Late last year, veteran rock band Tesla hit the road for its then latest tour, dubbed the “Let’s Get Real Tour.” The 29-date tour, which also included performances by Kid Rock, Styx, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, included early on, a stop-off at the famed Full Throttle Saloon in Sturgis, South Dakota. The concert was held as part of the annual Sturgis Bike Rally and Friday, Tesla’s performance at the rally was released on CD in the form of Full Throttle Live. The brand-new live recording will appeal to the band’s established audiences. That is due in large part to the concert’s set list, which will be discussed shortly. The band’s performance thereof makes for its own appeal for said listeners. It will be discussed a little later. The record’s production rounds out its most important elements and will also be examined later. Each item noted is important in its own way to the whole of the concert’s presentation. All things considered they make Full Throttle Live a welcome addition to this year’s field of new live CDs.
Full Throttle Live, the brand-new live recording from Tesla, is a presentation that the veteran rock band’s fans will find largely engaging and entertaining. Perhaps the only downside that said audiences will find with the recording is the reality that it is only being presented on CD and not on DVD, Blu-ray or even 4K UHD. Maybe that will come in the future. In the meantime, the recording — on its CD platform — still offers plenty for said audiences to enjoy, beginning with the featured set list. The set list spans nine songs. The set features two new singles, ‘Cold Blue Steel’ and ‘Time To Rock’ as well as a cover of Aerosmith’s ‘S.O.S. (Too Bad)’ while also pulling from five of the band’s now eight albums. The only albums not represented in the set list are the band’s latest album, 2019’s Shock, 2014’s Simplicity, and 1994’s Bust A Nut. Only one of the albums, — Psychotic Supper (1991) – received more than one nod. The band pulled two songs from that album while each of the other albums each received one nod. Why Tesla opted to not represent Shock in this concert, being that it is the band’s latest album — even being that the tour took place three years after the record’s release – is anyone’s guess. It would have helped give the album a renewed focus and push while also using the two new singles to promote any new coming album. The representation of so much of the band’s existing catalog does well to make up for that one issue, regardless. That is because the set list reaches all the way back to the band’s infancy in the band’s debut album, 1986’s Mechanical Resonance and all the way up to 2008’s Forever More. Maybe the limitation came as a result of possible time constraints so that other bands could have the chance to perform their own sets. If that is the case, then the limitation of the set list makes more sense. To that end, the set list still forms a strong foundation for the recording.
Building on that foundation is the band’s performance of the set list. Throughout the course of the concert the band wastes little time with any interaction with the audience between songs. Rather, the band spends most of its time performing each song, and each musician gives his all in each song, too. There are moments in which front man Jeff Keith does offer a few comments between songs, but they are so few and far between that it gives the band more time for musical interaction. The energy in each separate performance shines through thanks to the focus that the band exhibits from beginning to end. The result is that the band manages to fully keep audiences engaged and entertained with its overall performance.
The production of the concert in its new audio presentation rounds out the most important of the concert’s elements. As has been noted many times in this blog, there are some rare concerts out there whose presentations are in fact marred by their production. Neal Schon’s recently released Journey Through Time recording (which was released last month through Frontiers Music s.r.l.) is among the most recent examples of how that can and does happen. Rush’s 2003 live recording, Rush In Rio is another prime example of how a live recording’s production can and does negatively impact its overall general effect. Tesla’s fans will be happy to know that this recording’s production does not suffer that same fate. As a matter of fact, the production in this recording is crystal clear from beginning to end. Considering it is an open-air concert, it would have been easy for the production to present concerns in regard to balancing the sound. Thankfully those responsible for handling this matter succeeded quite well. The result is a general effect that presents just as much to appreciate as the concert’s set list and the band’s performance thereof. When the positive impact of the production is considered along with that of the set list and the band’s performance, the whole makes Full Throttle Live a presentation that Tesla’s established audiences will find engaging and entertaining.
Full Throttle Live, the latest live recording from Tesla, is a work that is certain to appeal to the veteran rock band’s established audiences. That is due in part to its featured set list. The nine-song set list gives audiences something old, something new, and something familiar with its largely catalog-spanning collection of songs, its two new singles, and its lone cover song. The old songs are pulled from five of the band’s eight total albums. This largely presents a solid cross section of the band’s catalog. The band’s performance of the set list adds to the record’s appeal because of the energy that the band puts into each song’s performance. The recording’s production creates a fully positive general effect that rounds out the concert’s most important elements. The positive general effect stems from the sound balance throughout the concert. Each item examined here is key in its own way to the whole of the recording. All things considered they make the recording one more welcome addition to this year’s field of new live CDs.
In other news, Tesla is in the midst of a tour that includes a residency at the House of Blues in Las Vegas, NV later this year. The tour’s current schedule is noted below:
TESLA 2023 Tour Dates:
6.10 Lincoln, CA The Venue @ Thunder Valley Resort
6.16 Durant, OK Choctaw Casinos & Resort
6.17 Hot Springs, AR Timberwood Amphitheater
7.07 Lima, OH Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center
7.08 Milwaukee, WI Summerfest
7.21 Fond du Lac , WI Fond du Lac County Fair @ The Holiday Automotive Grandstand Stage
7.22 Ottumwa , IA Bridge View Center
7.28 Bensalem , PA Xcite Center @ Parx Casino
7.29 Ledyard , CT Foxwoods Resorts Casino (Great Cedar Showroom)
8.02 Clearfield , PA Clearfield County Fair
8.04 Northfield, OH MGM Northfield Park
8.05 Plymouth , IN Plymouth Motor Speedway
8.26 Walker , MN Northern Lights Casino
9.29 Las Vegas , NV House of Blues
9.30 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues
10.4 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues
10.6 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues
10.7 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues
Full Throttle Live is available now. More information on the recording is available along with all of the band’s latest news at:
Website: https://teslatheband.com
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/teslaband
