The Roseland theater played host to the Thicker Than Blood tour featuring Living Colour and Extreme last night and what an incredible performance it was.
Living Colour, despite being stage veterans of nearly 40 years, still seem like they’re at the top of their game. Honestly, this could have been a co-headlining tour. Lead singer Corey Glover and the rest of the boys sounded tight and their influence on rock and roll, funk, and hip-hop is undeniable. The crowd was engaged, singing along with the chorus for “Fight For Your Neighborhood”, and of course, the “Cult Of Personality”. Living Colour even did a tribute to the late Sinead O’Conner with a few verses from Nothing Compares 2 U. During one portion of the show, Corey, walked out over the floor speakers on stage right and did the unthinkable. He climbed from the speakers up into the balcony. Security and stage hands rushed to his aide to make sure he wasn’t injured in the event of a fall while additional security rushed to the balcony to protect him as fans gathered near him for selfies and to capture an intimate moment with the rock icon.
When Extreme came on, the vibe in the venue shifted a bit as it seemed that the energy in the venue increased. There was definitely more buzz in the room (shameless foreshadowing). But the energy from the fans could not come close to the energy that lead singer Gary Cherone was putting out. He covered every inch of the Roseland Theater’s stage, gyrating and gesturing wildly.
During the break between sets, I overheard a gentleman on his phone saying “I’m not a huge fan of Extreme’s songs, but I’m here to see Nuno play.” Although not entirely true for the majority of the crowd, it’s distinctly possible that he wasn’t alone. In fact, during the set, Nuno asked if there were any guitar players in the crowd. I would estimate that at least a third of the venue raised a hand or two. Although I’ve personally played a time or two, I couldn’t in good faith claim to be a guitarist in front of Nuno Bettencourt. I mean, come on Portland, let’s practice a little humility. I think that Nuno could easily claim to be one of the best living guitarists in the world. He plays with such precision and speed, that I don’t even think his guitar could keep up with him.
Extreme may possibly be best known for their work on their sophomore album Pornograffiti with hits like “Hole-Hearted” and the iconic “More Than Words”, but the release of their newest album Six introduced several tracks that are bound to resurrect a demand for Extreme’s music. Nuno said that it seems like they release new music roughly every 300 years, but that’s because “we only put out music that we are 100% committed to.” The set list was over 20 songs long, 6 of which were off their latest release. Nuno got several opportunities to let loose including tributes to Eddie Van Halen with a bit of “Eruption”, the incredible guitar work in “Rise”, and his shred-fest “Flight of the Wounded Bumble Bee.” We’re going to be waiting with baited breath until we can see them again. An incredible performance!
Unfortunately, this US leg of the tour is about to come to an end with their final show on August 29th in Seattle. If you have some global travel in your plans in the near future, Extreme will be hitting Australia, Asia, and Europe through the end of the year. Visit https://extreme-band.com/tour/ for more information about upcoming tour dates.
