Simon RushworthIt’s the year of the Big Finish for Mr Big but is 2024’s flamboyant farewell big enough? Alive and Kickin’ or A Little Too Loose… Simon Rushworth reports from Newcastle.
Trips and slips
Earlier this year an exhausted Eric Martin explained one of the primary reasons for Mr Big calling it a day was his own lack of stamina.
Admitting extended periods on the road took an increasing toll on his 63-year-old body, his honesty struck a chord with fellow singers.
But Martin couldn’t have predicted the freak accident that almost cost him a fond farewell on Tyneside.
A nasty slip in Belfast, as he exited the tour bus bathroom, meant the vocalist was in agony for the second half of a two-hour Newcastle set (a 14-hour stay in a Kent hospital followed).
But this is the Big Finish. And it’s testimony to Martin that he fought through the pain barrier and finished what he started.
Lean Into It… all
A top 15 Billboard chart album and the home to number one smash To Be With You, Lean Into It was the biggest of the Mr Big releases.
And with its 25th anniversary fast approaching, a remarkable record represents the fitting centrepiece to the Big Finish set.
Performed in its entirety, fans are treated to live versions of classics including Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song), Never Say Never, Road To Ruin and more.
And of course there’s the superior of the album’s two made-for-MTV ballads — the brilliant but often overlooked Just Take My Heart.
Martin might not sound exactly like he did in 1991 but who does? Well, apart from Paul Gilbert and Billy Sheehan.
Mr Big’s spine rocks on
Had Martin’s bad back caused him to miss Mr Big’s Maid of Stone slot — two days after the Newcastle show — then Gilbert and Sheehan had vowed the show would go on.
They’d promised to share the vocal duties in their buddy’s absence and few would have bet against the muti-talented twosome doing a stellar job.
Both can sing. Both can play. Both are well worth watching in their own right.
Few bands boast the bullish triple threat Mr Big pose with Martin, Gilbert and Sheehan in familiar formation.
In truth, two hours isn’t anywhere near enough time to enjoy everything these consummate pros have to offer.
If only the Big Finish was even bigger.
Pat on the back for Edu Cominato
Given the size of the shoes he has to fill and the company he’s keeping on stage, Edu Cominato is proving himself to be the classiest of class acts.
With drummer Nick D’Virgilio unable to complete the majority the European dates on the Big Finish tour, the late, great Pat Torpey’s stand-in required a stand-in of his own.
Step forward Cominato.
The Brazilian has played with both Sheehan and Martin in the past but this is a whole new ball game.
Cominato cruised through the band’s Newcastle show and even handled himself on guitar as the band ran through their familiar switcharound routine.
Drum roll…
Images by Adam Kennedy
