I love Mr. Big... and Pat Torpey is certainly in my list of favorite drummers... his steady groove... his tasteful fills... his consistent time... man, the guy is totally awesome... every bassists dream come true!
So when i found out that he was going to be in town for a drum clinic... i knew i had to be there. so i called up a friend and asked him to reserve my tickets... plus 3 actually since i'm bringing friends along... 'stuffers' mark & vice and jp. At last... Pat Torpey in the flesh! woohooo!!!!
When Mr. Big went here, i had no idea that the band was composed of superhuman musicians... all i heard on the radio was 'To Be With You'... and for a guy like myself who was into Anthrax, Testament, Megadeth, etc... i really wasn't interested that much... imagine how i felt when i started researching Mr. Big's discography... geez... what a sorry loser i was for blowing the chance to see such an awesome band.
I may not be able to see Mr. Big live anytime soon, since the band has broken up... (i do hope they get back together)... but at least i saw Billy Sheehan in the flesh during his bass clinic a few years ago... and now... Pat Torpey. it's the closest i can get to seeing Mr. Big, so i'm not letting this one slip this time.
woohoo!!!! Pat Torpey! tickets... check... CDs to be signed... check....
We left Mark's house at around 2:30ish... here Vice is obviously psyched...
we got to the venue at around 3pm... we weren't able to get a table at first because some weirdo waitress told us the seats were reserved... but i cleared it up with the audiophile people and we finally got seats... front row baby! mark, jp, vice, and of course myself behind the camera... all ready for pat torpey (that almost rhymes)
hoorah! ladies and gents... Mr. Pat Torpey!
he connected well with the crowd... answered every question... cracked jokes here and there...
the venue was packed...
showtime! his opening drum solo was killer...vid clip of the drum solo... thanks to wilpredo ... got the vid from his youtube channel...
another vid... bits and pieces of the clinic...
he was so intense... even elvis and ringgo were impressed... ehehehehe.
here he is again banging on the drums... listening to mr. big albums, you'd think the drum parts are easy... but in reality, it's a treasure chest of rudiments and well thought of beats and fills... executed to perfection by mr. big's secret weapon.
Myself, Mark and Vice having our CDs and tickets signed...Pat Torpey: Cool hair! I wanted to do that to my hair too, but my wife wouldn't let me.
Me: Really? (yeah... my mind froze... couldn't think of anything to say.. it's Pat Torpey... wow!)
What an awesome clinic! I still can't get over the fact that i was in the same room with Pat Torpey...
and that he said that my hair was cool... weheheheh...
...such an awesome day!