Review - Tesla with American Dog, Hampton Beach Casino, NH on 8/12/14

   I was really looking forward to seeing American Dog and I wasn't alone as a sizable chunk of the crowd had already filled the venue when the band took the stage. They are an old school shit kicking twin guitar rock and roll band. With attitude. Their latest release Neanderthal is great and they played half of it. The band went down a storm and we had a great chat with all the guys after their set. Go see them if they play anywhere near you. Best opening band I've seen in a while.

   I've always had a problem with Tesla and felt at times that their albums were more perspiration then inspiration. Mechanical Resonance is one of my favourite debut albums ever and Psychotic Supper is a classic but being honest I don't reach for their stuff on a regular basis, their earlier albums suffer like most from that era of being too damn long and their newer stuff is just a little one paced for my liking. As for Jeff Keith live, well I'll just say he is hit and miss.

   This was the third time I had seen them in as many years and they started strong with a newie MP3 from Simplicity followed by the fantastic Edison's Medicine and I Wanna Live from Forevermore. Up tempo rocking stuff. Then the band kinda lose me with a string of mid-paced fare like Hang Tough, Mama's Fool and The Way It Is. Solid songs but samey. I'll hand it to the band because they did plug the new cd with 4 songs from it but the foot was tapping instead of the head banging. Three from Mechanical Resonance ended the set and only highlighted for me how better those songs are live. Modern Day Cowboy is still great.

   Next time they need to vary the pace of the set but they suffer like a lot of bands from that era because they have to play ballads like What You Give and Signs. Unfortunately that leaves no room for Cumin Atcha Live and Don't De Rock Me, tunes with some serious twin guitar interplay. The band weren't crap and by and large the crowd loved them. The musicianship is still there but overall the stage presence is not except for chatty Frank Hannon, Jeff Keith still looks like he needs a good meal.

Richie.