Autograph Beyond came to Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun Casino to play their second show under their new name. These guys have a solid following of fans who showed up to see them perform their favorite Autograph songs. They started the set with “Loud and Clear” off the album of the same name. Jimi Bell, being from Connecticut, brings a big following of fans who love to come out and see him shred on the guitar, especially when he is with this group of musicians. These guys have a tightness on stage that is hard to beat. Next, they played the first of four songs from Autograph’s most recent album Beyond, “This Ain’t the Place I Wanna Be”. Simon got the crowd into the next song by having them finish the title. “You Are Us, We are……” and the crowd responded with a resounding “You!!!” and they rolled right into the song.
After that was a song that might not be their most popular song but is for sure a fan favorite “Blonde’s in Black Cars”. This song gets the fans singing along and waving their hands in the air. After a few more songs off of Beyond, Simon let the crowd know that it was time to “Release The Kraken”. Now, if you have been to one of their shows in the past few years, you know this means it is time for Jimi Bell to melt your face off with a guitar solo. Before he started, he put baby powder on his hands to help them slide on the neck of the guitar and made a funny comment about inventing a black baby powder so you can’t see it on the all-black stage clothes he was wearing. This left-handed guitar slayer shreds on a PVX custom guitar and probably left your ears bleeding if you weren’t wearing hearing protection. Steve Unger is the most recent addition to the band and may be best known for being the bassist in Metal Church. He is definitely a rock star on stage as can be seen in the attached photo galleries. While I was waiting in line to get in, the buzz was about how great Simon sounded at sound check, and he certainly shined throughout the entire set. Marc Wieland was also on his A-game for this show, doing lots of showy moves without missing a beat.
Towards the end of the set, Simon once again had the crowd finish the title of the song “Get Off Your _ _ _” and asked them to sing along. The fans obliged with authority. They saved Autograph’s most popular song for last. The song everyone knows and many of us considered an anthem when we were teenagers, “Turn Up The Radio”. The hour and fifteen-minute set went way too fast, but the band did come out and greet some of the fans after the show.
If you get a chance to see Autograph Beyond play, I would highly recommend it. They put on a high energy set of your favorite Autograph songs that will bring you back to your youth. Currently, they don’t have any dates listed on their website but check back soon for updates.
Autograph Beyond is:
Simon Daniels – Lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Marc Wieland – Drums, backing vocals
Jimi Bell – Lead Guitar, backing vocals
Steve Unger – Bass guitar, backing vocals
Setlist:
1. Loud and Clear (Autograph Song)
2. This Ain’t the Place I Wanna Be (Autograph Song)
3. You Are Us, We Are You (Autograph Song)
4. Blondes in Black Cars (Autograph Song)
5. Gotta Getcha (Autograph Song)
6. All I’m Gonna Take (Autograph Song)
7. Run For Your Life (Autograph Song)
8. Take Me Higher (Autograph Song)
9. Guitar Solo Jimi Bell
10. My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend Isn’t Me (Autograph Song)
11. Every Generation (Autograph Song)
12. Send Her to Me (Autograph Song)
13. Get Off Your Ass (Autograph Song)
14. Turn Up the Radio (Autograph Song)
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