Live Report: Yngwie Malmsteen + Limberlost @Alcatraz, Milan 11/11/2023

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Live Report: Yngwie Malmsteen + Limberlost @Alcatraz, Milan 11/11/2023
edited by Franka De Toma

Highly anticipated Milanese date of the Italian tour of Yngwie Malmsteenwhich after two sold out shows in Rome and Florence, also enjoyed the same success atAlcatraz, where the sold-out event will be announced on the same evening. Several fans wait in line for the doors to open to grab the front rows and see up close the legendary Swedish guitarist who has been an icon of rock and metal music from the 80s to today. In recent years he has not given many performances, especially in Italy and this mini tour of 4 dates is a great surprise and opportunity for Italian fans and beyond, any admirer of the genre is curious to see the six string virtuoso live . TrueMetal tells you about the Italian date in this live report.

Limberlost

The opening band for this tour is Limberlost of Seattle. They present themselves with a lineup that features two female voices who capture the attention of everyone present from the first notes. The proposed genre is very particular, it is a hard & heavy base with a great 70s influence with voices with very pop and at times blues tones.

The American combo has two albums under its belt and several years of career and they give their all on stage in these very first performances in Europe. The songs are very catchy and catchy and the audience shows interest by making videos and applauding. Closing with a famous cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir”, which lends itself well to Limberlost’s style. Overall an excellent performance from a band that is decidedly out of the ordinary.

Limberlost setlist:

Real thing
Long Shadows
See what you want
Good fight
Give it to me
Kashmir

Yngwie Malmsteen

The wall of Marshall heads and amplifiers on the stageAlcatraz it makes the impatient fans who already take photos uproar even before the eccentric six-string master arrives on stage. The tension is perceptible and all gazes are turned in the same direction, as if the stage were an altar before a religious function. In fact, after several years since the last live in Italy and only very few live appearances in Europe, this concert by Yngwie J. Malmsteen it’s almost a mystical experience, something that won’t make you believe your eyes but your ears definitely will.

The volumes are very strong right from the first notes of the famous one “Rising Force” that accompany the entry of Malmsteen along with the screams and applause of all those present. On this tour the virtuoso guitarist has a band made up of keyboards and vocals (Nick Marino), Bass (Emilio Martinez) and battery (Kevin Klingenschmidt) who are in the shadow at the side of the stage, while the Maestro goes up and down between tripping and playing various guitars.

As is well known, for some time now, Malmsteen no longer likes the figure of the singer in his shows and for the few vocal parts he tries himself with the support of the keyboard player. Consequently the entire show is very instrumental and also quite egocentric, almost a one man show and this was to be expected from a histrionic personality like the Maestro.

The show continues at full speed, one song attached to the other, as many hits have been squeezed into the set list and most of the time even cut. But it doesn’t matter, the audience is captivated by the endless arpeggios and the acrobatics and launches to which Malmsteen subjects his Fender signature (and also the patient technician who grabs and tunes it every time).

The setlist creates an excursus of the guitarist’s various albums and in addition to the best-known successes, there is no shortage of tributes to the classical music to which Malmsteen is very devoted, in particular Paganini’s N 4 and Albinoni’s Adagio. The entire concert has a very, very self-celebratory edge. This does not have a negative connotation, it would not be a concert by our virtuoso otherwise and indeed, compared to the glories of the 1980s the extravagance and kitsch are much toned down (but note of merit to the necklaces and bracelets with golden crosses and the tight leather trousers ).

The audience rejoices and applauds at every opportunity and every song, creating a surge of pride and happiness in Malmsteen who smiles several times from the stage and throws showers of plectrums at the front rows. Another standout note is his brief reinterpretation of Queen’s Bohemian Rahpsody solo and the cover of Smoke on the Water with the singing part also performed by the Maestro.

We are approaching the finale and with surprise a drum solo is proposed, a short break from the overdose of guitars and from the imposing stage presence of the six foot tall man with teased hair of our favorite. But the break doesn’t last long, with the epic “You don’t remember, I’ll never forget” the volumes and energy explode again and with last but not least “Black Star”.

What else to add, a live performance Yngwie J. Malmsteen it must be experienced at least once in your life, if you are an admirer of rock and metal music, guitars, classical music, technicalities but also the pomp, excesses, opulence and arrogance of which the Virtuoso has been flying the flag for over thirty years old, always true to himself.