Little did we know in late February that the world would spin upside down. No one could have predicted the complete cancellation of concert tours worldwide. And, we had no idea that the Tesla concert was likely the last concert we’d see for months. The Coronavirus has made sure of it.
In 1987 I was in the middle of a musical revelation for Aerosmith. I had recently seen them live at the Houston Summit on their Done with Mirrors tour and was completely blown away. I followed that with acquiring every bit of music they had released to that point and becoming a huge devotee. It was around that same time that a group of rockers out of Sacramento who had similar devotions to Aerosmith began making headway with their first release. Tesla has similar grit and swagger to me and my friends ears and it was obvious their singer Jeff Keith was a Steven Tyler fan. When the Texas Jamm got announced with BOTH Aerosmith and Tesla it was a no brainer and we had a road trip to Dallas. Tesla impressed on a huge stage in front of 80,000 bringing their mix of bluesy hard rock, swagger, melodic tunes and dual guitars. I was also able to catch Tesla in 1989 when they were on a double head line tour with Great White at the Coliseum in Austin. In a smaller arena it was easier to get closer access and get a chance to watch their guitarists Tommy and Frank in action. They again delivered the goods.
Fast forward a little more than 30 years (feels weird typing that) and it’s a bit like time has frozen. The only difference is back in the day Tesla was known as a heavy rock band and today they get lumped with the hair band stigma. Let’s make it clear, Tesla is not a hair band. Even back when bands like Judas Priest and even Black Sabbath were teasing their hair and wearing day glo glam colors on stage the boys in Tesla remained the same wearing t-shirts and denim.
After all these years I was curious as to how Tesla would fill a large theatre like the House of Blues especially on a week night. As soon as I pulled up near the venue to park it was obvious from the masses mostly in black t-shirts that they still had a draw. The parking lot was packed and there was a long line to enter the venue. When I entered I was surprised to see the venue almost full and the first of two warm up bands hadn’t even taken the stage. Soon enough Teslas hit the stage in a storm of lights and volume. The stage setup was impressive with vibrant video and a huge drum stand more accustomed for a large arena than what I’d seen from other bands playing the House off Blues. Tesla hit the ground running with a new song called Tied to the Tracks from their Shock album which was quickly followed by the fan favorite, Modern Day Cowboy. Pretty obvious from the get go that this band meant business and would pack a wallop. The mix was great with both guitar tones ringing true and Jeff Keith’s vocals strong and out center. Jeff is one of those very rare singers that can still hit the notes from younger days. Frank Hannon has greatly improved his guitar playing over the years and with Tommy Skeoch’s absence has taken over most of the lead guitar duties. Tommy’s replacement Dave Rude fills in very nicely adding some personal touches to the traditional licks and providing great tone and energy. Frank really blew me away on this night playing effortlessly and on point throughout. Troy on drums and Brian on bass were rock solid as they’ve always been providing a foundation for Dave and Frank to do their thing. Some highlights included songs like Heavens Trail, Song and Emotion (dedicated to Steve Clark from Def Leppard), and the biggest crowd pleaser What You Give. The finished with one of my favorites, Little Suzi and the finale was Rock Me to the Top. No puffed hair, no makeup and just straight ahead great songs and great American rock n roll.
