Venue: Koko, London

During their UK promo tour for their new album '...The Stories We Could Tell', Mr. Big managed to surprise their fans over and over again at their gig on the 17th October at KOKO, London. Curious what happened? Then better read on - you never know if you won’t find a surprise or two in here as well, right? 

Not only was their show sold out on a Friday night, but also held in an impressive venue with several balconies that added to a great atmosphere, especially during Mr. Big’s ballads and acoustic set in which Eric Martin would contribute on acoustic guitar. Although there were several songs the crowd cheered and sang along to, three of them stood out in particular. Their biggest commercial hits 'Just Take My Heart' and 'To Be With You' as well as 'Wild World' were the tunes during which the enthusiasm of their audience was at its peak. But during the latter two, it was also due to a surprise no one would have expected.   

During these two songs, drummer Pat Torpey who has been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease this summer and wasn’t expected to join the band on drums other than for a few selected songs, entered the stage and joined Eric Martin on vocals which caused a wall of applause and cheering of his name. 

But that was not the only surprise during their two hour set. Apart from the usual amazing guitar and bass solos as well as duels between both instruments, Mr. Big decided to completely change their roles and swap instruments during a cover of Judas Priest’s song 'Living After Midnight'. Billy Sheehan took over lead guitar, Eric Martin bass guitar, Pat Torpey vocals together with his drummer replacement Matt Starr and Paul Gilbert played drums which resulted in a fun and nearly end to an amazing show that was full of great musicianship.

A night and well-deserved sold out gig to remember. 

Mr. Big have finished their UK tour by now and are currently touring Japan with stops in Taiwan and China. Don’t miss out on future shows (and be quick enough to get tickets before they sell out again) by following them on Facebook or Twitter (@mrbigmusic).

To make the time until Mr. Big come back to the UK more bearable for you, don’t forget to check out their new record “...The Stories We Could Tell” released via Frontiers Records on Amazon, iTunes or Spotify.

Review by: Anna Zurek

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