Well, I saw Yngwie here in Tucson last night, and he was great! As always he was a great showman and very gracious to the audience. Just like last time I saw him, I was right up at the front, right in front of Yngwie's mike stand, with my two oldest sons next to me. (The older of the two caught two guitar picks, and gave one to his younger brother--who was at his first concert--and would have gotten a drumstick if somebody hadn't kicked him when he bent down to get it!)
George Lynch opened, and did some fine shredding. Kelly Keeling was great on vocals (as expected) and for the most part the band looked like they were having a good time. It was fun to see Jeff Martin (singer for Racer X) on drums and backing vocals (with some great metal screams). I was kind of hoping that they would break into a rendition of Motor Man.
About half of their 45 minute set was Dokken stuff, with some Lynch Mob, and I think one Lynch/Pilson song, filling out the rest.
Yngwie and his band were definitely the highlight, though, in all aspects. They did a wide range of songs, though the most frequently played release was the most recent (Attack!). Some of the best work was on acoustic guitar, including some from Yngwie's concerto. Speed, technique, melody, feeling, showmanship. Yngwie's got it all.
Doogie White was great on vocals. He's basically Ronnie James Dio size, but like Dio, he has great stage presence and works the crowd well. He knows how to focus the spotlight on Yngwie, but at the same time be part of the show. At one point he said something to Yngwie that made Yngwie start laughing hysterically.
The legendary Rudy Sarzo on bass was great, but I would have liked to see him come out of the background a little more, and his sound was drowned out a bit by the bass drums. The keyboardist and drummer quietly went about their jobs in fine fashion.
Anyway, it was a great show, with a couple of great guitarists.
