Oklahoma City and the historic Diamond Ballroom were lucky enough to land on the latest Mr. Big – The Big Finish Tour list of dates. We actually had the last stop on this leg of the tour. This appears to be a pretty extensive tour of not only the United States, but several overseas stops as well. The band is making sure they see everyone possibly able before they hang it up.
The Oklahoma band Eyebolt opened the OKC Show for us. Hailing from the small town of Inola, Oklahoma, this band is anything but small in performance. With big personalities, and even bigger hair these guys came to give the crowd the best tribute to everything 80’s. Dressed in their spandex, and their hair teased up so high it made most of the women in the room jealous, they took the Diamond Ballroom stage by storm. So much talent and so much hairspray!! I very much look forward to seeing this band again, and hopefully soon!!
The time has come for the highlight of the evening…Mr. Big!!! The whole band took to the stage with smiles on their faces and they looked ready to deliver. The crowd erupted in cheers when they took their spots on stage and started playing their first song, which fittingly was “Addicted to That Rush”. As stated in the advertisements for this tour, the band went on to play each and every song from their sophomore album “Lean Into It” as well as several of their biggest hits from their amazing 35-year career.
It was such a great experience seeing the three original surviving members together on that stage. Mr. Big’s longtime friend, Nick D’Virgilio, has stepped in as drummer after original drummer Pat Torpey lost his battle with Parkinson’s Disease in 2018. The band gave the fans a two-hour set that we will not soon forget. A couple of my favorites that I was excited to hear being played live were “Green Tinted Sixties Mind” and “A Little Too Loose”. And of course what is arguably their most popular song, “To Be With You”. The crowd loved it when they broke into “Shy Boy”.
As the evening was coming to an end, the band switched it all up when they played “Good Lovin'” with Billy Sheehan taking the vocals, Eric Martin playing the bass, Paul Gilbert playing drums, and Nick D’Virgilio playing the guitar. They then ended the evening with a cover of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley”. You can tell by the smiles on the stage that these guys truly love what they do and have fun with eachother while doing it. From Eric Martin sitting on the monitor while hyping up the crowd when Sheehan was performing his bass solo, to Paul Gilbert playing notes on his guitar while Eric Martin was mimicking them. It was an evening to never forget. As the band was leaving the stage Mr. Sheehan wanted to let the crowd know that they have been singing about getting “a little too loose in Oklahoma City” for decades and all over the world, so they were glad that they could end this leg of the tour with us. Well Mr. Sheehan, we are happy you did as well!!
Head to www.mrbigsite.com to keep up with the next legs of the tour.
