There are very few frontmen left in the world who can put on a show quite like David Coverdale. With a back catalog just as impressive as his Fountain-of-Youth looks and acrobatic mic stand tricks, he led Whitesnake to a triumphant return to San Francisco over the weekend. This is a band that I had waited more than twenty years to see live, and while not in their prime, Mr. Coverdale and crew put on a rock ‘n’ roll show that satisfied my pursuit to see one of rock’s greatest treasures.
Slide it In is an all time classic album. I would put it up there against Zeppelin IV any day of the week. I know, I know, Zep IV is one of the greatest records of all time, well Slide it In is one of the greatest records of my teenage rebellious years, and I wasn’t alive for Zep IV, so step off. Slide it In was the cassette tape in my friend’s car that had all of the song titles and other info completely wiped clean because it was played so damn much. Then came the self-titled Whitesnake release, and it was game over. These guys were the best at what they did, and the other “hair bands,” as they were referred to at the time, would look silly even trying to match their vocals and blistering guitar riffs from hell. But enough about my fanaticism with the band; let’s talk about the show.
Whitesnake played to a jam-packed Warfield Theatre on Friday night and didn’t waste anyone’s time, jumping right into what they do best, rocking and rolling. The set opened with the classic “Give Me All Your Love” from that 1987 self-titled masterpiece. A little fun fact for you is that song was the only video from the album to not have Coverdale’s then-girlfriend, the gorgeous Tawny Kitaen, featured.
Next up was a rarity for me, the title track from the 1980 album “Ready and Willing,” which lead very nicely straight into “Love Ain’t No Stranger,” which I must have listened to about a billion times when it came out, and it sounded perfect.
I know what you are thinking at this point. How is Coverdale’s voice holding up? I thought he did a fantastic job of hitting the notes while working the crowd into the hits along the way. His hand-picked band of seasoned metal journeymen consisted of original Whitesnake drummer Tommy Aldridge, who did not miss a beat, guitarist Doug Aldrich, who played alongside Dio, and Reb Beach of Dokken and Winger fame. These guys are both virtuosos in their own right, but Doug really shined that evening. I think it’s because Reb always has this smirk on his face that makes you wonder if he’s not a very nice guy. But, they did tear it up on the guitar solo dual “Pistols at Dawn.” (By the way, Reb, if I am in fact reading you wrong please send me a tweet, and I’ll retract it @JasonMillerCA.)
Back to the show. As I said before, we are all very lucky that Coverdale still takes the show on the road. They closed out the evening with a blow-the-roof-off-the-house version of “Here I Go Again” and then ended the night properly with “Still of the Night.” I was in complete awe as to how awesome this show was. I was so excited that I even wore my Whitesnake T-shirt to work the next day, except that no one really noticed. But that’s OK, as I will remember this show for quite some time without any water-cooler conversations to be had about it.
So there you go. It’s 2013, and Whitesnake is alive and well, sounding fantastic. I would highly recommend that you witness David Coverdale live in the next year or two as he’s still got it, and Whitesnake seems to have plenty more fans that need a fix.
Check out more hi-rez photos here.
