Ex-Racer X and Mr Big guitarist Paul Gilbert and his new band will be touching down at The Wall next Thursday as part of their current world tour to promote their recently released album, Spaceman One.
Gilbert first made his mark on the world of guitar shredding, or the art of playing as many notes per second, with oddball heavy-rock combo Racer X in the mid-1980s. The group never really managed to create much of a buzz outside of hardcore heavy-rock circles however, and Gilbert parted company with the combo in order to join Mr Big in 1992. Within months of joining the band, Gilbert had scored his first number-one hit, To Be with You.
Since he parted company with Mr Big, which disbanded in 1996, Gilbert has released a string of solo albums, but none of them has ever proven as successful on the global stage as his Mr Big hit, though several of his records have made it to the number one spot in Japan, where he continues to have a huge following.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ARTIST
Released in early June by Shrapnel Records, Gilbert's latest album, Spaceman One, features an eclectic collection of guitar-driven tunes on which Gilbert deviates somewhat from his trademark heavy-rock/ballad styles he employed when fronting Racer X and Mr Big.
Along with the more orthodox breakneck metal numbers like Jackhammer, Gilbert takes time to mix it up with some fantastic punk-like hooks and riffs, several post-rock styled tunes and a couple of slow jerky ballads, and he even throws in a few surprises, such as the Japanese-language rock anthem Boku No Atama.
A few of the album's highlights and tunes to listen out for next week include the brilliant 1970s-like punk anthem and the mosh-pit-inducing On the Way to Hell, the early Elvis Costello-meets-Cheap Trick-like number Mr Spock, the rockabilly inspired Wash My Car, and the gnarly guitar-solo-fueled Terrible Man.
Gilbert might not have the same pulling power as several of the international acts set to perform in Taiwan this summer, but if you fancy catching a real band in the act as opposed to being subjected to more of the same by the rather ratty suspects, then Taipei's The Wall is the place to be next Thursday. Regardless of one's musical preferences, Gilbert and his band are guaranteed to put on one hell of a show.
Paul Gilbert Spaceship One World Tour will be at The Wall this Thursday, July 7, at 7:30pm. Tickets cost NT$1,200 and are available at the door. The Wall is at B1, 200 Roosevelt Rd, Sec 4, Taipei (台北市羅斯福路四段200號B1).
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