Playing on what may have been the smallest stage he has ever stepped foot on in the city San Francisco, Ted Nugent brought his I Still Believe Tour to the Independent last week, and also brought with him enough energy, showmanship and guitars to command an arena-sized stage. Judging by the roar of the crowd, an arena-sized crowd may have shoe-horned itself into the venue.
When the Nuge and his band finally hit the stage and immediately ripped into "Free For All," everyone in the venue knew they were in for something special. Together with ex-Dokken drummer Mick Brown, former Wendy O. Williams bassist Greg Smith, and long-time right-hand man/guitarist Derek St. Holmes, Ted belted out classics that covered his entire career including "Dog Eat Dog," "Fred Bear," "Need You Bad," and "Stanglehold." Although he may be sixty one years old, Ted covered the stage like a man half his age and put on one of the best live shows in recent memory.
Artist:
www.tednugent.com/
www.myspace.com/tednugent
www.facebook.com/tednugent
www.twitter.com/tednugent
Photos:
Ted Nugent – The Independent, San Francisco 07/05/11 – [Photos]
Tour:
Ted Nugent's I Still Believe tour continues. For a list of upcoming dates, click here .
People generally seem to have a pretty strong reaction to Ted Nugent, and judging by the mustache and mullet-sporting crowd who were hoisting their Bud Lights and blurting out their battle cries of "Nuuuge!" well before Uncle Ted even hit the stage, the show at The Fillmore was going to be no exception.
As he stormed the stage and proceeded to launch into an absolutely blistering rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” I knew it was going to be one hell of a show. Backed by ex-Dokken drummer Mick Brown and former Wendy O. Williams bassist Greg Smith, The Nuge and company delivered an almost two-hour-long set fueled by energy, showmanship, and most importantly, guitar. Ted is a first-class bad ass on his Gibson Byrdland, and as he literally ran from one end of the stage to the other while singing and delivering smoking versions of old classics including "Wango Tango," "Stormtroopin'," "Free For All," "Weekend Warriors" and "Dog Eat Dog" it was hard to believe that the guy is just six months shy of his 60th birthday.
In between all these classics, Uncle Ted continued to please the crowd by not only insulting a security person in front of the stage, but also by referring to himself as "the spirit of James Brown," constantly calling San Francisco "San Francisky" and telling a few off-color jokes that he said the audience was too scared to laugh at. Love his "shtick" or hate it, I applaud the man for at least having the balls to be himself up there. Speaking of being himself, the stage, which was flanked with an American and California flag, a machine gun, a cow skull and a huge back drop which depicted him as Uncle Sam, could not have screamed Ted Nugent any louder.
Getting back to the music here, Ted and his band performed a few smokin' covers as well, including soul classics "Soul Man" and "Baby Please Don't Go," both of which made a solid argument to his proclamation that he was "the ghost of Bo Diddley." Although these songs showed off his "funky" side as well as his hometown bluesy roots, it was the staples the crowd came to hear, and by the time he gave them what they wanted with "Cat Scratch Fever," (Yes, Ted, that might just be the best guitar riff ever) and "Stranglehold," they could hardly contain themselves.
Just when I thought it couldn't get any better and that The Nuge had left the building, he returned for an almost epic version of "Great White Buffalo," complete with an Indian headdress and the flaming arrow shot into the guitar. It was the perfect ending to a damn near perfect set.
Artist:
www.tednugent.com
Album:
Ted Nugent — The Ultimate Ted Nugent. Buy it NOW on Amazon.
Ted Nugent — Sweden Rocks: Live 2006 [CD]. Buy it NOW on Amazon.
Ted Nugent — Sweden Rocks: Live 2006 [DVD]. Buy it NOW on Amazon.
