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The UK
by Emma Yates
On 28 April, details of the Extreme tour landed on my doorstep, and the situation in our house can only be described as hysterical! Amid screams of "Mum, where's your credit card?" and "What about your exams?", I raced to the phone and managed to order tickets for all six shows in record time! Minor details like exams could be dealt with later. As it happens, I was fairly lucky. I had a History exam on the day the tour started, but thankfully it was in the morning and with a little help from some friends saving me a place in the queue, and my chauffeur - er, I mean Mum - I still made it to Newport for about 3 pm!
Each of the six shows were just absolutely amazing. The band gave 110% for the one-and-three-quarter hours they were on stage, and they really looked as though they were enjoying themselves - maybe more so than usual. Usually, the drum solo is the part of a concert where people take the opportunity to go to the bar, but in true Extreme style, Mike defies this rule. During his solo, every pair of eyes in the audience are fixed on him and there's absolutely no chance of anybody heading for the bar! He doesn't need to take his top off either, to gain a thunderous applause, unlike some drummers I could mention!
Even the queuing before each show was fun. The weather wasn't always on our side, but it didn't seem to matter; and for the seven hours before the door opened we just talked Extreme and played monopoly ("for real money though!", I quote Nuno!). At Nottingham, we decided to have an 'end of tour pavement party' in an attempt to keep our spirits up. It worked - well, sort of - but by the end of the show, we were all in tears! Crazy, aren't we?! Just before they left the stage, Gary yelled, "See ya next year!". That's exactly what he said at the end of the Stop The World tour - let's hope he means it this time! So much has happened during the tour, this review only touches the surface. There's a lot of things I haven't included, such as watching them do a TV interview in a pub in Manchester, or Nuno's reaction to someone shouting "Paul Geary" during the show at Hammersmith! Glasgow,
Scotland by Fiona Higginson I had waited over three and a half years to see Extreme live. They lived up to more than my expectations. After a brief set from the support, the Steamboat Band, it was over a one hour wait for Extreme. When we first heard the beginning of 'Never Been Funked', a relatively tame crowd turned crazy. To start with, I could not see anything (and I was quite near the front)! I then saw a glimpse of Nuno, then Gary. I got a bit upset, so I decided to move. My new position on Nuno's side of the stage, as opposed to the centre, meant I saw EVERYTHING! It is a really cool venue - a ballroom - which meant that it is possible to see every expression on their faces, which I did! I even made eye contact with Gary. They played songs off all four albums. 'Get The Funk Out', 'Cupid's Dead' and 'Cynical' were exceptional. They played two encores - 'It('s A Monster)' and 'No Respect'. Coming onto the stage in circus music, and leaving to the chant of 'No Respect', Extreme did a very energetic and enjoyable set. To add to my enjoyment, the whole band seemed
very happy. Particularly Nuno and Michael, who were smiling a lot! They seemed to be
enjoying themselves a lot - I just hope that they'll be back soon. A few interesting things about the Glasgow concert by Paula Barnes
London by Emma Yates
Unsurprisingly, the band were late; and as usual, the culprit was Nuno (no, really?!) - but in the meantime, fans were treated to listening to a wonderful classical music CD courtesy of Virgin Records! Hmm! As the band came in, they stood in a row in front of their tables for a couple of minutes, giving people the chance to take photos, etc. They really didn't look comfortable; they probably felt like objects in a display case, and the expressions on their faces were really quite funny! They took their places at the table and things started moving. Fans' reactions after they'd met the band ranged from the gobsmacked and silent to the almost hysterical, although everybody had an invincible smile on their face as they clutched their various signed possessions.
I decided to have a photo of each band member signed. I gave Patrick one of him taken in 1988, which set Nuno off giggling and made Pat go slightly red! Mike's was more recent and pictured him wearing a brilliant multicoloured shirt which he told me the rest of the band had made him throw out! For many people, this was the first chance they'd had to meet Extreme - and from talking to fans afterwards, they all said it was one of the best days of their lives, and they'd never forget it. I hope the band know that. |
At the signing in London, the band were originally
intended to be autographing copies of 'Unconditionally', which was supposed to be released
on the same day. But, at the last minute, things changed and 'Unconditionally' was
"postponed" (or cancelled, depending on who you ask!). So instead, fans brought
anything from copies of Punchline to their sacred N4's!
The 'magnificent seven' (seven of us that did the
whole tour and got to be really good friends) decided to do something a bit different; so
we had a photo of the seven of us enlarged, and signed it ourselves to give to the band.
We'd been their resident front row throughout the tour, and as they'd signed so many
things for us, we wanted to give them something back!