Cheap Trick

I've seen Cheap Trick more times than I count. Following are some of the more memorable shows.

Cheap Trick's All Shook Up Tour 1980

Cheap Trick’s *All Shook Up* album, released in October 1980 and produced by George Martin, was an experimental and less radio-friendly record, known for tracks like “Stop This Game” and “World’s Greatest Lover.” It differed from their earlier work and was created during the period when Tom Petersson temporarily left the band. The group toured *All Shook Up* at venues such as Philadelphia’s Spectrum in 1980, showcasing this shift in sound. George Martin produced the album, and it famously begins with the same note that ends the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life.”

The tour came to the Philadelphia Spectrum on February 21, 1981, and it delivered many memorable moments. To start, another one of my favorite bands, UFO, opened the show. Their set was nearly cut short when the guitarists intentionally touched the necks of their guitars together, only to discover the electronics weren’t properly grounded, creating a dramatic lightning-strike moment.

When Cheap Trick took the stage, the crowd went wild. The Beatles influence was obvious and especially spectacular during “Day Tripper.” Rick played flawlessly, then lifted his guitar over his head to reveal a Beatles logo on the back. Another highlight was Bun E. Carlos — I’ve always loved his style. During the song “Who D’King,” dozens of extras came onstage wearing Bun E. masks, performing in a tribal, jungle-like procession and chant.

Setlist
Stop This Game
Can't Stop It (But I'm Gonna Try)
I Love You Honey but I Hate Your Friends
Baby Loves to Rock
High Priest of Rhythmic Noise
Gonna Raise Hell
Ain't That a Shame (Fats Domino cover)
Dream Police
I Want You to Want Me
Surrender
Who D'King
Just Got Back
Day Tripper (The Beatles cover)
Goodnight

F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre, PA — January 23, 1989

Setlist
Just Got Back
California Man (The Move cover)
Let Go
Dream Police
If You Want My Love
Never Had a Lot to Lose
Ghost Town
Ain't That a Shame (Fats Domino cover)
I Know What I Want
Clock Strikes Ten
Don't Be Cruel (Elvis / Otis Blackwell cover)
The Flame
I Want You to Want Me
Surrender
Auf Wiedersehen
Goodnight

Willow Grove, PA, October 2, 2005

Last night I took a bunch of kids to the Navy base for the free Cheap Trick concert. They all had a blast, and I managed to get them right up close to the stage.

One of them was on my shoulders, and we made it all the way to the rail. We were singing and dancing when Tom Petersson waved to her. She was thrilled — especially since she was already impressed by the 12-string bass he invented.

Rick Nielsen was in great form too. The kids loved the guitar shaped like him. I told them, “Sometimes he brings out a guitar with three necks.”
I paused.
“Sometimes four.”
Another pause.
“Sometimes five.”

So when he finally brought one out, I asked, “Gee… how many necks does that one have?”
They counted: one, two, three, four, five.

’Twas quite a sight.

Robin still looks and sounds great.

The only slightly sad part was Bun E. He’s long been one of my favorite drummers. He was still rock-solid, but the years of cigarettes have clearly taken their toll. Still, he was playing — and honestly, he looked a hundred years old 20 years ago, so maybe nothing has really changed.

I’ve always loved how they put the two geeks on the back of the album cover and the “rockers” on the front. Anyone that high up the food chain who can still laugh at themselves earns my respect.

I was also surprised by how many teenagers and young kids knew the music. Between movie soundtracks and TV theme songs (like That ’70s Show), they’ve stayed in front of younger audiences — especially now that radio and MTV barely play new music anymore.

And it’s strange hanging out on a military base — it’s a city within a city. They were selling everything, even beer, but you had to buy tickets. It was all Navy police except for one state trooper. No local police, but local fire and rescue were inside. I asked the kids what would happen if they got caught doing something they shouldn’t.

“The brig!”

It’ll be a big blow to the local economy when the base closes, depending on what they do with all that land — and how contaminated the soil turns out to be.

Anyway, I keep thinking about those thousand guitars, many with multiple necks. I’m trying to figure out how many fingers you’d need to play them all at once. Or maybe you just line them up on the floor in D tuning and run past them with a pick.

If you’re curious, the setlist was something like this (not necessarily in the right order):

Hello There
Big Eyes
Best Friend
Never Had a Lot to Lose
I Know What I Want
Voices
The Flame
I Want You to Want Me
Surrender
Southern Girls
California Man
Dream Police
Goodnight

Camden Waterfront with Journey and Heart, August 26, 2008

What a night for classic rock fans in Camden, NJ. Just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, the large waterfront stadium offered both covered seating and wide lawn areas, and the weather was perfect for a concert under the stars. Journey, Heart, and Cheap Trick co-headlined a spectacular evening.

Cheap Trick started the show at 7:00 PM. With all the original members looking in great shape, they sounded even better. Although Rick Nielsen didn’t use his “looks-like-himself” guitar, he did play a wide variety of unique axes, including his famous five-neck guitar. Bun E. Carlos looked stronger than the last time I saw him — he must have quit smoking, because he didn’t do his trademark playing-while-puffing-a-cigarette routine. Tom Petersson played his 12-string bass to complete the melodic rhythm section, and Robin Zander’s voice was in fine form as well.

Rick was energetic as he pounced around the stage tossing out guitar picks. Several times during the show he threw out handfuls of them. They came in a wide array of colors and were all specially printed with Cheap Trick logos and Rick’s autograph. Occasionally he went back to tweak his custom stack of amplifiers, and sometimes he stepped up to the lead microphone to chat with the crowd. At one point in the show, he invited Tom to recount the time they lived in Philadelphia and invented the 12-string bass guitar at the Medley Music Store.

The only complaint about their set was that it was too short. That said, they managed to cram a heck of a lot of superb music into a brief performance. For the encore, they brought out Jonathan Cain (The Babys / Journey) to play keyboards on “Dream Police.”

Setlist
Oh Claire
In the Street (Big Star cover)
California Man (The Move cover)
If You Want My Love
Come On, Come On
I Want You to Want Me
I Can't Take It
The Flame
Surrender
Goodnight
Dream Police (with Jonathan Cain)