Tesla came to the Samala showroom at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez to rock a sold out crowd, Thursday night March 24th. The band is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the 1986 release of their mega hit album Mechanical Resonance. The group opened with a thunderous explosion of rock, perfectly representing the classic hard rock/bluesy era they were a significant part of. From original lead singer, Jeff Keith’s raspy wailing vocals, to original guitarist extraordinaire, Frank Hannon’s mercurial guitar antics, the Aerosmith comparisons to Tesla cannot be understated. But Tesla, a decade younger than their rock star compatriots in Aerosmith, still play with a more raw and ferocious style associated with younger rock acts.
It is hard to believe Keith has been singing with the classic raspy rock voice for over thirty years and still has the throat skills to wail like a teenager. Hannon’s guitar playing was nothing short of phenomenal as the guitarist channeled everyone from Peter Frampton, with his helium voice box, to Jimi Hendrix playing with his teeth. Original drummer Troy Luccketta and bassist Brian Wheat, who have been playing together since 1981, laid down a thunderous symbiotic rhythm that literally shook the walls of the Samala showroom. The band was rounded out by its newest and only non-original member, the masterful guitarist, Dave Rude. Benefiting from the always stellar in house massive sound system, perfect stage lighting, and awesome big screen live video production, the show was an explosive rock extravaganza that would have been impressive in a large arena venue. But with the Samala showroom still cut in half for the continued Casino expansion project, the larger than life show wowed the lucky 600 or so music fans at the sold out event.
Tesla took to the stage to a roar from the crowd as the band launched right into “Rock Me To The Top”. Then it was ear plug time when the explosive sound system seemed to turn up a notch as Tesla slid right into “Edison’s Medicine.” This had the audience on their feet with their fists pumping, and the crowd sang along on the chorus. “Gettin’ Better” came next completing a trio of classic rock songs from the band. Hannon then announced that the band would be playing a song that they hadn’t played in 28 years, “Cover Queen”. A quick check on Set List online, indeed shows that the band has only played the song live 19 times, since it appeared on their first album.
After several more classic rock tunes, the band then really showed their range by performing an acoustic set, inspired by their 1990 album Five Man Acoustical Jam. They played an inspiring version of their cover hit song from that album “Signs,” which was originally a hit for the one hit wonders, “Five Man Electrical Band,” back in 1971. The acoustic jam also featured some innovative covers including a morph into “Truckin” by the Grateful Dead and the classic “Thank You” by Led Zeppelin. The group switched it up again for “Life is a River” which featured bassist Wheat on keys and guitarist Rude on bass guitar.
Just as the band returned to their biggest rock hits, the traditional opening of the front of the stage brought a flood of ecstatic fans swarming the area. The band, energized by the animated fans, played with a renewed sense of vigor pitching endless guitar pics into the crowd and let the audience sing in the Microphone and strum their guitars. By the time the band closed their 100 minute set with an encore of the crowd had gone into a ballistic bliss state, some even holding up a few of the 14 million albums that the band has sold in reverence.
