Cheap Trick returned to Knoxville April 18th to perform at the historic Tennessee Theater.

Cheap Trick is best know for such hits as ‘I Want You to Want Me’, ‘Surrender’, ‘Dream Police’, and ‘The Flame’. The band consists of original members Robin Zander, vocalist, Rick Nielsen, lead guitarist and songwriter along with leader of the group, and Tom Peterson, bassist. Joining them on this tour were Cheap Trick family members Robin Zander Jr., on guitar and vocals, along with Daxx Nielsen on drums.

Cheap Trick hadn’t performed in Knoxville in nearly a decade, and the enthusiasm for their return was palpable as demonstrated by a sold-out show. Since the last time they performed here Cheap Trick had been inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, but for these fans their legendary status was well earned before any titles came their way.

Cheap Trick began the show with their classic concert intro “Hello There”, which was clearly created to kick off shows.

Following that they launched into some of their early 80s tracks, including ‘Just Got Back’, ‘She’s Tight’, and ‘I Can’t Take It.” Though the band had of course seen some years, what was remarkable was truly how consistent their sound was from their hey day, in particular Rick Nielsen’s guitar skills and Robin Zander’s vocals. Nielsen was just tearing through guitar after guitar too, as he must’ve played on at least 7 or so guitars! Truly I lost count.

Cheap Trick then moved into the brief covers portion of the show, which included Fats Domino ‘Ain’t That A Shame’, which was a hit for them on Live at Budokan, as well as ‘California Man’ by The Move. Cheap Trick has always worn their influences on their sleeve, especially their Beatles inspiration, so it’s unsurprising they would have chose to have a hit from a song crafted by Roy Wood (The Move) who also helped form ELO. After all where you could argue Cheap Trick took middle career Beatles, added their own cheekiness, and then ran with it, ELO took the harmonies of early career Beatles and mixed it with the creative production stylings of late career Beatles.

After these two tracks Cheap Trick took us to ‘Heaven Tonight’, which is a markedly gloomier song than pretty much the entirety of the rest of their discography. It’s dramatic in a manner that I think can be equal parts entrancing and perplexing depending on which type of Cheap Trick fan you might be.

Following the next two songs ‘Taxman, Mr Thief’, which includes an explicit Beatles name drop, and ‘Light Up the Fire’, their first newer track to be performed this evening from their 2021 album ‘Another World’, they launched into ‘Downed’ led by Zander’s son. Zander’s Jr. may not have quite reached the mantle of his father quite yet; however, his task was always an impossible one in that regard, and he still performed excellently on this song and the rest.

Cheap Trick knew of course their fans anticipated a few of their biggest hits, and they obliged with a run of ‘The Flame’, ‘I Want You To Want Me’, and ‘Surrender’ back to back. ‘The Flame’ in particular, whether you were a fan of the song or not, just truly showed again how incredible it was that Zander’s voice hadn’t missed a beat, when so many artists even just younger than him started to lose their vocal chops. Nothing of the sort happened here though, and the crowd was enthralled and kept the energy going through all three tracks and the brief encore break as the band stepped off the stage.

Fortunately Cheap Trick did not make us wait long, and they came out with ‘Dream Police’ followed by ‘Clock Strikes Ten’, the latter a beloved song from their Budokan era. After this all hope for any additional songs was to put to rest as Cheap Trick ended as the starter with ‘Goodnight’, the reply to ‘Hello There’ from the start of the show.

Overall there was much to love, and it’s incredible to see these veteran rockers still at their best! If you were considering seeing them on this tour and were on the fence then hedge no more, for this sold out show proved their status once again.