Extreme – Mystic Lake Casino – Prior Lake, MN – September 22nd 2024

Living Colour and Extreme – September 22, 2024 at Mystic Lake Casino, Prior Lake, MN

Review and photos by Jim Zons

If you’re a fan of truly outstanding rock guitar players, you would have heard two of the best on Sunday night at Mystic Lake Casino:  Vernon Reid in Living Colour and Nuno Bettencourt in Extreme.\

First up: Living Colour.  Living Colour has been around since 1984, founded by British-born guitarist Vernon Reid in NYC.  The current lineup consists of Reid on guitar, original vocalist Corey Glover, original drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish (who replaced original bassist Muzz Skillings in 1992).  or a band that has been playing together for 40 years, they haven’t lost a single step.  Wow!  In many ways, it was a shame that they were an opening act because they truly deserved equal billing, and the extended set that would have come along with that billing; 30 minutes was WAY too short!

From their first song, 1993’s “Leave It Alone” through their chart topping “Cult of Personality,” I was blown away at how tight these guys were, and how much energy, and SOUND, a group of four guys could produce.  Doug Wimbish used to be session bass player with Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster Flash, so they stuck a hip hop medley in the middle of their set featuring “White Lines / Apache / The Message” which was amazing.  Again:  30 minutes was WAY too short for a set from Living Colour … I’d love to see them again headlining show so I could hear MORE.

Next up, it was Extreme.  Extreme was founded in Boston back in 1985, and today features original vocalist Gary Cherone and original guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, in addition to bassist Pat Badger and drummer Kevin Figueiredo.  I’m just going to say this up front: Nuno Bettencourt is perhaps one of the most underrated guitarists ever.  Man; the dude can play .. holeee sh*t! I was actually at the concert with two of my fellow guitarist friends, both long time players, and both of them were in awe as much as I was.

If you love that classic hair-band sound of the 1980s and 1990s, pure guitar-based rock and roll, you’ll LOVE Extreme in concert, even if you don’t know many of their songs beyond their few rock staples.  In addition, lead singer Gary Cherone has an AMAZING amount of energy for a guy who could be collecting Social Security check at 63:  dude was running all over the stage, jumping, practically doing acrobatics the entire two hour set!  BTW, if the name Gary Cherone is familiar to you, that is because he fronted Van Halen in 1996 after Sammy Hagar departed, and sang on the album Van Halen III.

Cherone might be the front man, but it is really Bettencourt who’s the heart and soul of the band;  he told great stories between songs (including a funny story about buying an expensive “one-of-a-kind” hat for $1000s in Nashville … and then seeing that same one-of-a-kind hat on a bunch of guys in a restaurant next door to the shop … HA!)  And like I said earlier:  the dude can PLAY!  Wow, seriously some of the best guitar playing I’ve seen in years (with Vernon Reid from Living Colour a close second).  Just incredible guitar chops … and he makes it almost look effortless.  Some of Extreme’s newest songs, like 2023’s “#Rebel” really showcase Bettencourt’s guitar playing (along with Cherone’s still amazing vocal range.)

Of course, the evening wouldn’t be complete without two of the band’s biggest acoustic hits: “Hole Hearted” and their biggest hit “More Than Words” from their 1990 album Extreme II: Pornograffitti.  I bought that album back in 1990 for Extreme’s hard rock songs on the disc, NOT for the ballads, and I remembered thinking at the time that people buying the album thinking it was going to be filled with just sappy ballads like “No More Words” were going to really be disappointed! Same thing if they attended the concert Sunday night;  other than those two acoustic numbers, it was an incredible evening of in your face rock and roll to truly “Get Your Funk Out!”