Mr. Big’s, “The Big Finish Tour” makes a stop at Ludlow Garage in Cincinnati, OH

Mr. Big’s, “The Big Finish Tour” makes a stop at Ludlow Garage in Cincinnati, OH

By: Kevin Vickery

On May 29th I made a road trip to Cincinnati to see one of my favorite bands from the old days make an appearance on their farewell tour at a cool venue called Ludlow Garage.  Having seen the band at least four times back in the late eighties and early nineties, I’ll admit I was a little on the fence about making the two and a half hour trip to see them in Cincinnati, but when I discovered that my beloved Red’s had a home game that same day, the decision basically made itself. 

Unfortunately the Red’s fell to the St. Louis Cardinals 5 to 3 that afternoon, but in my opinion, any day hearing the crack of the bat at Great American Ballpark is a good day, so I decided to focus on that and make my way to the Clifton neighborhood which includes the Ludlow Avenue shopping and dining district. The area is a hipster’s paradise full of interesting shops and eateries that reminded me of Indianapolis’ Fountain Square or Mass Ave regions.  I was able to visit “Feel It” a vintage record store and a cool, retro home goods and local art decor shop called “Lentz & Company” before making my way to dinner and the concert at Ludlow Garage to see Mr. Big.

The Ludlow Garage venue has its own rich history.  It originally started as an actual automobile shop but first transformed into a music venue during the “Summer of Love” in September, 1967 and has hosted such major acts as The Allman Brothers Band, Santana, The James Gang, Humble Pie, Grand Funk Railroad, B.B. King, Alice Cooper, Neil Young, Pure Prarie League and many others. The venue’s seating capacity is only 500 so it offers a great opportunity to see bands in an up close and intimate setting.

I was excited to see one of my favorite bands, Mr. Big one last time before they end their farewell tour and call it quits. The band’s mostly original line up features vocalist Eric Martin, guitar virtuoso, Paul Gilbert, new drummer, Nick D’Virgilio who has taken over for original drummer, Pat Torpey since his death in 2018 following a battle with Parkinson’s Disease and legendary, bass guitarist and musical innovator, Billy Sheehan. 

It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of Billy Sheehan’s bass playing which is a style so technically sound and advanced that it can’t fairly be compared with any other bassist. His unique approach to the instrument and over the top precision as a player/designer of bass gear, coupled with his approach to the instrument, which is more in line with a lead guitarist make him a true one of a kind bassist that leaves the rest of us regular bass players with our jaws on the floor in disbelief of his skills and ability. In short, he is the Edward Van Halen of the electric bass.

The first time I ever had the pleasure of meeting Mr Big and seeing them perform was on December 1st,1989 when they performed at the Ritz Theatre in Indianapolis and offered a meet & greet at Karma Records to promote the show.  My bandmates and I were there, waiting in line to see first hand what these guys that we respected so highly were all about. They were all very cool as they joked with us, signed autographs and made us all glad that these musical heroes of our were so down to Earth.

I saw them again in June of 1992 at Deer Creek (Yes, that’s what it was actually called back then) when they were the opening act for Rush’s “Roll the Bones” tour. If there is any rock bassist who rivals the intricate and technically advanced style of Billy Sheehan, it’s his predecessor and true King of the instrument, Rush’s Geddy Lee, who I believe might be Canada’s most valuable export to the United States.  I left the show that night hoping to be inspired to become a better bassist but instead, I mostly wanted to go home and set all my bass gear on fire in frustration. Fortunately, I didn’t light that match and have managed to find my own way to be the best bassist I can, making sure my playing contributes to the songs, and serves the overall presentation of the show.

The next time I saw Mr. Big is sort of a significant event in nerdy, local music history. During the entire four years I attended Ball State University, the Worthen Arena was under construction. It was finally completed during the Fall semester of my Senior year and the first concert held there was Bryan Adams with Mr, Big as the opening act, on November 18th, 1992, making them the first band/artist to ever perform in that venue. It was a great show and my job at the Ball State college radio station WCRD allowed me to get a little back stage time with the band again and they were just as friendly and easy going as when I first met them.

I saw them again in 1995 at the legendary 328 Performance Hall in Nashville, TN which hosted hundreds of top notch shows featuring up and coming artists then went on to become arena headliners. Unfortunately it was demolished in 2002 and now a Hampton Inn & Suites stands in its place but I guess that’s progress. 

I went into the recent show at Ludlow Garage not knowing what to expect and had heard some mixed reviews from friends who has seen earlier dates on the tour. Since nearly 35 years had passed since I first saw them and had my mind blown by their amazing sound and technical skills, I wondered if they could still deliver the goods after all this time. I’m proud to report they did just that. 

Sure, vocalist, Eric Martin may not have quite the range he once did, but rarely does a singer have the exact same sound at nearly 64 years old as they did in their late twenties, especially in hard rock.

Guitar-guru, Paul Gilbert still shreds the 6-string as clean and fast as he ever did with his only notable difference being that his look has drastically changed from a long haired, metal head, to a sharp dressed, suit, tie and glasses wearing look that sort of comes off like a cross between an insurance salesman and a librarian. 

Drummer, Nick D’Virgilio does an excellent job taking over the responsibility of holding down the beat and backing vocals for the late Pat Torpey. Finally, at 72 years old, bass legend, Billy Sheehan still has all the licks, tricks, and skills to pay the bills that have made him famous and earned him the title of “Best Bass Player” by Guitar Player Magazine five times.

The band opened the show with my favorite, “Addicted to that Rush” followed by a couple other lesser known tunes, then proceeded to play their entire, 1991 album, “Lean Into it” from start to finish.

That album brought them their most commercial success with songs like, “Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy” and “Green-Tinted Sixties Mind” as well as their bigger radio hits like, “Just Take My Heart” and “To Be with You”.

The latter two “power ballads” as they are known garnered them the most radio airplay and commercial success which is common of hard rock bands from their era who were asked (or some might say forced) to provide some softer sounding songs so that the record label could expand their audience and thusly sell more records.

This has caused Mr. Big to seemingly have two different fan bases and their power ballad fans are often unaware of their true sound that encompasses the other 95% of their material. Here’s a good example of that… 
A couple years age, some co-workers and I were listening to some of the faster, more upbeat Mr. Big tunes while working. My (now former) employer walked in and asked who it was. When we told her it was Mr. Big she responded by saying, “Who the heck (only she didn’t say heck) is Mr. Big?!  Without saying anything I bumped the track up to “To Be with You” and she said, “Oh, that’s a great song!  I love these guys!”.  When I told her it was the same band she sort of stood there with a confused look on her face.  I don’t think she ever did believe me.

Whichever type of Mr. Big fan you may be, you can still catch them on “The Big Finish Tour” if you’re into International travel.  The tour which started in July, 2023 has finished it’s US leg and will now take them to Bulgaria, Germany, and Italy along with several stops in the UK before wrapping it up at their Romania show in August.  They will also be releasing their tenth and presumably last studio album appropriately entitled, “10” on July 12th.

The show at Ludlow Garage ended with a few well played cover songs including, “30 Days in the Hole” by “Humble Pie”, “The Who’s”, “Baba O’Riley” and even a version of “Good Lovin” by “The Young Rascals” which featured all members of the band switching instruments and still playing as solid as they had been all night.

After the show I had the chance to speak with fellow concert goer, Danny Laverde from Cincinnati. At 24 years old, I was surprised to see how familiar he was with Mr. Big’s music as the average fan in attendance was nearly twice his age. As a drummer himself he said, “I’ve seen them a couple times before and even opened for them with my band a few times.  They’re all really good guys.” He also agreed with my assessment of the crowd being comprised of mostly musicians saying, “Yeah, with a show like these guys, it’s probably 80-90% musicians here watching.”  Since Danny is a working drummer, I asked him what he thought of replacement drummer, Nick D’Virgilio and he added, “Nick’s a beast and I think he’s doing Pat’s parts justice.  He’s really good, really clean and fits the band very well.”

I’d have to agree and say that after 35 years, the guys in Mr. Big can be proud knowing that even if they are calling it quits, they can do so with their heads held high because they have given us fans 35 years of super skilled, high octane rock & roll that has been unparalleled and unmatched by others.

For more information about Mr.Big, their remaining tour dates or to pre-order their new album, “10”, visit their official website at mrbigsite.com.

To learn about future concert events or the restaurant at Cincinnati’s Ludlow Garage, go to ludlowgaragecincinnati.com