Yngwie Malmsteen Show Review (10/29/08, The Cannery, Nashville)

Compared to other cities, Memphis draws a relatively weak number of hard rock acts. As a result, I find myself having to travel to other cities to see my favorites perform. Two days ago, I made the trek up to Nashville to see neoclassical shred-maestro Yngwie Malmsteen at the Cannery Ballroom/Mercy Lounge. Three years ago, I saw Yngwie at this very same place on his 2005 Unleash the Fury tour. I also lost a few decibels of top-end hearing as a result of standing directly in front of Yngwie's wall of 50w Marshall JMP stacks. Fortunately, I didn't make that mistake again.

Anyways, the Nashville performance was part of Yngwie's tour in support of his new album, Perpetual Flame. For the new album, Yngwie hired ex-Judas Priest frontman Tim "Ripper" Owens for vocals. But as with most Yngwie albums, everything else (including guitars, bass, lyrics, production, etc...) is all done by the Swede himself. It's also worth mentioning that the album cover is quite comical. I'll let the cover speak for itself:


Anyways, the show kicked off with an interesting (to say the least) Russian metal band, fronted by a rather strange singer dressed like the Joker who couldn't speak English well. Then, about forty-five minutes later, Yngwie's crew came on. Normally, Yngwie kicks off his show with the lights turned off while he plays a speedy, classically-based arpeggio theme behind his amps before coming on stage. He began to do this as usual, but apparently the light operator wasn't paying attention, or he simply wanted to anger the testy Malmsteen. Well, he successfully accomplished the latter: as soon as the lights came on again, the surprised Yngwie abruptly stopped playing, yanked the mic from Ripper Owens' hand, and shouted in his heavily-accented voice, "Turn the fuckin' lights off." Classic Yngwie episode right there...

The mishap was just a harbinger of the rest to come. Yngwie's tech, who appeared to be only sixteen, seemed to have trouble handing Yngwie the right guitar each song. As a result, he was the victim of many angry sneers from Malmsteen, who would violently toss his guitars to the poor tech. I felt sorry for him, honestly.

The band started off with the opening track of the new album, "Death Dealer." The setlist included many more from the album, but Yngwie and crew also churned out several classics, including "Far Beyond the Sun," "I Am a Viking," and an encore presentation of "I'll See the Light Tonight." Fans of Rainbow will appreciate the well-executed cover of "Gates of Babylon." Malmsteen also played a shortened version of "Trilogy Suite, Op. 5," but it actually turned out rather disappointing. Arguably the most impressive performance though was "Red Devil," a straight-up, hard riffing track from the new CD. The song is about Yngwie's love of Ferraris, and he even played a special red Strat just for the song. Regarding the rest of the band, I was extremely impressed by Tim "Ripper" Owens' vocals and his ability to interact with the crowd. Longtime drummer Patrick Johannson performed solidly on the drums as well.

Yngwie's tone was extremely good throughout the night. He appeared to be using his newer Fender signature model Strats through his trusty Marshall JMP MkII 50w full stacks, roaring at full volume. However, his acoustic tone was rather shrill and nasally. As usual, fans scrambled to grab the many picks Yngwie tossed out throughout the show, often resulting in rather aggressive altercations. Luckily, I acquired three back in 2005, so I was already set.

Overall, compared to the previous time I saw him, Yngwie seemed a little more tired and temperamental this time around, and it definitely showed. Regardless, it was an enjoyable performance, and if Yngwie rolls around your area, I would try to see him. He truly is often overlooked for his role in revolutionizing guitar playing in the 1980s. Be aware though that Yngwie prohibits the use of cameras and camcorders, hence my lack of many pictures. I had to quickly sneak in the few that I did take, and their quality suffered as a result.