I have to admit that I was a little sad to read that Mr. Big was going to go out on the road for one more tour titled "The Big Finish Tour."  Being a fan from the very beginning, I purchased all of their records and attended many of their tours so I feel that a part of me is ending, as well.  The surprise for me was that they would be performing the Lean Into It album in its entirety because I would have thought that a career retrospective set touching on all the records would have been the more likely choice.  As it turns out, they did hit a lot of their records, but more on that later.  Either way, there was no way I was going to miss the show and I was happy that they were making a Houston stop so I wouldn’t have to fly to another state to see the concert. In fact, Houston was the first date of the tour.

The performance started perfectly with “Addicted To That Rush,” which is the first song off the first record.  It was fitting to launch the concert with a tune that was their first introduction to the public.  Next up the band launched into a rousing version “Take Cover” off of Hey Man.  I was glad that they played something from that record, as it is one of my favorites form the band.  It was criminally overlooked here in the states but did very well in Japan.  The most current song the band included in their set was “Undertow” from What If…,  and they made sure to give the tune a bit of extra swagger on this opening night. 

The screen behind the band changed to reveal the Lean Into It cover, so we all knew what was coming next.  The album was performed in its entirety and in order, which is the way we all remember it, and the way the band wanted us to hear it.  The highlights, other than the songs that were either never performed live or rarely, were "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind," "Lucky This Time" and "My Kinda Woman."  Sure they hits off this disk were great but there was something about the performance of those tunes.  They obviously finished off this section of the concert with their biggest hit "To Be with You," but they continued the acoustic part with a great version of “Wild World” off of Bump Ahead.  Before getting back to that record and going into "Colorado Bulldog," Paul Gilbert did a short guitar solo where he incorporated the theme from Rocky.  It was a nice touch for us non-musos who like to hear songs and not solos.  Billy Sheehan also received a solo spot, and normally I’m not into bass solos but Sheehan is so good that I always enjoy it whether it’s with Mr. Big or The Winery Dogs.  After that we get an energetic version of the Talas classic “Shy Boy."  Even though it is a cover tune, as well, Mr. Big went back to the first record and played "30 Days in the Hole" which happens to be the last song on the disc.  It was cool that they bookended the show in that way. 

The band certainly were not done as they finished off the evening with “Baba O’Riley” (The Who) and “Good Lovin’” (The Rascals), with the latter getting a line-up change:  Gilbert was the drummer, Eric Martin was the bassist, Sheehan sang lead vocals and Nick D'Virgilio (drummer during the rest of the set) played guitar.  As I mentioned earlier, I thought they would go with a career retrospective since this is the end, but upon looking at the set breakdown, they did hit a lot of the records.  They ignored the two albums with Richie Kotzen (for obvious reasons) and they also skipped their last two studio efforts.  I don’t know the reasons for that one, but I guess they wanted to stick to more familiar territory.  The Houston crowd (myself included) loved every minute of it.  If this truly is the end for Mr.Big, they are going out on a high note.  The performance, aside from a minor technical issue with Martin’s in-ear monitors, was flawless.  They really did sound great, and all I can really say is "thank you" for another great, albeit bittersweet, concert memory.