Yngwie Malmsteen

Yngwie Malmsteen

May 21 2017 Arcada Theatre

Yngwie Malmsteen is getting ready to hit the stage, a stage which has seen more Rock and Roll Hall of Famers perform on than any other stage in the country Arcade Theatre St. Charles IL.  The last time Yngwie played here was  May 5 2013 with Gary Howe and Bumblefoot as supporting acts for Yngwie and that was a killer show.  

Malmsteen as been shredding on his “World on Fire” tour thus far, which is set for tonight on this early evening 5:00PM start at the Arcade Theatre St. Charles IL with no opening acts just a straight one hour and forty-five minute set. This will be an early night for these fans for sure.

 The fans are ready for this evening to witness one of music’ greatest guitar gods, master virtuoso, neoclassical shred master Yngwie Malmsteen. The stage is set with his wall of Marshall cabinets and Marshall heads as  Malmsteen surrounds himself with top-tier musicians, as usual, no one is more critical about musicians than Malmsteen in my opinion that’s one thing he does not just settle on and he will never compromise is work.  

Arcada Theatre’s owner-operator Ron Onesti has now taken the mic to introduce Yngwie, the crowds’ roars are heard, the band takes the stage and out of nowhere guitar is blasting out of the monitors with Yngwie behind the side curtain of stage teasing and toying with the crowd waiting to actually take the stage. Yngwie keeps starting and stopping playing guitar loving the cheers and then walks out with a smoke-filled stage from a smoke machine blasting.

The crowd was more than stoked with Yngwie throwing and kicking guitar picks out to them, giving off great energy out of the gate. Starting the night with “Rising Force” which is from his self-titled first studio album released back in May 1984, this album solidified Yngwie as the master of shred, a neoclassical guitar god. Throughout the evening in Yngwie fashion he was throwing his guitar around, flipping it around his neck just having fun tearing it up on stage.

 Watching and listening to Yngwie play some of the classic songs with mad arpeggios and progressions so fluently is a reminder that that’s why he is a guitar god.  There are many great guitarists in the world but Yngwie is tuff to beat in regards to neoclassical metal.  

Yngwie is always impressing the fans when he performs the “Star Spangled Banner” in his virtuoso way as he had done tonight.   I was also waiting to see if the guitar tech was going to drop Yngwie’s guitar like he had done in the past, so Yngwie is on his knees performing when from his knees throws his guitar behind his back without looking Yngwie’s guitar goes flying into the air and the guitar tech is there to catch it and does so. 

Ciavolino, Marino, and Yngwie all had vocal duties on songs like “Rising Force” “Seventh Time” “Soldier” and “Heaven Tonight.”  I wish Yngwie actually had a full time vocalist in his band , I mean those three pulled it off but it definitely could’ve been better.  

The encore tonight started with Yngwie on his white Ovation acoustic playing a guitar solo into “Black Star” from “Rising Force” album.   

“I’ll See The Light Tonight” was the last encore song of the night which has been one of my favorites from back in the day, I remember busting my ass off trying to learn that song when I first learned how to play guitar.  Yngwie left people wanting more as the band bowed to the crowd and saying their thanks for coming out and supporting them.

Seeing Yngwie tonight brought back memories once again of when I saw him at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago back in 1988. I must admit I miss those days. For anyone that has never seen Yngwie Malmsteen live in concert must go see him perform, you will be impressed, inspired, and blown away.

   •     Yngwie Malmsteen – guitars, vocals

   •     Nick Marino – keyboards, vocals

   •     Ralph Ciavolino – bass, vocals

   •     Mark Ellis – drums, percussion

1)   RisingForce

2)   Spellbound /Into Valhalla / Baroque &Roll

3)   Soldier

4)   Top Down, FootDown

5)   Like an Angel

6)   Badinerie

7)   Concerto #4

8)   Adagio / Far Beyond the Sun

9)   Star Spangled Banner

10) Seventh Sign

11) World on Fire

12) Now Your Ships are Burned

13) Evil Eye

14) Trilogy Suite OP: 5

15) Guitar Solo

16) Fugue

17) Blue

18) Drum Solo

19) Heaven Tonight

      ENCORE

20) Acoustic Solo/ Black Star

21) I’ll See The Light Tonight

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