Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Velden Am Wörthersee (Vrba na Koroškem) / Bluesiana Rock Cafe / Austria
Concert date: 23.11.2013
Attendance: 70
Ticket price: 22,00€ (presale) / 26,00€ (day of show)
John Corabi – former singer of the »glam metal bad boys« Mötley Crüe, paid Bluesiana another visit this November. His second time there! Last year the guy put out an acoustic album called »John Corabi Unplugged«, on which he managed to rework, in acoustic form, some of the best-known songs of his career, from the stretch when he called Mötley Crüe home around the album »Mötley Crüe«, then in Union, and even before Mötley Crüe, in The Scream.
John Corabi doesn’t need much room to shine with his stage entertainment. A man loaded with positive-energy vibes, armed with a razor-sharp tongue he spins with remarkable skill and a cunning sense of humor. Corabi constantly pokes fun at himself and the people around him. A night with Corabi? Hard to find a better ticket for an evening switch-off. A better recipe for a good party barely exists.
John played a set of songs you can’t catch at any other show these days, and in »unplugged« form, no less. His songs from the album »Mötley Crüe« (1994), plus the musical »odysseys« with ex-Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick in Union and The Scream, found their way into the setlist at Bluesiana too, and the guy also salted the show with a couple of sweeties, Hard Luck Woman (The Kiss) and Seasons Of Wither (Aerosmith).
The battle of the sexes was the theme of the »trilogy« run of Crash, Robin’s Song and Never Loved Her Anyway. John used every break for what was basically a »stand up comedy« show. He did impressions of his family members, of the Mötley Crüe guys, of Steven Tyler and Joe Perry from Aerosmith, and of course of himself in all kinds of situations from his own life. The man is a born storyteller, a walking encyclopedia of the juiciest tales and anecdotes. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard, to the point of tears, at a gig. Maybe at a Primus show, but that’s another story.
With a vibe like that, the clock hands spun incredibly fast. The intimacy of Bluesiana’s always cozy atmosphere, where this time the tables and chairs stayed right in the room next to the stage, gave off a fresh magical moment as John spoiled a dozen devotees of his Mötley Ctüe days with Hooligan’s Holiday, Driftaway, Home Sweet Home, Loveshine, Missunerstood. He happily admitted he’s always worshipped the music of The Beatles, so he kicked off the encore with Eleanor Rigby, which soon slid into a full-on version of Oh Darling, and he wrapped up the show with a heartfelt, relived rendition of the Wings & Paul McCartney classic Maybe I’m Amazed.
Corabi sings great. When he dresses up his melodically clean, rock-solid vocal performance with a bigger and/or smaller dose of grit, he fleetingly recalls Sammy Hagar in his better vocal days. The man is also an outstanding guitarist. He knows how to spice up the passages with bluesy mixing of open chords, as well as adding tweaked single-string passing figures, breaking up the monotony of the acoustic guitar as a bare accompaniment to the vocals.
Corabi is a musician cut from the right cloth, head to toe! A rocker and a half. One man, one guitar. Fused into one. A goofy rascal you can never get enough of. I’d suggest you check the guy out on stage at least once in your life. You won’t regret your decision for a second!
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