WHAT: Mr Big Reunion World Tour 2009
VENUE: Fort Canning Park
WHEN: Sunday night
ATTENDANCE: 4,000

Showmanship and musical mastery were highlights of rousing gig

THEY played a two-hour set, but it was the second encore from American hard-rock band Mr Big that was music to their fans’ ears.

The 21-year-old quartet displayed musical mastery as they each took turns on different instruments in a bangin’ cover version of Deep Purple’s Smoke On The Water.

“That really showed that the band still knows how to have fun. It was definitely a treat for us fans,” said systems analyst Mervyn Kong, 30.

Yes, the band was all about showmanship and sheer, unbridled musicality at their third Singapore gig. They last performed at Hard Rock Cafe in 1996 and, before that, at the now-defunct Harbour Pavilion in 1994.

This time, the guys didn’t come with the most elaborate stage set-up – a screen behind them flashed screensaver-like images for most of the show. It was a stark contrast to other gigs that have recently taken place at Fort Canning Park.

F1 Rocks, for example, boasted a stage with a runway, while The Prodigy’s concert in February saw a backdrop that made the stage look like a Martian landscape.

But Mr Big’s less-impressive set-up hardly meant that they didn’t mean business.

Singer Eric Martin, 48, was the life of the party from opening number Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (from their 2002 Live In Japan album).

Like a pint-sized Steven Tyler on speed, he bounced all over the stage, beckoning the crowd to sing and clap along. Never mind that his screechy vocals sometimes seemed to be stretched to their limits.

Meanwhile, guitar virtuoso Paul Gilbert, 42, who has also played in other bands such as Racer X, and bassist Billy Sheehan, 56, let their fingers do the talking.

Gilbert’s wailing guitar and Sheehan’s thumping bass proved to be an impressive force as the group tore through songs such as Addicted To That Rush and Green-Tinted Sixties Mind.

The two, together with drummer Pat Torpey, 49, also treated those in attendance to several extended solos that left mouths hanging wide open in awe.

Unsurprisingly, it was Mr Big’s two biggest hits – To Be With You and Wild World – that triggered the loudest singalongs.

Earlier on in the show, Martin had proclaimed proudly: “Mr Big are back.”