Tesla is a band without a gimmick. They lack glamor. They don't have a massive crossover hit. Nor are they particularly innovative.
They may not be cool or trendy, but Tesla's durable catalog of metal-tinged rock songs and energetic live show were precisely what approximately 900 die-hard fans wanted from the band Friday at the Back Yard outside the Beaumont Club in Westport.
The no-nonsense show was, as expected of the veteran act, vastly entertaining.
Tesla opened with the recent song "I Wanna Live." Defying the conventional laws of classic rock, it's every bit as satisfying as the band's older material. Similarly, another new song, "Breaking Free," was no less memorable than their '80s hits. "Into the Now" incorporated the contemporary sound of DJ scratching. The small gesture is indicative of the band's steadfast refusal to fall into a rut.
"It's all about right here, right now," asserted manic vocalist Jeff Keith.
This insistence on forward progress keeps Tesla relevant. There wasn't the slightest trace of mustiness on the Backyard's stage Friday, although many fans exuded the unmistakable scent of nostalgia. Uninhibited men in their 40s and 50s played furious air guitar to old Tesla favorites like "Modern Day Cowboy" and "Edison's Medicine." Other audience pleasers included a bluesy reading of "Mama's Fool" and "Love Song," the band's obligatory power ballad.
"We've been coming to Kansas City for almost 25 years," guitarist Frank Hannon said with pride.
Four of Tesla's five members were in the band's original lineup. The remarkable continuity makes 1989's "Hang Tough" the band's default theme song.
The evening's sole flaw was Tesla's reaction to the weather. They responded to a gentle rain as if they had an ark to build. Consequently, Tesla's eighty-minute outing was disappointingly brief. Tesla, after all, isn't the kind of band that wears out its welcome.
The Kansas City-based Leo Project are Tesla's occasional tour mates. Their opening performance Friday revealed the band's ongoing progress. The quartet is increasingly confident and relaxed. Their creative cover of Mr. Mister's "Broken Wings" and the memorable original song "Half As Good" captured the band's winning balance of pop smarts and metallic crunch.
| Bill Brownlee, Special to The Star
Review coming to http://www.hardrockhaven.net very soon
Posted by: Gary Dean | September 26, 2009 at 02:01 PM
Review is live at Hardrock Haven ... http://hardrockhaven.net/online/2009/tesla-live/
Posted by: John Kindred | September 29, 2009 at 07:52 AM