Still Of The Night, led by one of the most striking lead guitar riffs in the history of rock and roll. During this very last song of the night, the band even managed to make the sky open up. Clouds had been gathering all afternoon and rain was in the air throughout the concert. But the crowd didn’t mind at all. In fact, it gratefully cooled their overheated heads. One more finish, a theatrical finish, and the band wants to say goodbye to the crowd. I say wants. Hoekstra had already picked up the picks from the mic stand to toss them into the crowd, Aldridge had already swung his arm back to throw his drumsticks, when the authoritative Coverdale stopped them both dead in their tracks.
So? Yes. The Zagreb show will evidently become a special story once again on this »Flesh And Blood« tour. The band picked up their instruments one more time. Just for this gig. Coverdale’s delight at the energy coming back from the crowd and the venue was clearly so great that he ordered his crew to play the Deep Purple classic Burn. Only in Zagreb, then. At every previous show on this tour, Whitesnake closed with Still of the Night (even on their home turf in the British Isles). A moved Coverdale showered the crowd with flattering words of thanks and appreciation at the end, and didn’t forget to theatrically nail down his trademark: »Stay safe and well« (and of course the expected opening line, »Here’s a song for ya!«, was there during the show too).
In short. The great fox and his crew slyly slipped out of every trap that the invisible counting of years brings, once again, kept all of his credibility, power and devotion to rock’n’roll intact with this performance, and proved there’s no option that would make him think about casual musical retirement. An unforgettable event, then. Long may this adventure last. For many more years. That’s the least I can write. With all due respect to the great David Coverdale, his crew of razor-sharp, finely chiseled musical virtuosos, and of course the evergreen value of the lasting musical excellence of Whitesnake’s discographic legacy!
author: Aleš Podbrežnik
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
WHITESNAKE setlist:
recorded intro: My Generation (The Who)
1. Bad Boys (includes part of the song “Children of the Night”)
2. Slide It In
3. Love Ain’t No Stranger
4. Hey You (You Make Me Rock)
5. Slow an’ Easy
6. Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City (orig. Bobby “Blue” Bland)
7. Trouble Is Your Middle Name
8. guitar duel
9. Shut Up & Kiss Me
10. drum solo
11. Is This Love
12. Give Me All Your Love
13. Here I Go Again
—encore—
14. Still of the Night
15. Burn (orig. Deep Purple)
recorded outro: We Wish You Well
