Review & setlist: Cheap Trick treats Boston fans to a rousing set – and some special guests

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers impressed with a potent show chock full of classics at MGM Music Hall.

Cheap Trick at the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Festival n Las Vegas. The band hit MGM Music Hall Saturday night. AP Photo/John Locher

By Christopher Hurley

August 4, 2024

Cheap Trick rounded third before taking it all the way home, just steps outside Fenway Park.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers treated Boston fans to quite the spectacle Saturday night at the MGM Music Hall — and a couple of surprise visitors to boot.

Playing within arm’s reach of the Green Monster, where they upstaged both Journey and Def Leppard as the opening act during their 2018 stadium tour, the hard-rocking quartet from Rockford, Illinois, appeared determined to cover all the bases this time around, in an impressive 90-minute headlining set.

Performing in front of a packed house, the band cranked out hits both old and new, powering its way through a brisk, 19-song set full of choice cuts spanning their entire 20-studio album catalogue. From their brilliant 1977 self-titled debut to their most recent 2021 release “In Another World,” Cheap Trick meticulously motored its way through some classics, as well as uncovering a few buried treasures, keeping both the casual fan and relentless diehards equally entertained.

They opened the show in fine fashion with the buzzsaw intro of “Hello There,” followed by the riff heavy crunch of “Big Eyes,” both off the band’s 1978 sophomore release “In Color,” setting the mood.

“A lot of bands are in Boston right now,” said guitarist Rick Nielsen. “Def Leppard (who return to Fenway Monday), Metallica (who were slated to play their second show at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro on Sunday) and even Cheap Trick.”

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Nielsen got to showcase his amazing arsenal of guitars, swapping them out with each song. The ball cap-wearing guitarist reintroduced the crowd to “Uncle Dick,” a full-bodied double-neck rendering of himself, for “She’s Tight.” Other eye-catching instruments included a flaming red and yellow “Dream Police”-era six-string with “Gonna Raise Hell” emboldened on a fiery fretboard, a boxy replica of the “Rockford” album cover, and a Sgt. Pepper-inspired Beatles tribute, with faces of the Fab Four on full display.

Although the 75-year-old guitarist has slowed a bit in recent years from his days darting around the stage, Nielsen maintained his Huntz Hall Bowery Boy-on-acid persona, mugging menacingly at the crowd while gunning a plethora of guitar picks.

The inventor of the 12-string bass, Tom Petersson held up the back end with a thunderous groove. Sporting a light blue blazer, Kinks t-shirt, and tan fedora, the 74-year-old bassist made his presence felt on The Move cover “California Man,” as well as setting the tempo with “On Top of the World.”

Petersson’s 12-string bass solo was an impressive reminder of how unique the instrument truly is sonically, creating an aura that’s tough to replicate. He also took a fun turn handling lead vocals on the always catchy “I Know What I Want.”

And then there was singer Robin Zander. Simply put, the 71-year-old vocalist remains spot-on in both his delivery and pitch. Whether hitting the soaring notes of “High Roller,” carrying the upbeat swagger of “Boys & Girls & Rock N Roll,” or adding a fiery punk-ladened punch to “He’s A Whore” (a personal favorite of this writer), the blonde lead singer with the golden voice continues to sing circles around contemporaries less than half his age, rightfully earning the moniker “The Man of 1,000 voices.”

Sporting a black leather jacket and Beatles t-shirt, Zander shined in the spotlight, playing an acoustic snippet of “It All Comes Back To You” off the band’s criminally overlooked 1997 release, using it as an effective segue into the plush power ballad “The Flame.”

The virtual new guy of the group, drummer Daxx Nielsen kept the band in motion. Rick’s son has earned his stripes since joining the band full time in 2010, acing the drum intro on the Fats Domino cover “Ain’t That A Shame,” while providing a steady pace to “Southern Girls” and “Need Your Love.”

Although it’s truly a shame original drummer Bun E. Carlos doesn’t tour with the band anymore, if the end result is longer setlists with Daxx on board, so be it.

The band also had a few friends and VIPs in the audience, including Malden native Gary Cherone of the band Extreme, and Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett. Zander even handed Cherone the mic for a roof-raising rendition of “Baby Loves to Rock.” The one-time Van Halen frontman proved to be a formidable, albeit temporary, substitute vocalist once again.

“That was my best Robin Zander,” said Cherone.

Signature set staple “I Want You to Want Me” continues to be a real crowd-pleaser, with its power pop push reminiscent of the live “At Budokan” release. Epic set closer “Dream Police” remains a true showstopper in both its sheer power and flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pants approach.

Nielsen struck the familiar chimes of “Clock Strikes Ten” for the encore, before the band launched into the anthemic rocker “Surrender” to close the show. Ever the trooper, the guitarist even pulled out his trusty checkerboard five-neck for the bookend finale “Good Night,” lugging the musical monstrosity across the stage much to the delight of the crowd.

Hammett had been eyeing the instrument from the side of the stage. The heavy metal guitar hero, whose band was slated to play the second night of the M72 World Tour at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, sported an ear-to-ear grin while getting to hold the famed guitar for a quick photo op with Nielsen following the show.

Making for a picture-perfect ending indeed.