Concert Review
Yngwie J. Malmsteen
Bear’s Den
Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino
Niagara Falls, NY
Saturday June 1, 2019
Review/Photos: Joseph Suto
It’s not every day that you walk into a concert and the venue is recommending you take a pack of earplugs. Of course, this was no ordinary concert as Yngwie J. Malmsteen is no ordinary performer. The Maestro came out all guns blazing with a rip-roaring version of “Rising Force”, a track culled from his Odyssey album which remains his best-selling US album to date.
Malmsteen’s current band features Nick Marino on keyboards, vocals; Emilio Martinez on bass, vocals and drummer Brian Wilson. While the band sounded good, there is no doubt who the star of the show was. Malmsteen possesses a unique ability and after watching this performance it’s no wonder why he is considered one of the greatest guitarists of all-time. Malmsteen even took over lead vocals for a cover of Deep Purple’s “Smoke On The Water”.
While I’m sure the fans appreciated the fact that he dug out songs from his earlier albums such as “You Don’t Remember, I’ll Never Forget and “I’ll See the Light Tonight”, they could have went over better had the vocals not been drowned out or the songs shortened. Earlier in his career he always seemed to find a fantastic singer to compliment his playing. It seems he has long abandoned that concept. While it is still a treat to see the man perform it would be nice to see him play under some other color lights than red for the majority of the evening.
Tracks
Rising Force
Baroque & Roll
Blue Lightning
Far Beyond The Sun
The Star Spangled Banner
Smoke On The Water
Trilogy Suite Op:5
Evil Eye
You Don’t Remember, I’ll Never Forget
Encore
Acoustic/Black Star
I’ll See the Light Tonight
