Blog Post
Eric Martin - Hard Rock Cafe, Glasgow 7 August 2022
Martin Goulden • 10 August 2022
Live Review
Having graced the stages of some of Europe's elite Rock & Metal festivals during the last few weeks, Eric Martin has gone 'rogue' during a gap in dates from performing along side Tobias Sammet and the Juggernaut that is Avantasia. With a re-strung acoustic guitar, a fresh bag of clean clothes, a new tooth brush.... (After all you gotta look good and take care of your teeth) to jump back over to these shores for an extensive UK tour, billed as the BIG Acoustic Tour, yep.... BIG being MR BIG of course, I hope, er.. well it could be that it's a Big Tour with a large number of scheduled dates across the country, oh well to me it must be about MR BIG.
Partnered on this jaunt of dates by current Demon Guitarist Dave Cotterill, the tour kicked off north of the border with Edinburgh the prior evening and a short drive along the M8 west to Glasgow for a show upstairs at the Hard Rock Cafe, which by the time the duo came on was almost a packed house, this night was about MR BIG, I needn't have worried.... an hour and half of gems and delights from the past, stripped bare and delivered effortlessly by Mr Vocalist himself, opening with 'What if We Were New' from 'The Stories We Could Tell' album, a set list with over half the tunes coming from the albums 'Get Over It' & 'Lean into It' and a nod to the rest of the incredible MR BIG catalogue, feel good bangers such as 'Electrified', 'Voodoo Kiss' and 'Superfantastic'. No denying that unique, soulful vocal that has possessed Eric Martin all these years, 'Fragile', 'Shine' & 'Wild World' the Cat Stevens penned classic, the crowd were very much hooked by now 'Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy' had everyone Woa, Woa'ing out the 'Drill part' along with 'Alive and Kickin' had the room buzzing.
With Eric now in his 60's (nah I don't believe it either, he surely must bathe in a fountain of youth each day....), eyesight depleting slightly, by his own admission he could barely read his own penned set list coupled with a Mishap with a Pizza during Covid resulting in losing teeth and thanking god for the mask wearing to hide any embarrassing smiling encounters, they say age is only a number but sometimes it hurts.... Checking the denticles are all in good order we are treated to the sensational 'Take Cover', some mighty fine guitar wizardry throughout the night from Cotterill complimenting the arrangements of these killer tunes, 'Just Take My Heart' needs no fancy adjectives, loved it back in 91 and is still one of my favourite ballads ever and the HRC Choir were sounding awesome, which would be mirrored during that well known 'Campfire song' a bit later.
Before long, which actually only felt like 20 minutes from the start we were hitting the home straight, ' A Rose Alone', 'Promise Her the Moon' and 'THAT' Song which catapulted MR BIG onto the airwaves of every radio station that ever existed across the globe, number ones and Top 10's everywhere 'To Be With You' with EM inviting some of the HRC Choir onto the stage to assist, a song that still stands strong all these years later. Back to the 'Get Over It' album for our set closer tonight the killer blues ingested 'Dancin With My Devils'.... Certainly wasn't about Me, Myself & I tonight as the song goes but plenty L'il Devils dancing on that floor.
What a way to round off a weekend, a 'Superfantastic' evening in the company of Eric Martin and Dave Cotterill. I don't think you can beat a fun filled romp through the MR BIG archives and I'm sure a couple of hundred happy Glasgow gig goers would agree.
MG