Nearly 50 years into their career, Cheap Trick continues to tour regularly and inspire a fiercely loyal fanbase. This summer will see the band in stadiums opening for Journey and Def Leppard, hitting festival stages, and on a rainy Sunday night they headlined the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut. Please scroll below for my exclusive Cheap Trick live photos and review!
As the lights went down, an announcement came through the arena stating “You are about to see the best fucking rock n’ roll band in the world”, and for the next hour and change, Cheap Trick did their best to prove that statement. Kicking off with their traditional opener “Hello There”, the band was immediately in high gear. Guitarist Rick Nielsen, singer and guitarist Robin Zander, bassist Tom Petersson, and drummer Daxx Nielsen play with the energy of a bar band but on the big arena stage.
The band ripped through song after song at a pretty fast pace. Rick Nielsen took the mic during the few breaks to address the crowd. He introduced one fan attending his 200th Cheap Trick show and a group of fans from Tokyo, Japan there for their 250th show! I’ve seen the band a handful of times through the years, including their long-overdue 2016 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, and I understand the loyalty. Cheap Trick is a band that never plays the same set twice and is just as likely to play a set of deep cuts as a set of hits.
Cheap Trick’s set had a very good flow to it. The aforementioned deep cuts (“Borderline”, “Light Up The Fire”, the Petersson-sung “I Know What I Want”) sandwiched between the band’s original classics (“I Want You to Want Me”, “Dream Police”, “Surrender”, “The Flame”) and covers that the band has become known for (“California Man”, “Ain’t That A Shame”, and their take on Big Star’s “In The Street”, which was used as the theme for “That 70s Show”).
Robin Zander is one of those few singers who still sounds amazing this deep into his career, while Rick Nielsen proves each time he’s on stage that he is one of the best ever to pick up the instrument. Petersson’s 12-string Gretsch bass and Daxx Nielsen’s backing vocals and powerful drumming give Cheap Trick a sound like no other band. The only fault in the night was the short, sub-90-minute set. Considering the incredible catalog this Hall of Fame band has created, I would have loved to see them play longer. Rick did say that they were about to enter the studio so If you missed Cheap Trick this summer, you won’t have to wait long to see them again!
