Review by Shawn Perry
Photos by Ron Lyon
It was Mike Damone, played by Richard Romanus in the 1981 film Fast Times At Ridgemont High, who famously asked: “What about the tunes? The Dream Police…da, da, da, da, da, da, da…” So Cheap Trick answered the call with a Vegas-like production of Dream Police at the Greek with the Bombastic Symphonic Philharmonic and the Rhythmic Noise Mind Choir (four back-up singers dressed in Beatle suits) propped on a platform with a huge, split-level video wall at their back.
A large curtain was drawn — something you don’t typically see at the Greek. As the lights came down, the curtain became a window into the world of Cheap Trick. It takes a production this extensive to realize the rich and colorful history of this band. Over the course of the evening, we would be reminded of their 30 + years run with a series of video collages.
As their most successful album, Dream Police took center stage. After a swirling, high-def review with orchestral accompaniment (with pieces of “Heaven Tonight” added in), concluding with the band exiting their dressing room, the curtain dropped and the spectacle came alive as “Dream Police” sounded the call. The orchestra nicely filled out the dramatic turnarounds as the frontline enticed the audience — Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander and Tom Petersson. With Bun E. Carlos no longer touring with the group, Nielsen recruited his son Daxx to man the drum kit. He also brought his other son, Miles, to play second guitar — something Zander seems to be doing less of these days. Keyboardist Phil ‘Magic’ Cristian rounded out the lineup.
Getting on with the rest of the Dream Police album fell together rather easily. The out-of-this-world video accompanying “Way Of The World” had everyone scrambling for a peak. Cheap Trick isn’t really known for putting on big shows like this, but since their 2010 eye-opening presentation of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in Las Vegas, they’ve obviously gotten the bug to step up their stage shows (Sgt. Pepper engineer and Cheap Trick collaborator Geoff Emerick was in the house). Judgin gby the turnout at the Greek, they seem to have the drawing power. After three decades of ups and downs, that says something about the timeless sheen of the band’s music and persona.
“The House Is Rockin’” most definitely got the crowd rockin’. Zander roamed the stage in an all-white “Dream Police” uniform, his frontman demeanor and ageless voice mesmerizing the audience. Nielsen, who still wears the same duck-billed cap and plaid shirts, flicked picks (and a KISS record at one point) and strutted back and forth across the stage like a hyperactive six-year-old. Petersson, the “inventor” of the 12-string bass, kept his cool and stayed in the pocket as always.
The Bombastic Symphonic Philharmonic seemed to be more about show than actual embellishment — effective on some tracks, barely noticeable on others. The novelty of the four-man singers actually came to the fore when they called upon to sing pivotal parts of “High Priest Of Rhythmic Noise,” especially the line, “It’s such a pity…What’s a poor boy to do…”
The so-called “hits” portion of the night flowed in seamlessly, filled with the usual odd mix of commercial smashes and fan favorites. “The Flame” and “California Man” were handily slotted in with “Mandocello,” from the self-titled 1977 debut album, and “World’s Greatest Lover, one of three songs played from 1980’s All Shook Up. This one opened with Nielsen sitting behind a grand piano and singing the first couple of verses. The orchestra took it from there and made it a true tour de force.
Right after “Surrender,” confetti doused the first 20 rows and the festivities were brought to a close. “Thanks a lot…we’re Cheap Trick and we’ll see you down the road…” and they were gone without an encore. For all the pageantry and video razzle-dazzle (even a tribute to movies that have Cheap Trick’s music on their soundtrack), a glaring omission was newer material from recent grand-slam albums like 2006’s Rockford and 2009’s The Latest. Celebrating the 30th anniversary of Dream Police is one thing we can all agree on; recognizing that Cheap Trick is still capable of writing decent songs and piecing together better-than-average albums is something the rest of the fan base will have to catch up to. For that there’s always next time.
