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Story and photos by Joe Hargreaves Closing out the workweek, Big Head Todd Park Mohr and his band-mates gave their Milwaukee fans a Monster set of over two and a half hours Friday night at the Rave, with signings and meet-and-greets afterwards. Front-man Todd commands attention with his captivating clean-toned blues guitar styling and throaty pipes, and is deserving of center-stage for those obvious reasons. His surrounding cast of characters is no joke in their own right. If not always under the spot light themselves; their gorgeously tight sounding grooves are definitely worthy of a few. Holding time, Brian Nevin (drums/vocals) at the kit, showed amazing reserve, allowing others to the forefront while never conceding his handle, and only making himself know when called for. Rob Squires (bass/vocals) paced in the dark recesses thumping the five string bass off of Mohr's right, while Jeremy Lawton tickled the ivories to his left, and together - along with Nevin and Mohr - played with such harmony, as if each an extension of themselves. It's a true testament to their longevity as a unit, and their resulting solid sound.To a packed house BHTM did what they do best, perform live. Interacting with visceral blues expression, Mohr and the Monsters mixed up a set list that spanned their career, intertwining hit singles throughout, keeping the crowd lively and engaged. Favorites such as "Bittersweet" and "Circle" from their 1993 platinum selling Sister Sweetly LP were memorable highlights, as well as their John Lee Hooker rendition of the classic song "Boom Boom," from 1997's release Beautiful World. All told, not bad from a group of Colorado kids showing Milwaukeeans how they do it, the Rockin' Mountain Way! |