Perhaps it’s because their debut pre-dated the Sunset Strip hair metal scene by just a year or two, perhaps it’s because their influences were more late ’60s/early ’70s than late ’70s/early ’80s, but whatever it is, Tesla‘s maintained a nearly 40 year recording and touring career without ever coming across as out of touch or dated. While the days of not sleeping in their own beds for hundreds of nights a year are no longer a concern, Tesla’s well strategized tour scheduling finds the band becoming a “must see” rather than a “oh, they’re back in town for their annual visit” as evidenced by the nearly full Mershon Auditorium on a night that saw ZZ Top playing at Kemba Live and Sammy Hagar just a few hours away at Riverbend near Cincinnati. Three classic rock bands that appeal to middle-aged white men could have certainly caused a cannibalization effect but, by all reports, none of the shows suffered from lack of attendees.
At 9:30, house lights went down as the instrumentalists from Tesla – Frank Hannon (guitar), Dave Rude (guitar), Brian Wheat (bass) and Steve Brown (drums) – made their way from backstage and kicked off the 90-minute set with “Cumin’ Atcha Live,” an ideal opener considering what the full house was about to witness, before front man Jeff Keith joined his bandmates. It’s rare that an ’80s/’90s hard rock – the type featured on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball back in the day – rolls through Central Ohio that I’m not in attendance, and, from what I’ve seen and heard, vocal performances vary. Given that these guys all started in the ’80s and probably never thought they’d be singing the same high notes 40 years later, it’s understandable that some singers sing tuned down while others struggle their way through a performance. Keith, however, appears to have maintained his patented weathered vocals as he hits all the notes that he did when the songs were fresh and new.
While I’m intimately familiar with the band’s first four albums, and have listened to just about everything that came after, I appreciated Tesla displaying the album cover from the song they were performing on the projection screens at the back of the stage. Not only did it help me identify the album, but it showcased how Tesla was hitting on various points in their career rather than sticking to playing songs from just one or two albums – songs from six different albums were featured during the course of the evening, never more than 3 from one particular album, and two new songs were introduced. Hannon mentioned that they new songs will be on a vinyl EP out later this year.
I don’t know that Hannon has ever been considered a guitar god – not that he doesn’t have the chops, he just has never been as flashy as some of the names from his generation – but, for much of the night, his playing was among the highlights from the finely-tuned band. If you’ve been a life-long fan of Tesla, you were introduced to the band via their first-ever single, “Modern Day Cowboy,” which showed up as the second song in the set and allowed Hannon and Rude (who has been in the band since 2006) to shine as they traded licks back and forth, something that would continue throughout the 14-song set.
After tossing in one of the new songs (“All About Love”), Tesla wore their influences on their sleeves by performing a cover of the James Gang‘s “Walk Away,” which was featured on the 2007 covers album, Real to Reel (other artists covered on that release include: Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, UFO, Traffic, The Rolling Stones). While not drastically different sounding than the original, it sounds like it could be a Tesla original which says a lot for the way the band covered it.
The mid-set selection of songs were the least recognizable to me as Tesla performed “Forever More,” the title track from their 2007 release, and “Miles Away,” from 2004’s Into the Now. While there were a handful of songs I would have liked to have heard from the first four releases in place of these two, I appreciate Tesla showcasing songs that people may have missed the first around and the “Miles Away” guitar intro makes me want to dive deeper into the album – Hannon’s blazing finger work is the type that I would have stood in front of my childhood bedroom mirror and played air guitar to when I was a young teenager. But, also in the middle of the set came two of my favorite Tesla songs, “Heaven’s Trail (No Way Out)” and “Changes” which, amazingly enough, comes from the band’s 1986 debut, Mechanical Resonance, and could have dropped instantly into a Classic Rock playlist the day it was released. Hannon and Wheat were LOCKED IN as the song began and it was at this point in the set where I thought about the recent cancelation of all future Aerosmith dates and thinking that Tesla still has arena chops even if they’re playing theaters. It’s a full-on production where everything – and everyone – looks and sounds great. The long-haired rock star look hasn’t been as prevalent the last couple of decades and that’s one thing I miss about the ’80s and ’90s. Rock stars looked like rock stars, not like a co-worker at the day job or the guy at the coffee shop. No doubt in my mind that when the guys from Tesla check into hotels while on tour, they turn heads and get people whispering under their breath, “Are those guys in a band?”
The final trio of songs were the payoff, the ones that, even if you weren’t totally familiar with the band’s catalog, were ones you could sing along to. Starting with Hannon and Rude duetting on the intro to “Love Song,” Tesla’s biggest ballad had the crowd singing along and, undoubtedly, there were couple in the audience who had had their first dance to that song when getting married. After filling up the auditorium with good vibes, the band broke into their cover of PhD’s 1981 song, “Little Suzi,” which received a rousing ovation. The evening closed with an electric version of the song that Tesla performed acoustically on 1990’s Five Man Acoustical Jam, “Signs,” which, once again, had the crowd singing along to every word.
90 minutes after taking the stage, the band bid the Columbus a fond farewell and exited the stage. Would I have liked to have heard “Edison’s Medicine” and “Lady Luck,” songs Tesla has been playing while on this run of dates? Sure, but all-in-all, I’m completely satisfied with the mix of old, new and covers.
Kurt Deimer opened the show, the Cincinnati native excited to play in his home state at the biggest venue he’s played in Columbus. During his set, he mentioned having played The King of Clubs twice but nothing as big as Mershon Auditorium. Deimer’s set opened with horror movie trailers running on the projection screen behind the drum kit (Halloween, Hellbilly Hollow) and, honestly, it was a little confusing until Deimer mentioned later on that he had been in those two movies. But, by opening with those trailers, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Alice Cooper (sound, not look) as Deimer and his band performed their modern brand of radio-friendly hard rock. Highlights of the set included Deimer coming out into crowd and fistbumping enthusiastic fans and the cover of Pink Floyd‘s “Have a Cigar,” which took on a new vibe with a heavier sound than the original. While not exactly in the same genre as Tesla, Deimer did a decent job of hyping up the crowd and getting people out of their seats as they prepared for the headliner.
