Veteran guitarist MARTY FRIEDMAN brought his explosive instrumental show to Trees in Dallas, TX on Saturday, February 2nd as part of his One Bad M.F. Live Tour through the US.
Opening the festivities for the evening was IMMORTAL GUARDIAN, A Las Vegas band that recently made the move from Austin, TX. They electrified the early crowd with their technical prowess and driving metal sound unleashing a blitzkrieg wall sound that was an amazing precursor to the evening’s headliner. The guitarist played double duty also playing keyboard during most songs. This was my first time seeing them live and I was not disappointed.
Before I get ahead of myself I must mention that the band accompanying Marty is filled with musicians that are technically amazing.
Bassist KIYOSHI MANII provides the low end like few I have seen before while exuding an infectious amount of energy that kept the crowd engaged and part of the show from the first step she took onto the stage.
JORDAN ZIFF held down the second guitar position and did an amazing job playing along with Marty but also standing out during a solo performance of Bohemian Rhapsody. If you are not familiar with Jordan, he became a member of RATT last year and is highly regarded as one of the brightest young guitar players in the country.
Marty needed little introduction to the fans in attendance and he wasted no time blasting his way into his set with an energy reminiscent of his days in MEGADETH 25 years. He isn’t much for talking instead telling the crowd that he speaks better using his guitar. His set was a mix of his solo content, songs from his bassists’ albums and traditional songs from his adopted country of Japan.
The crowd in attendance was hanging on every note that the band played for their entire 90-minute set. The amount of energy and excitement never seemed to wane even after the band left the stage for the night. The majority of fans around me stated that they were already looking forward to his next show hoping that they didn’t have to wait too long.
Photo Credits: Robb Miller
SETLIST:
Hyper Doom
Amagi Goe
Street Demon
Elixir
Devil Take Tomorrow
For a Friend
Ninja
Jordan Solo – Bohemian Rhapsody
Bad DNA
Kiyoshi Solo- Ashes/Forbidden/Tornado
Whiteworm
Self Pollution
Dragon Mistress
Thunder March
ENCORE:
Undertow
