Event:
The Monsters of Rock 2003 Venue:
Telewest Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK Date:
23 May 2003
Whitesnake
Celebrating their 25 year anniversary we had the legendary Whitesnake
heading tonight’s rock gathering. Indeed they were the cherry on the cake
as far bands on this tour’s line-up were concerned. Many people here
tonight had seen them before and were absolutely gagging to see them
perform again. The rest of us were eager virgins, waiting to see if the
band really could live up to their reputation of being one of THE all time
greats in rock history. Sure they had the songs, but could they do them
justice live? That was the question on our lips.
It was 9.15 pm when David in a crisp white shirt hung loose and a faded
pair of jeans led the way onto the stage with his band. At that point the
whole place just exploded into an almost deafening round of cheers,
screams and clapping. There wasn’t a bum left on the seat as the fans went
crazy and leapt to their feet. The band gave a quick wave then launched
into ‘Bad Boys’ the first song of their set.
This was quickly followed up by a firm favourite of the crowd here tonight
‘Slide it In’. The band were giving it there all and the crowd were
lapping it up like kittens at a saucer of milk. David said that not only
was it 25 years for the snake, but it was also 30 years since he first
joined Deep Purple. My goodness has it really been that long? This man not
only looks amazing, but he sound amazing too and has the energy of a 3
year old on Smarties. I’d love to know what his secret is because he sure
does look like he’s found that secret fountain of youth along the way.
Before long it was time to introduce the members of the band to everyone
and I was delighted the line-up this tour included two of my favourite
guitarists, the legend in his own right Doug Aldrich, and fellow
stablemate Reb Beach. Indeed both excellent artists whose solo work is as
popular as their work within the various bands they have appeared in over
the years. So young and yet between them they have so much experience.
On bass guitar and backing vocals we had the flamboyant Latin lover Marco
Mendoza. This man was born to flirt and did so none stop with all the
females at the front of the audience. Confidence is something this man
will never suffer a lack of. On keyboards we had Timothy Drury, perhaps
better known for his work with the Eagles and Don Henly.
Last but most certainly not least we had Tommy Aldridge on the drums. A
man that impresses me more than even the mighty Cozy Powell did. My
goodness what that man can do to those drums with his bare hands is simply
indescribable.
Strangely enough a lot of fans for some reason lost on the rest of us, as
well as the band, had come equipped with big balloons which they waggled
at the band during the set. Totally bewildered by all this David asked one
fan what was with all the balloons only to be handed a large yellow one
which he was informed was called Denis! Yes you should have known being a
Northern lad yourself; they don’t get much stranger than us lot.
David quipped that perhaps it was an implant because living in the USA now
he knew all about implants. I don’t think he was actually given a reply to
his question so he called over a stagehand and asked them to take the
balloon to his dressing room and to wrap it in silk for when he returned!
Oo-er misses!
With Denis now safely out of the way the band launched into a stomping
version of ‘Walking in the shadow of the Blues’. It’s good to see David’s
trademark long blonde locks are back and gently tousled like all good rock
stars hair should be. (Never did like it much when he had it all cut
short). By oh my, did you get a look at those cheekbones? He’s now got
sharper cheekbones than Steve Tyler!
In fact the band were all looking particularly eye-catching tonight. Right
from Doug’s lovely bare chest with that mouthwatering six-pack. His talent
was totally wasted in Burning Rain who we’d seen him perform with before.
With looks and talent like that it’s no surprise that David was quick to
claim that Doug was his illegitimate son. Reb’s hair was so long and shiny
it looked like he should be sponsored by Pantene or someone. Marco wiggled
his hips in a way that would put even Ricky Martin to shame, and Tommy,
well his hair was, well, huge and totally mad!
At the end of that song a female fan handed over a skimpy pair of black
panties to David. He burst out laughing and said that he’s nearly 52 and
women were still giving him underwear. Another boost to his ego. Not only
did the fans love his songs, his show, his looks, but they also wanted to
share their underwear and yellow balloons with him …
In the middle of ‘Crying in the Rain’ Tommy did a tremendous drum solo
that had the whole Arena gagging in amazement. In fact each and every
musician on the stage tonight gave a faultless set. The crowd warmed
instantly to them and David the eternal pro spent as much time wandering
out to the front to have a bit banter with the crowd as he did singing the
proper setlist. Indeed he sang ditty’s from nearly all his back catalogue
in the moments between songs and really made the crowd feel appreciated.
He’s come a long way but he’s still the first to admit you can take the
lad out the North, but you can’t take the North out the lad. You got the
feeling he will never forget his roots and he’s all the better for it. He
remembers the hard times, he remembers the struggles in the early days,
and he’s thankful for everything he’s got now. It could have been so easy
for him to come onstage tonight and been so high and mighty because he is
after all a rock legend, an icon, a truly historical figure in the overall
history of rock music. It would have been so easy to just come on, play a
few songs, then stomped off with his head held high knowing he would still
get that large cheque at the end of the night anyway.
But he didn’t. He gave us a night to remember, a night to cherish, a
performance that brought tears to our eyes because it was so beautiful.
The atmosphere was fantastic, the whole place was buzzing with more energy
than the national grid. The band looked like they were enjoying what they
were doing and nothing was rushed. In fact I think if given the
opportunity they would have continued the set a lot longer after the venue
curfew of 11 pm.
Fingers crossed the band return soon because we’ll be there at the front
of the queue next time and we’ll have a lot more pals with us as well. The
whole night was Fan-bloody-tastic from start to finish and well worth
slashing out a bit extra cash on the tickets when we got such quality
performances by three wonderful rock bands.
Setlist Included:
1. Bad Boys
2. Slide it In
3. Slow n’ Easy
4. Walking in the shadows of the Blues
5. Love ain’t no Stranger
6. Is this Love
7. Crying in the Rain
8. Ain’t no love in the heart of the City
9. Fool for your Loving
10. All your love Tonight
11. Here I go Again
