Alchemy Tour Reports - USA

Chicago House of Blues

Orlando, Florida (F.B.I.)

--Eddie McKee: I flew in to Orlando from Dallas, TX with my wife to see Yngwie at the F.B.I. Club. AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING! The concert was incredible. I have listened to Yngwie since 1986 and he has never sounded better. Mark Boals soared to new heights on vocals and totally blew me away. This was the first time I have seen Yngwie live, and I was not disappointed. The Big thrill for me was meeting and talking to John, Mats, Mark & Randy. Yngwie did not meet with the fans, but his gracious wife did take items to him backstage to autograph. All in all this was the best concert I have ever seen and was well worth the $700 in plane & concert tickets to see. COME TO DALLAS AND YOU WILL PACK THE HOUSE!! Thanks & Keep rocking!

--Adam S.: I was lucky enough to see Yngwie for the very first time last night and it was even cooler because it was the first show on his tour, I was in heaven. I heard a 2-hour sound check Yngwie was doing, and when it was time for Yngwie to start the show he played for almost 2.5 hours. He put on the best concert I have ever seen. Mark Boals was incredible, he is the best singer I have ever heard. The rest of the band was great. The real treat was seeing Yngwie do a drum solo....Yngwie was great on the drums....is there anything he can't do? I met some of the nicest people there. Some of them came from Tampa, my self included, Bradenton. I met a kid who drove from Key West to see Yngwie. The F.B.I was getting calls from as far as Texas inquiring about Yngwie. I just thought that the fan club would like to know how the first show went.....Fantastic...I will always remember this Halloween as long as I live.

--Mike Worrell: Just wanted to let you know I made it to the show ! I was able to watch some of sound check, but they were having some trouble with their equipment so they made everyone leave the immediate stage area. I also was unable to get any pictures because the stage was very low and there were really no good places to get any pic's. I gave a small review in the mailing list if you're interested ............

--Sean Osborne:Being a huge Yngwie fan and follower, I am constantly checking for tour and album updates, so after getting my hands on the new Alchemy CD I was delighted to see that he would start his World tour with a handful of warmup shows starting in Orlando Fla. Living 2 hours aways in Sarasota, it was a no brainer. I'm there. I had no idea what kind of club the Fairbanks Inn would be, but again, it's Yngwie, who cares? It was a small club, kind of run down but a couple hundred people packed in to see the Maestro and Co. Im always amazed at the eclectic crowd Yngwie attracts. It's not all guitar playing geeks, but older people, male, female, it's weird. Anyways .... A modest stage setup consisted of three Marshall stacks, two on Yngwie's side, one on the other. Being a guitar head, it was neat to see his rack gear and all his Strats up close, beside the stage. The lights went out around 11:00. Yngwie started ripping some licks, of course his standerd "Voodo Child" riff, then they ripped into the opening "Rising Force". Yngwie was in typical fashion, leather, gold, all white Strats, throwing them over his shoulder. They followed with "Liar", then "Bedroom Eyes". Singer Mark Boals was in strong form, for my money the best of the Yngwie singers. Mats Olausson was solid as usual on keyboards, and newcomers Randy Coven on bass and drummer John Macaluso seemed to be right on, pounding their way through the songs. They continued with a mix of old and new songs including for the first time live from Alchemy, the instumental "Blitzkrieg", "Leonardo", and the slammin "Legion of the Damned". The smaller crowd allowed a no-push up-close view of Yngwie and the band, a true treat for a clone..errr..Yngwie fan like myself! The set continued with some rarely played older songs like "I am a Viking"and a reggae-like version of "Dreaming" from the Odyssey album. Despite some technical guitar problems which brought dagger-like stares to some poor guitar tech, the performance was flawless. The band did an encore of "Ill see the light tonight" and "Black Star" to close the evening, and from the looks of it this unit is ready to rock the World for the upcoming months. After the show I did get some things autographed by Yngwie, although I did not get to meet him. I did talk with drummmer John and Mats outside the club. In closing, the show was awsome, and the new CD is his best in years. But then again, it's Yngwie, what do you expect!!

Chicago, Illinois (House of Blues)

--Bobby Mullins: . I just got back from Chicago today, it was about 5 hours away from the Detroit area. And let me tell you it was sooo worth it!! The House of Blues gig was absolutely the best I have ever seen him play - hands down, and I have seen him literally all over this country close to 20 times. The venue was beautiful, the best one I have seen him play in about 8 or 9 years. I haven't seen him look as good physically in years either. I wasn't the only one who made that comment, my wife and friends said the same thing. It was truely a inspiring-invigorating, passion filled evening of pure vintage MALMSTEEN. Quite a few tech problems, but it just didn't matter. The set list was the same as previousely reported with the exception of Hangar for Legion. Anne, the new stuff was so beautifully powerful - emotionally draining. When the show was over I just had to take a few huge deep breaths while trying to take it all in. The best trip, best show, and most overwhelming show of passion I have ever witnessed. Another great thing was that the club was PACKED - about 90 percent capacity I would guess; it looked liked it held maybe 1000 or 1200 people. Thanks Anne for helping all us Malmsteen fans fly our freak flags high.

Old Bridge, NJ (Birch Hill Nite Club)

--Brian Holt: I was one of the many people in a packed house to see Yngwie Malmsteen perform at the Birch Hill Nite Club in New Jersey. At the stroke of midnight stage smoke started to fill the room as you can hear Yngwie start to tear up the fretboard off the side of the stage. I drove from upstate New York to see the maestro and it was well worth it. I even saw a license plate from Wisconsin. Yngwie and the band ripped through a 2 hour set of music. One of the highlights for me was when Yngwie did his own abbreviated version of the meditteranean sundance from the guitar trio (Paco DeLucia,John Mclaughlin, Al DiMeola). Yngwie also sang on two songs (Red House and Voodoo Child). All in all, the performance was excellent. Yngwie's playing was sharp as he ripped through Blitzkrieg. This song demonstrates that Yngwie still has it when it comes to technical wizardry on the fretboard. Yngwie and the band seemed very appreciative to the audience and Yngwie said he always enjoys playing the venue. Again there were some technical difficulties and during the brief time Mats played a keyboard solo that made my jaw drop to the floor. The singer Mark Boals is without a doubt the best singer Yngwie has ever had. I wish the band luck on their world tour next week.

Detroit, MI (I Rock Club)

--Bill Kropp: YNGWIE!!! YNGWIE MALMSTEEN!!!! YNGWIE KICKING A__ ALL OVER THE PLACE!!! Man, what a show. YNGWIE!!! Blitzkrieg was incredible. He also did Leonardo, Blue (AWESOME!) and Hangar 18. The IROC is a very small club so everyone was able to clearly check out the master at work, and work he did. The strat produced some killer tones last night. Yngwie and the boys were right on the money. Excellent show.

Hartford, CT (Webster Theatre)

--Michel Gutman:First, let me begin by saying that Mark Boals is absolutely incredible. The man was so sick from the flu, that I'm amazed he could even stand up. Yet when he sang, he was perfect. Yngwie introduced him as "the greatest singer in the world," and Mark proved that to be truthful. Hats off to Mark Boals for an outstanding effort under the circumstances. But the fact of the matter is that I'm a fan of Yngwie's, no matter who's singing, and I'm amazed at his improvement year after year. I can't believe that he keeps outdoing himself. Since Mark was sick, there were a lot more instrumentals than usual, and that was fine with me. They played the "Asylum Suite" for the first time ever, and it was flawless. PURE GENIUS. " Blitzkreig" and "Blue" were also amazing. Considering what the band went through to be there, it was one of the best Yngwie shows I have ever seen. At one point, Yngwie threw the guitar to his tech, and he didn't catch it!!!!! My whole body ached when I saw that, but I guess these things happen. John Macaluso performed a great drum solo, and Mats was his usual genius self on keyboards. Randy Coven is a great addition to the band. I used to go see the Randy Coven Band years ago, and he's better than ever. A true SHRED BASSIST!! I can't wait until Spring 2000, when Yngwie comes back to the US for more shows. I'll be there!!!

Los Angeles, CA (The Key Club)

--Dean Woehrman:Yngwie is definitely in rare form for this warm-up tour. He banters with the audience more than I've ever seen him do. He also pulls spontaneous licks out of his back pocket and just lays 'em down for all to hear. It's great to see him out there just having fun and seemingly not sticking to any strict performance agenda. He is truly gifted and treated us in L.A. with his second ever performance of the Asylum Suite. He plays Loud and Long!!! By the time he left the stage it was 1:30 a.m. and I would've stayed for more. If you miss this show, you are truly missing out !

Santa Ana, CA (Galaxy Theater)

--Carlos Umana:Last night I went to the Yngwie concert; he was so amazing. I was so close to him that I was touching him. Mark Boals gave me a pick. When Yngwie came close to me, I reached over and he handed me his cigarette. I was able to get eight picks and two broken guitar strings CALIFORNIA LOVES YNGWIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Las Vegas, NV (House of Blues)

--Joseph Verde: When I checked the tour dates section, and found out Yngwie was coming to Las Vegas, I immediately bought 3 tickets for myself, my wife,and my sister. The 3 hour drive from Lake Havasu City, AZ, seemed long due to our anticipation of seeing Yngwie live. The House of Blues is a relatively small venue, but a perfect setting to introduce the Alchemy Tour. Though we weren't the first ones through the door, there was probably 50+ fans in the club, somehow when the lights went down for Yngwie, we found ourselves front and center, ready to experience the most awesome show of our lives. Though I can't remember the song list for the night, nor which songs off of Alchemy that were played, I can tell you that the whole band was totally in sync, playing in top form. Mark Boals' singing was phenomenal, as was Yngwie's masterful approach on the fretboard. We all were in pure amazement as the band bombarded the crowd with songs like Bedroom Eyes, Far Beyond the Sun, Blue, and Dreaming. Yngwie's solo gave the crowd exactly what they came to see and hear, and then some. Randy Coven's bass solo was one of the best I've ever heard. John Macaluso's solo and overall playing still leaves me in awe. Truly, a gifted drummer. And last but not least, the extraordinary virtuosity of keyboardist Mats Olausson was not to be dismissed. The way he and Yngwie play together definitely lead you to believe they are joined at the hip. Some parts of his solo sounded like Yngwie was playing the guitar straight through his keys. Highlights of the show included Redhouse sung by Yngwie and Smoke on the Water and of course I am A Viking. Throughout the show Yngwie was throwing out picks like a madman, I caught four, my wife caught one. I also grabbed up John Macaluso's towel and my sister was handed a drumstick by John himself. After the show we waited around and met John Macaluso at the bar. What a down to earth guy. He even signed the towel he threw out. We asked him if the band would sign our ticket stubs and he said he would do what he could. 25 Minutes later a roadie came out and gave my wife a drum head signed by Yngwie! COOL!! We went out to the casino, and while playing slots, Yngwie walked right by us with Antonio, heading up to their suite, and said hello. WAY COOL!!! By that time we were ready to go home and were headed for the door, when we saw Randy Coven, he asked us if we had seen John and Mark, or some nice looking single ladies! He signed the towel and the drumhead! Another score! We decided to go to the Island Lounge and low and behold, there was John and Mark! They both signed the drumhead and Mark the towel. Then here comes Randy, how funny, he told John that the drumhead wasn't even the brand John uses and cracked it over his head, it's ok, all signatures are intact! We all shook hands and thanked them for a great performance, and for the down-to-earth conversation. We left knowing, without a doubt, this was the most memorable experience in our lives! Salute! Yngwie! Salute! Rising Force!