Atlanta Shows Up To Lean Into It – ‘The BIG Finish’ with Mr. Big 

By Carrianne Stoker-Postier

Atlanta, GA – Even a chilly (for the South), weekday night would not deter this BIG crowd from forming a line down the sidewalk while waiting on the Variety Playhouse doors to open for an evening celebration of Mr. Big’s “The Big Finish” tour. The audience was geared up for a legacy performance bursting with a bittersweet flavor only a final tour could bring.  

Mr. Big’s lineup includes original members Eric Martin (vocals), Paul Gilbert (guitar) and Billy Sheehan (bass), with Nick D’Virgilio joining on drums. The band’s original drummer, Pat Torpey, passed away due to complications of Parkinson’s disease in 2018, although his presence could be felt intertwined through the band’s over 35 years existence.

Showcasing heavy harmonies and deep running collaboration on stage, the band members also demonstrated their own individual and masterful talent. The setlist not only delivered a blend of classic favorites and hit covers, it featured a start to finish run-through of the 1991 album Lean Into It and some encore surprises.

Full article and  more pictures: https://digitalbeatmag.com/atlanta-shows-up-to-lean-into-it-the-big-finish-with-mr-big/

Happy 28th Anniversary to Mr Big's "Hey Man"! 

Hey Man is the fourth studio album by the hard rock band, Mr. Big. It would be their last album with guitarist Paul Gilbert until 2011's What If.... The album was the most successful Mr. Big release in Japan, topping the Japanese Oricon chart, where it remained for 16 weeks.

Track listing:

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Trapped in Toyland" Paul Gilbert, Jeff Martin, Russ Parrish 4:24
2. "Take Cover" Eric Martin, Gilbert, André Pessis 4:38
3. "Jane Doe" Gilbert, Billy Sheehan, Pat Torpey 3:36
4. "Goin' Where the Wind Blows" E. Martin, Pessis 4:19
5. "The Chain" E. Martin, Pessis 3:46
6. "Where Do I Fit In?" E. Martin, Gilbert, Pessis 4:22
7. "If That's What It Takes" E. Martin, Sheehan, Torpey, Pessis, Tony Fanucchi 4:47
8. "Out of the Underground" Gilbert 4:05
9. "Dancin' Right into the Flame" E. Martin, Sheehan, Pessis 3:02
10. "Mama D." Gilbert 4:32
11. "Fool Us Today" E. Martin, Sheehan, Torpey 4:23

 

How Mr Big conquered record company indifference with To Be With You, the song that transformed their lives 

A ballad written by teenager Eric Martin to impress a girl he'd fallen for gave his band their biggest hit, topped charts around the world, and became their calling-card.

Mr. Big’s calling card To Be With You was something of an afterthought. It was the second single lifted off their second album, 1991’s Lean Into It, and the lack of success of its first single, Green-Tinted Sixties Mind – which failed to chart anywhere except the UK, where it reached No.72 – hardly augured well for the follow-up.

In fact, according to bassist Billy Sheehan, the band’s label, Atlantic, weren’t keen on releasing To Be With You, refusing to believe it would provide the band with their first hit, and agreed to do so only after radio started playing it.

“We didn’t find out until later that they didn’t like the record, they didn’t like our songs and they didn’t like band,” he says. “They had all but given up on us. We battled them from the beginning over it.”

For original full article click here: https://www.loudersound.com/features/mr-big-to-be-with-you?fbclid=IwAR3rSdD0HHIaEGSlvn5cJqr6AFtOX_nmqb6rNk-dzgT9CeGFdjFAmpDIJiY

Hard-rock supergroup Mr. Big brings farewell tour to Orlando this weekend 

Is this 'The Big Finish' for these shredders?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Big is ready “To Be With You,” Orlando.

The Los Angeles-based supergroup took the music world by storm in the late 1980s, hitting the charts hard with earworm melodies and catchy choruses welded to shredding chops that set the tone in hard rock for a few glorious, pre-grunge years.

With a breakup in 2002 and reunion in 2009, Mr. Big has been through some pretty, well, big changes. Now current band members Eric Martin, Billy Sheehan, Paul Gilbert and Nick D’Virgilio are taking “The Big Finish Tour” down to Florida, after kicking off the global tour in Japan last summer.

Although “The Big Finish” is purported to be the band’s farewell to live performance, we have a feeling that Mr. Big will be “Alive and Kickin’” for a while … there are rumors of a new album in the works, after all. https://www.orlandoweekly.com/music/hard-rock-supergroup-mr-big-brings-farewell-tour-to-orlando-this-weekend-35972641

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

MR. BIG In Houston, TX With Photos! 

By Larry Petro, News Monkey
Sunday, January 14, 2024 @ 1:43 PM

All Photos By Larry Petro/Petrofyed Photography
Band Photo Credit: Stephen van Baalen

When MR. BIG drummer Pat Torpey passed away in nearly 6 years ago from complications due to Parkinson's Disease you could almost see the writing on the wall. The band could continue on with another drummer, much like other bands from that era have done, OR they could just call it a day with one more album, tour or any combination of the two. The band ultimately announced their 'BIG Finish Tour' last year with dates in Southeast Asia and Japan in July and August including 11 of those sold out. The band then revealed the first run of dates for the U.S. along with shows scheduled for the UK and Europe. We in Houston, Texas were given the honor of hosting the very first show on the U.S. run and the fans came out in droves to catch a glimpse and experience MR. BIG for the final time, and in this writer's instance, the very FIRST time.

Local act KARIM K opened the show. I had the opportunity to see him. Some of you might be familiar with his work in albums he released as a part of the bands REVOLUTION and THEORY OF THIEVES. They kicked things off at 7pm and played nearly 45 minutes worth of material to get the crowd warmed up. Karim is a solid guitar player and he along with his backing band performed flawlessly during their set which culminated with an outstanding cover of SOUNDGARDEN's "Outshined".

As this was the first show of the tour who else could possibly be in attendance to be the emcee for the evening than radio legend Eddie Trunk, who himself has been to H-Town numerous times to host shows here. Following his intruduction of the band to a packed house, MR. BIG stormed the stage and rocked us all for 2 hours, starting the final show in Houston with the song that got them on the map, "Addicted To That Rush". The band was on fire and the energy was high from the band, vocalist Eric Martin, bassist extraordinaire Billy Sheehan, guitarist Paul Gilbert (who was dressed in a suit and tie!), and drummer Nick D'Virgilio who has filled in with the band since Torpey's passing and the smile on Martin's face said it all; they were excited to be on the road. They continued on with "Take Cover" and Undertow" from 1996's Hey Man and 2010's What If... respectively.

As advertised, they promised to perform the sophomore album Lean Into It in its entirety, which most critics agree was the band's best release. Starting from the beginning with "Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song)" and if you're not familiar with the record, it included tracks "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind", "Alive And Kickin'", "My Kinda Woman" and closed out with the mega hit "To Be With You". The band kept the acoustic vibe going with their cover of the Cat Stevens classic "Wild World". The track "Colorado Bulldog" was sandwiched in between a guitar solo from Paul Gilbert and a bass solo from Billy Sheehan, then the pre-encore portion of the show was closed out with "Shy Boy" and the combo of "30 Days In The Hole/Baba O'Riley".

Returning for the encore the band members all switched instruments with Sheehan taking vocals, Martin playing bass, Gilbert behind the skins and D'Virgilio handling guitar duties as the finished the evening with a cover of THE RASCALS track "Good Lovin'".

Having a first show of a tour go off without and issues can be a challenge but despite a few technical glitches during the show such as Eric Martin experiencing in-ear monitor problems, the band was tight and sounded every bit as good as they did back in the day. The first leg of the U.S. dates continues through the end of February in Oklahoma City before heding to the UK and Europe with presumably another leg of American dates coming. If you're a fan of MR. BIG, have seen them over the years or in my case never before, you cannot miss this show! Catch them live before they're gone and you're left regretting what could have been!

Check out some more photos from the show!
All Photos By Larry Petro/Petrofyed Photography

ORIGINALLY FROM: https://knac.com/article.asp?ArticleID=48092 (SET LIST, PICTURES AND + INFO ON THE LINK)

DALLAS OBSERVER: 10 Best Concerts of the Week 

Mr. Big
7 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 13, The Factory in Deep Ellum, 2713 Canton St. $25+ at axs.com

It's hard to say if this will be the end of LA rock band Mr. Big. The band announced its Big Finish farewell tour with special guest Adam Nanez last spring, but in November, singer Eric Martin confirmed that the band had been working on material for a new album. So whether this is the end of the band, the end of touring or just the end of all things past remains to be seen. The band is probably best known for its 1991 single, "To Be With You," which appeared on its second album, Lean Into It. The song was the band's only hit single in the U.S., but success in America isn't everything. In Japan, Lean Into It and all eight albums after it have been in the country's top 10, and a few of them have been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan. Let that be a lesson in how dismissive a term like "one-hit wonder" can be. What have you and the rest of America been missing? Find out Saturday in Deep Ellum.

Originally from Dallasobserver.com

Houston Concert Watch 1/10: Keith Sweat, Mr. Big and More 

Mr. Big was formed around the talents of fretboard wizards Paul Gilbert (guitar) and Billy Sheehan (bass), but the band hit it big with the middle of the road single “To Be with You.” Nevertheless, fans can count on plenty of shredding when the band performs on Friday at the newly-opened Warehouse Live Midtown. The tour is billed as “The Big Finish,” but the band has consistently maintained a large and loyal fan base in Japan, so it remains to be seen whether this is actually “sayonara.”

Originally from: https://www.houstonpress.com/music/this-weeks-best-concerts-17225624

Mr Big announced as first headliners for Maid of Stone Festival 2024 

The first wave of bands has been announced for next year’s Maid of Stone Festival.

The three-day rock festival, which made its debut in Maidstone this summer, has revealed that ‘90s band Mr Big will be headlining in July.

The American band, best known for hit singles To Be With You and Just Take My Heart, will return to the UK in what is expected to be one their last shows in the country at the end of their final Big Finish tour.

The group will be performing songs from their extensive back catalogue, which includes nine studio albums, with particular focus on their breakthrough album Lean Into It, released in 1991.

Read more at https://www.kentonline.co.uk/whats-on/news/mr-big-announced-as-rock-festival-headliners-298124/

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