Extreme @ Trix Antwerp, December 14, 2023
A live band through and through
On Thursday December 14, 2023, Extreme played a gig at the Trix venue in Antwerp. I became aware of their tour a bit too late, so their show in de Melkweg (‘Milky Way’) in Amsterdam was sold out before I knew it. Luckily I was able to snag a ticket to the Antwerp show, which also sold out (and rightfully so, I might add).
As to Extreme: the rhythm section of drummer Kevin Figueiredo and Bass player Pat Badger is more than solid, with Pat exchanging some licks with Nuno in “Thicker than Blood”. His background vocals often enriched the already excellent harmonies of Gary and Nuno.
Gary Cherone is the lead singer, but—even more importantly—the frontman. I was immensely impressed with the sheer energy, bravado and intense gymnastics of his podium performance. The moments when Pat Badger and Nuno Bettencourt are bound to their microphones—otherwise they know how to move around, as well—Gary Cherone delivers enough action for the lot of them.
Maybe his voice isn’t as powerful as it used to be, but it’s still more than up to the task, often exquisitely enhanced by the harmonies with Nuno and Pat. I especially liked the way they did the sequential harmonies in the very outro of “Rebel”—the hallmark of a great live band (see video below).
Over their long career—even if six albums in over thirty years seems a bit lacklustre, I’d say this is a good argument for quality over quantity—they’ve amassed sufficient songs to deliver a setlist where intense rockers such as “Decadence Dance”, “Rebel”, “Banshee” and “Rise” are mixed with ballads like “Other Side of the Rainbow”, “Hole Hearted”, “Hurricane” and “More than Words”, alongside massive singalongs like “Hip Today”, “Thicker than Blood” and “Get the Funk Out”.
And between all that, they manage to squeeze more complex and/or contemplative material such as “Rest in Peace”, “Cupid’s Dead’, “Am I Ever Gonna Change” and even a medley of songs from their self-titled debut. As such, the two hours(!) are over before you know it, as Extreme not only knows how to perform and entertain, but to deliver a highly varied setlist, as well.
On top of that, homages galore: John Berry’s ‘Hail to the King’ was the intro music, James Brown’s “Get Up” opened the solo before “Cupid’s Dead” as Elvis’s ‘That’s All Right’ is mixed with “Take Us Alive”. Queen and Van Halen are referenced twice:
‘We Will Rock You’ before “Play with Me”;
‘Fat Bottomed Girls’ before “Banshee”;
‘Eruption’ in the intro solo of “Cupid’s Dead”;
The guitar intro of Van Halen’s “Women in Love” in the opening for “Flight of the Wounded Bumblebee” (as he pointed his index finger heavenwards afterwards);
It’s an indirect way of Extreme saying that their career has lasted well over thirty-five years and that they’ve got the influences to show for that.
Having said all that, the undeniable star of the show was Nuno Bettencourt, who’s not only a superb guitar player, but is also gifted with a beautiful singing voice and has some chops as the defacto announcer, as well.
As to the latter, he exchanged jokes with the audience—‘what took you so long’ when he asked who saw them for the first time and ‘too young, you weren’t born yet’ when he asked to raise hands to show who followed the band from the very beginning—together with some self-deprication (“at this age1 you’re happy to sit down” before the acoustic part of the show) and all that worked to make his thanks to the audience feel truly genuine, as well.
And while Gary Cherone is the frontman and lead singer, I’d rate Nuno’s voice as better and more melodic. His voice—often assisted with that of Pat Badger—greatly enriches Extreme’s choruses, making them all the more catchy and powerful. On top of that, Nuno’s and Gary’s voices harmonise incredibly well, as evidenced in ballads like “Small Town Beautiful”, “Other Side of the Rainbow”, “Hole Hearted”, “Hurricane” and the inevitable “More than Words2”.
Yet Nuno’s greatest weapon is his guitar playing. It demands—and justifies—two separate solo spots: an acoustic and an electric one. In the acoustic spot, his range is just as incredible as in his electric playing, varying from teasingly melodic to a flamenco-like intensity in the fast parts3.
The electric spot solo remains “Flight of the Wounded Bumblebee”, starting with the notes of the classic “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Rimsky Korsakov before transforming into an electric extravaganza. Yet no matter how spectacular this showcase, I think top Nuno was truly reached in the solo of “Rise”—rightfully the last encore (see video below). What an incredible guitar player. One gifted with a great voice and a good gab, and despite all that talent he remains down to earth, thankful to his audience and humble, especially to his influences.
So, any complaints? Well, this great show—one of the best concerts of the year—could have been a little bit better if it had included “X Out” from Six, Extreme’s homage to King’s X4. Maybe in the next tour, because Extreme are still way too good, vital and entertaining to stop right now. Don’t miss ‘em if they return!
Setlist:
It’s a Monster (Pornograffiti)
Decadence Dance (Pornograffiti)
#Rebel (Six)
Rest in Peace (III Sides to Every Story)
Hip Today (Waiting for the Punchline)
Teacher’s Pet/Flesh’n’Blood/Wind Me Up/Kid Ego (Extreme)
Play with Me (Extreme)
Other Side of the Rainbow (Six)
Hole Hearted (Pornograffiti)
Cupid’s Dead (III Sides to Every Story)
Am I Ever Gonna Change (III Sides to Every Story)
Thicker than Blood (Six)
Midnight Express (Waiting for the Punchline)
Hurricane (Six)
More than Words (Pornograffiti)
Banshee (Six)
Take Us Alive/That’s Alright (Saudades de Rock/Elvis Presley’s “That’s Alright Mama”)
Flight of the Wounded Bumblebee (Pornograffiti)
Get the Funk Out (Pornograffiti)
Encores:
Small Town Beautiful (Six)
Rise (Six)
Author’s note: originally I’d planned to feature a review of the Nova Twins show in de Melkweg of March 24, but decided to put this Extreme review up while it’s still fresh in my mind. Nova Twins review will come next year, promised!
Bettencourt’s fifity-seven years old;
With some awesome audience participation, it has to be said;
Making me wonder if he could replace the late, great Paco de Lucia in a tour of Friday Nigth in San Francisco with Al di Meola and John McLaughlin;
With whom they’ve toured several times;