Label: Frontiers Music Srl.
Release date: 05.12.2008
DVD length: 150 min
Genre: Hard Rock
This is a memento of one date, 22.02.2008, and a gig by the freshly reawakened hard rockers Tesla in Minnesota, USA! It’s a DVD that boasts outstanding picture as well as sound. It was shot with at least 5 cameras. Two below the stage (the first on the left, the second on the right), one behind the drums, then the main one on a movable crane, and one more at the complete opposite end of the hall, at the back, from behind the crowd. Not a single miss. Especially for all you musicians who want to know what’s going on under the fingers of Frank Hannon and newcomer Dave Rude. The look at each player’s “gear” right there on stage is excellent, and you guitar virtuosos will be over the moon when you find the special section of the DVD where each member of the band presents their gear in detail, even explaining which effects and guitars they use for individual Tesla songs. Want to start a Tesla tribute band? Then grab this DVD right now!
So visually we keep moving from close-up shots to ones that take in more of the stage and turn toward the crowd, dynamically and effectively capturing the interaction on stage between the band members, as well as between the band and the fans. The hall is jam-packed, and even in 2008 the Americans haven’t forgotten who Tesla are! The crowd is steaming hot.
The performance is unbelievable. You wonder whether it’s even possible to play a gig this perfectly and at the same time get a sound this flawless and this juicy. Close your eyes and just listen, and you can feel Tesla sweating on stage! And about that perfect live sound? There must have been studio overdubs, but damn it, I can’t prove that! The whole thing is hugely convincing thanks to an extremely warm, I’d even say downright steamy, erogenous sound, built on the classic Gibson sound of Tesla’s riffs, on dynamics and colorful three-dimensionality, delivered by Wheat’s pulsing, voluminous, clearly separated bass line, as well as Luccretta’s drums authoritatively dictating the lead tempos.
On this DVD the band comes across youthful, extremely well-oiled, hot and hungry to play, as if the turn from the eighties into the nineties was still just yesterday. Tesla can’t wait to tear up the stage. So the opening Comin’ Atcha Live puts both guitarists front and center, wildly trading a whole parade of breathtaking solos. In steps Jeff Keith! Plain, unpretentious, approachable, with a mischievous smile! But in the chorus you can tell the years have taken some of the power from his vocal cords. Sure, his instantly recognizable, gritty, sandpapery voice is there, piercing the ears and remaining an important Tesla trademark, but when Modern Day Cowboy comes along soon after, the suspicion of a partial loss of power turns into fact. Still, Jeff Keith decently chases down every register throughout the gig, and the songs from “Into The Now” (2004), as well as the new song Pvt. Ledbetter, which came out toward the end of that same year on the album “Forever More” (2008), mostly serve him as a chance to relax and cool down the vocal cords.
The interplay between Rude and Hannon is unreal! Considering Rude is the new guy, that’s all the more impressive, since it’s more than obvious that his integration into the band was completely natural and that Rude was made for Tesla. Hannon is razor sharp and the stage is full of him during the show. At times he takes up so much room that he pulls all the attention onto himself. Even from Jeff Keith. Hannon proves to be an excellent vocalist who fills the “holes” in the songs, wherever that’s needed, with great assurance.
A real guitarist first and foremost nails the acoustic stuff, and the neo-classical intro duet before Love Song, which smells of hot Latin temperament, shows how well the two guitarists understand each other. Rude reportedly joined Tesla precisely to fill the gap left by Tommy Skeoch’s departure, when the band wanted to head out on an acoustic tour but had no guitarist. So they were looking first of all for someone really strong on acoustic guitar!
Tesla are outstanding musicians, and as a unit they’re hard to beat on stage! Their feel, their touch for the drama in their songs, is exceptional! It’s easy to sense the genuine chemistry of a band that comes from playing together for a long time. The essence of the band, its spirit, is damn alive and creates a special mood that only Tesla can conjure up!
What stands out especially is that touch of tragedy in songs like Paradise, with outstanding work from both guitarists and a perfectly tuned opening “twin guitar” harmony, then Song And Emotion (dedicated to the late Steve Clarke of Def Leppard), as well as Freedom Slaves, where Luccretta shines, dictating a military march on the drums. The band raises the roof at the end of the show with a heartfelt performance of the classic Edison’s Medicine. And so we make our way to the end of a recording you can never get tired of. I’d also like to mention the excellent cover of Rock Bottom, a UFO classic, where Wheat, with his Thunderbird Gibson bass, lies down on the steps of the drum riser, a trick from good old Pete Way (UFO), minus the spandex, of course, which the legendary Way still squeezes into without shame today when he shows up on stage with UFO!
The extra material is great. It shows some backstage moments that will have you crying with laughter. A walk through Seattle, Hannon and Rude’s blues jam, Frank Hannon shooting at apples with a bow, the story of how J.K. bought Rude a brand-new Gibson Explorer guitar. Jeff accidentally gave Dave a hard smack in the face after the gig, right after tossing a handful of Hannon’s picks into the crowd, and Rude ended up with a nicely swollen bump on his forehead. J.K.’s dream compensation, no doubt! And as mentioned, the bullseye of this DVD is the section where all the members show off their “gear”! That’s pure gold!
“Comin’ Atcha Live 2008” is a document of Tesla with all their power intact: fresh, tight, in superbly preserved shape, a band that takes no compromises onto the stage. I warmly recommend this recording to all fans of the band, and to all of you who are in bands, because this DVD will show you what a truly professional attitude to the work in the music business looks like! At times all the stage perfection this live DVD offers seems unbelievable. It’s like it came straight out of the box! The sound is filigree. I still can’t believe it went down without after-the-fact studio fixes (overdub embellishments). So Tesla are still kicking hard live, and let’s hope they show up on tour in Europe in this form as soon as possible!
author: Aleš Podbrežnik
rating: 9.5 / 10
Track list:
1. Comin’ Atcha Live
2. What a Shame
3. Modern Day Cowboy
4. Miles Away
5. Heaven’s Trail
6. Mama’s Fool
7. Hang Tough
8. Dear PVT. Ledbetter
9. Paradise
10. Love Song
11. What U Give
12. Song and Emotion
13. Heaven 911
14. Freedom Slaves
15. Rock Bottom
16. Into the Now
17. Signs
18. Lil’ Suzi
19. Edison’s Medicine
Line-up:
Jeff Keith – vocals
Frank Hannon – guitar, keyboards, theremin, backing vocals
Dave Rude – guitar, backing vocals
Brian Wheat – bass, backing vocals, keyboards
Troy Luccketta – drums
