I’ve seen Cheap Trick in concert too many times to remember! Many times in Chicago, Des Moines, Indianapolis, New York, but I’ve never seen them here in Peoria! Tonight all of that changes as they’re playing a show at the Limelight Eventplex. And this is the third anniversary for the Limelight. I was there for the very first show back in February of 2014 and you can see photos from that by clicking right here! So let’s go see Cheap Trick and join in the third anniversary celebration of the Limelight Eventplex!
Pre-Show Photos
I’m early for everything, but I couldn’t beat this crowd! I guess there’s a lot of Cheap Trick fans out there still! It was freezing out and one disturbing thing I saw after i took a picture of the Cheap Trick poster in the window was a sign by the door saying: “No Cameras!” Yikes! I stuffed my camera into my inside pocket of my jacket and made it inside to take a photo of the guitar wall while no one was looking. I asked a security guard and he said no photos were allowed for this show. I’ve never heard of such a thing but when I went to the bathroom I saw another sign, which prompted me to take this obligatory bathroom mirror shot, would this be the last photo of the evening? Would the MBIP Camera get confiscated? Well, we’ll have to wait and see! The last mirror shot is me showing my pass to the “Meet and Greet” event and I was told no cameras are allowed there as well. I decided to play by the rules and not have a repeat of this happen tonight! So my camera is tucked away and let’s go to the Cheap Trick Meet and Greet!
Cheap Trick Meet and Greet
These meet and greet things are always kind of awkward because the band has to pose with a bunch of people and it’s just a weird thing. I was able to break the ice because I have two friends, Brad Elvis and “Boris” Boden who have been friends with Cheap Trick forever. I told them that we had mutual friends in Brad and “Boris” and Robin Zander quickly said: “Tell those guys to go fuck themselves!” and everyone started laughing. Then I got my photo taken with the band (I’m holding a guitar pick that Rick Nielsen gave me) and it was on to the next person in line! It was great to meet the band and now it’s showtime at the Limelight Eventplex!
Miles Nielsen & The Rusted Hearts
The opening act for the night was Miles Nielsen & The Rusted Hearts. I managed to squeeze my way up front but was still a little paranoid about taking pictures. I heard a couple behind me saying that they heard extra security was brought on for the evening. So I took a couple of shots and thought I’d save the rest for Cheap Trick. Miles Nielsen & The Rusted Hearts were a good opening band and you can read more about them here. And yeah, Miles’ dad is Rick Nielsen! And speaking of Rick Nielsen...I think it’s time for...
Cheap Trick!
There’s that iconic Cheap Trick logo on the bass drum...ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to rock?
It’s showtime! Cheap Trick took the stage and started off with “Hello There” and then went right into, “Heart On The Line,” which is a song from their new album, “Bang, Zoom, Crazy...Hello.” They sound great as always. I miss seeing Bun E. Carlos behind the drums, but Daxx Nielsen is a great drummer too and has done a great job since he’s joined the band.
As you can see from the photos, Rick Nielsen changes guitars with about every song!
By this time they’ve ripped through, "Big Eyes, Elo Kiddies, California Man and He’s A Whore." It’s a great show and the crowd is really into it!
Bassist Tom Petersson took a solo on the Velvet Underground song, “I'm Waiting For The Man.” He’s been playing this song as his spotlight solo tune for years! Then they launched into “The Flame,” with Rick Nielsen playing a cool Beatles guitar!
Okay, now it’s getting towards the end of the show and some of the songs they played in the set list included: "Baby Loves To Rock, Need Your Love, The Ballad of T.V. Violence, The In Crowd and Stop This Game." They brought out a guy named Frank from the American Pickers show and the crowd went nuts. I’ve never seen that show, so it was lost on me! They closed the night with “Dream Police, Surrender and Goodnight.” At the end, Miles Nielsen and a woman who I think might be Robin Zander’s daughter came out to sing with the band. It was a great show and nice to see Cheap Trick can still rock and roll after all of these years!
And the night ended like it began, with the Cheap Trick drum set sitting up on the stage. Right after the show I turned around to get a shot of the sold out crowd behind me. As you can see it was packed! I then walked to the back and took a shot of the stage from there and of some of the remains on the floor after the concert.
Souvenirs
Here’s my Meet and Greet laminate and not one, but two Rick Nielsen guitar picks! I got one at the Meet and Greet and another from my friend, Colleen Cassidy Waller, who I saw towards the end of the show and she gave me a guitar pick she caught in the crowd. That was so nice and thanks Colleen, I hope to see you again soon! It was a wonderful show and Happy Anniversary to Limelight Eventplex! We’ll see you all tomorrow!
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8102 N. University Street
Peoria
309-693-1234
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