Mmmm ... Nice Package Tour
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 Whitesnake 25 anniversary tour was started
on January 29, 2003 ... I left for
Los Angeles
on February 14 to see Doug Aldrich's
performance
at the show. This was the first trip
to the
US for me, so I was worried about everything,
but I was looking forward to seeing
Doug's
play after 3 years and a half. It took
about
9 hours from Tokyo to Los Angeles,
and I
moved to Las Vegas. On my birthday,
February
15, Scorpions / Whitesnake / Dokken
show
was held at the Event Center of Mandalay
Bay Hotel. There is House Of Blues
in this
hotel. This hotel was very big, and
when I entered in to the casino, I couldn't find
the exit. The casino was everywhere
in Las
Vegas, so I was tired of that. I entered
into the Event Center. When I reached
to
the ticket office, I saw Jeff Pilson
(Ex-Dokken
bassist). There seemed to be some other
musicians
to see the show. I missed the
Scorpions
and Dokken shows because of some troubles,
but the seats seemed not to be full
yet at
the Dokken show. I thought Dokken was
not
so interesting with these band members.When the Whitesnake show started, the venue was full and the audience was excited. They looked like in the 30 - 40's as me. It became dark, then the band members came out to the stage. They looked so gorgeous and shining. Doug played the guitar solo on many songs, I could feel he was becoming bigger.  I couldn't believe David Coverdale
was 51 years old. He looked young.
He sometimes was hard to sing
in a
high range, but great as I saw 13 years
ago.
There was Doug on the right side,
Timothy
backward, Reb and Marco on the left
side,
Tommy center-backward, and David was in the center.
They appealed to the audience with
walking
around on the stage. The first
song
was "Bad Boys". Doug's
guitar
riff is great. Doug hadn't played
at
such a big stage with his bands, and
I felt
he was really enjoying playing for
the big
audience. It was really impressive.
Most songs were from the album
with
John Sykes. This is my favorite
album.
"Bad Boys", "Is
This
Love", "Crying In The Rain",
Give Me All Your Love", Here I
Go Again",
"Still Of The Night" ...
all of
them are my favorites. I often
watched
these MTV video in the 80's. And
they
played some classic songs ... "Slide
It In", "Love Ain't No Stranger"
... and more songs. There was
no encore,
but the fans wanted to hear them more.
I
felt at this show there were still
many Whitesnake
fan s. This line-up included some new members,
but the fans were so excited. Doug
was welcomed by the Whitesnake fans
warmly.
I felt happy for that. Doug
is
playing now in the place where
Adrian
Vandenberg was at the show 13 years
ago.
I hadn't imagined that at all.
I
was sure again that Doug was a fantastic
and excellent guitar player. I've
been
seeing him since LION times, so I was
really
impressed to see his making a big success.
I'm so proud of being his fan
for a
long time. |
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| February 17, 2003 - AOL Rock Chat | ||||
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| Doug Aldrich was the guest for America Online's
Rock Chat. This was the second
time
after one last summer. He was
as a
member of DIO on the first chat, and
he was
as a member of Whitesnake at this time.
I
joined it in Los Angeles this time.
There
were about 20 people in the chat room.
Please
check out the transcript at Interview & AOL Chat page. |
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| February 22, 2003 - Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles, CA | ||||
 On the 21st, I was surprised to hear the
news that Great White guitarist was
died.
There was a fire at the show.
He
was young ... sad thing. This show was sold out. The show on the next day was added. The audience was similar to those on the 15th. They looked in the 30 - 40's. While Dokken was playing, the venue was not full. But Don Dokken was still powerful with brandishing the mic stand. The guitarist was young and performed great. Honestly speaking, I wanted to see George Lynch, but the show was great. They played many hit songs in 80's, so I think the 80's rock fans enjoyed this set. I love their songs in 80's, of course, so they reminded me of those days. "Tooth And Nail", "Into The Fire", "It's Not Love", ... "Wild" Mick Brown was still powerful.  After 30 minutes interval ... Whitesnake came out to the stage. The venue was full until then. I felt the audience expected their show. The first song was "Bad Boys". The setlist was around the same as one on the 15th, I think. Doug played the guitar solo on 7 songs in 10. Most songs were from the album featuring John Sykes, so I loved them. They reminded me of the days in 80's. Doug played the original version with some of his flavor. His slide play on "Slow And Easy" was so cool. I loved his guitar solos on my favorites, "Crying In The Rain" and "Still Of The Night". His solo was melodious on "Is This Love", and his guitar sound is always awesome! I felt the Whitesnake fans welcomed Doug, and they were very excited. Reb Beach was also great, but Doug was more remarkable because he played more solos. Doug played in a band with 2 guitarists for  the first time. I think he plays relaxed,
because Reb plays the good rhythm guitar
on Doug's solo. About one month
after
the tour was started ... but they looked
like playing together for many years
and
they were really united. All
the guys
are great musicians and play their
roles.
All of them were shining on the
stage.
David Coverdale looked young
and I
couldn't believe he was 51 years old.
He
performed with the younger members,
but I
didn't feel a sense of incongruity.
If
the new album is made with this line-up,
it would be great. I could feel
Doug's
effort and success, because I've been
seeing
him since 1987. He always does
his
best. He looked like a big star
on
the Whitesnake show, and his performance
was wilder than before. He was
cool
and I love it. I was so impressed
to
see that he was enjoying playing almost
everyday.
I felt there were many 80's rock
fans
even now including me. I missed
the
Scorpions show. I hope they are
touring
in Japan also.
 Whitesnake Tour Photo |
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