As bands, both Extreme and Living Colour have a shared history of roaring out of the northeast (Boston and New York to be precise) to put out some of the finest hard rock music of the late ‘80s/early ‘90s. Unlike a lot of their contemporaries, they also both worked in some interesting and innovative other sound strains into the pot.

They are also both, unfortunately, best known to casual listeners or MTV viewers mostly for a single song each. For Extreme, it was the romantic acoustic ballad with precise vocal harmonies “More Than Words.” For Living Colour, the fiery and accusatory “Cult of Personality.”
But each band did—and still—have so, so much more to offer. And not just with Memory Lane Music. On this night that went late at the House of Blues, both bands more than proved their power and relevancy.

Extreme’s generous two-hour stint onstage covered selections from every one of their six studio albums, from 1989’s Extreme to a number of cuts from 2023’s rock-solid Six. Surprisingly, more than half of those tracks made the setlist, showing that Extreme is not interested in just nostalgia.

But not surprisingly, the disc most represented next was 1990’s Extreme II: Pornograffitti. It's their most popular record and home to not only “More Than Words” but the minor hits “Get the Funk Out” and “Hole Hearted.” All in all, about half of the tracks got live airings here.

The current lineup includes original members Gary Cherone (lead vocals), Nuno Bettencourt (guitars/keyboards/vocals), and Pat Badger (bass). Kevin Figueiredo has been drumming since 1997. Fun fact: Bettencourt has also held onto a side gig in Rihanna’s live band for four tours (and her 2023 Super Bowl appearance). He also has a solo career and has been in other bands.
Why Bettencourt is never on the list of “great guitarists” would be surprising to anyone who experienced his dexterity and fleet fingers throughout this night. And on highlight performances like opener ‘It (‘s) a Monster,” “#Rebel,” a surprisingly fervent “Cupid’s Dead.”

Also, pounders from Six like “Thicker Than Blood” and “Banshee.” The guitarist also paid tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen with mini-performances of “Eruption” and “Little Guitars.”

The man whose looks are enviously frozen from 30 years ago was also the de facto spokesperson for the band. That’s whether expressing genuine love and appreciation for the band’s fans, complaining/boasting about his $7,000 hat from Nashville he wore (though, admittedly, it did look fucking cool), or noting that one of the screen monitors at the House of Blues had temporarily reset to a channel guide. “It must be the wrong HDMI cable!” he offered.
As lead vocalist, Gary Cherone was simply a dynamo onstage, one of the most energetic frontmen I’ve ever seen with a voice that slides from a growl then upscaled to heavenly high notes. He could be forgiven for his many, MANY “rock star poses” onstage. But his utter silence outside of singing was a missed opportunity to connect with an audience that was on his side from his first bounding onstage.

When Cherone lowered his voice to the more ballad/sensitive material like “Other Side of the Rainbow,” “Small Town Beautiful” and—of course—the duet with Bettencourt on “More Than Words” (in which he also turned the mic over to the audience), it was superlative.

On this night, Badger and Figueiredo in particular showed what a powerhouse, but no-frills rhythm section could pull off in service of the song and the two guys in the front.

Extreme closed with “Rise,” one of the strongest tracks off Six. It was an exclamation point on a two-hour set that made many converts of those who raised their hands when Bettencourt asked who was attending their very first Extreme concert.
Nominally the opening band, Living Colour could have easily co-headlined, but that was not the case. So their truncated stage time meant they focused firepower on material from 1988 debut Vivid and 1990’s Time’s Up (the recent subject of a new deep-dive book by Kimberly Mack for the 33 1/3 series which focus on a single album). They also reconfigured their usual set list on the tour, perhaps in deference to a slight lineup change.

Living Colour tonight included original members Corey Glover (vocals) and Vernon Reid (guitar). Bassist Doug Wimbish is almost there, having held the position since 1992 and third album Stain. However, original and current drummer Will Calhoun was not onstage.
In my recent interview with Reid, he teased that a special, non-permanent edition of the band would play Houston. I would have bet my original 1988 cassette copy of Vivid that meant hometown Houston boy Dug Pinnick (whose longtime main gig is with King’s X) would be subbing for or complementing Glover on vocals, as he has in the past. I was wrong.

It was announced on Monday that it was Calhoun who would be off the drum seat for a week due to a prior commitment. Subbing for him was band friend and Reid collaborator James “Biscuit” Rouse. His none-too-shabby resume includes stints playing and/or recording with Nile Rodgers & Chic, Stevie Wonder, Lauryn Hill, Pharrell, and Super Bowl poster boy Usher.

The band set the night on fire from the get-go with opener “Middle Man,” and a simply jaw-dropping cover of the MC5’s signature tune “Kick Out the Jams,” in tribute to that group’s recently-deceased guitarist Wayne Kramer.

Reid remains simply one of rock’s most fervent (and must underrated) guitarists, and his solos throughout the set were flawless in execution, but heavy in power and precision.

Wimbish got the spotlight with a medley of songs that he played on as a studio musician that either came out on the Sugar Hill label and/or were influential in early hip hop.

Glover—resplendent in a red-and-gold Chinese-style outfit—whipped his long, grey braids furiously while modulating his vocals from a whisper to guttural growls to banshee-like wails.
He is normally a more talkative frontman, but the band’s 45-minute-long slot perhaps led them to crank out song after song without much pause. He did get more playful on “Glamour Boys,” and the hardcore fans knew to add in their responses of “I’m fierce!” and “Whooo!,” fists held high.

“Open Letter (To a Landlord)” was an emotional crowd singalong favorite, with most in in the audience bellowing the chorus of the socially-conscious track “Now you can tear a building down/But you can’t erase a memory/These houses may look older now/But they have a value you can’t see.”

As expected, Living Colour’s all-too-brief set ended with “Cult of Personality.” And Reid’s familiar solo dominated, but he added in some extra texture to the proceedings. And Glover still sounds as angry as he did 35 years ago. And don't forget wrestler CM Punk used the tune as his entrance song for the WWE, at one match with the band playing live.

Though in 2024, one cannot help but think of the intense draw of historical figures like Stalin, Kennedy, and Gandhi as somewhat quaint and outdated in an age where Donald Trump can sell out his run of $399 golden hi-top sneakers in hours to rabid followers.

Overall, it was an inspired pairing of two rock bands that continue to strive and thrive. And with enough Guitar Hero theatrics to fill 20 video games of the same name.

Random Notebook Dump: I still think that Gary Cherone was scapegoated as a "failure" for his short time fronting Van Halen and the Van Halen III record. No, he wasn't Sam or Dave. But he brought an energy and enthusiasm to the role and still got relegated a punchline. Unfair!
Setlists
EXTREME
It (’s) a Monster
Decadence Dance
#Rebel
Rest in Peace
Hip Today
Teacher’s Pet/Flesh ‘n’ Blood/Wind Me Up/Kid Ego/Mutha (Don’t Want to Go to School Today)
Play with Me
Other Side of the Rainbow
Hole Hearted
Cupid’s Dead
Eruption
Am I Ever Gonna Change
Thicker Than Blood
Midnight Express
Hurricane
More Than Words
Banshee
Take Us Alive/That’s All Right
Flight of the Wounded Bumblebee
Get the Funk Out
Small Town Beautiful/Song for Love
Rise
LIVING COLOUR
Middle Man
Leave It Alone
Ignorance is Bliss
Kick Out the Jams
Open Letter (To a Landlord)
White Lines (Don’t Do It)/Apache/The Message
Glamour Boys
Love Rears Its Ugly Head
Cult of Personality