This was a rare chance to lap up virtuoso performances from three of rock's biggest names, shaking the Arena for more than four hours on Saturday night.
Whitesnake were clearly the stars of this three-band bonanza, charging through their greatest hits of the past 35 years.
Bad Boys, Fool for Your Loving, Here I Go Again and Still of The Night – you'll know them all.
David Coverdale's part of the furniture and looks younger than when we last saw him in town, despite recently collecting his bus pass.
He moves well, has a cheeky flirt with the girls in the crowd but these days seems to need the harmonies of his band to see him through safely.
We enjoyed the battle of guitars between Doug Aldrich and Reb Beach, a kamikaze drum solo from the legendary Tommy Aldridge and superb bass from Michael Devin.
Support acts aren't generally well-received when they're third on the bill but the Arena was almost full to capacity when Thunder took their places earlier on.
Singer Danny Bowes clearly enjoyed bouncing around the stage, moving – and even grooving – to a string of much-loved numbers.
He was dressed for the pub rather than a heavy metal triple-header, bringing The Devil Made Me Do It, Love Walked In and I Love You More Than Rock And Roll as part of an energetic set that didn't let up and proved the perfect opener for what was to follow.
Which is why, when Journey took to the stage at 9.30pm, while it wasn't an anticlimax, the crowd weren't quite with it.
Perhaps it was the marathon nature of the event – which started at 6.45pm – or the amps trying to pump more than their wattage, but there was a feeling that this was somewhat "after the lord mayor's show".
Journey's Arnel Pineda hit the stage with gusto and the first few numbers, Separate Ways and Any Way You Want It brought a party atmosphere before they launched into their rock set.
Jonathan Cain impressed with his sometimes orchestral keyboards, while Neal Schon added some fantastically screaming guitar.
The show warmed up to a crescendo with Money Money, Wheel In The Sky, Be Good to Yourself and Faithfully and anyone who had slipped off early missed the passion of Don't Stop Believin' – a fitting end to a great night for aficionados of rock.
Comments added online:
by chrisf231
Tuesday, May 28 2013, 8:13PM
“The reason why people were leaving in droves during Journey was simply because the sound mix for them was beyond dreadful. It was just a loud messy din which made it impossible to understand a word that was being said/sung and the drums/guitars/keyboards all merged into one.
The sound was perfect for Whitesnake and Thunder so can't understand how the Journey soundman got it so so wrong.
Thunder stole the show, they were just electric on stage. Whitesnake would have been better had Coverdale cut down on the swearing and even more so on the Crotch Grabing that he seemed for fond of at eery given chance”
by ChrisC66
Tuesday, May 28 2013, 3:50PM
“Thunder ruled this night musically! yes I agree that most of the fans were there for Whitesnake but that didn't mean that they were the best- We are massive fans of all 3 bands, Danny had the crowd jumoing up and down, laughing and singing their heads off because they were absolutely brilliant! totally together as a band and not spoiled by over long solos on a triple header. Apart from the swearing Dave croaked through a lot of the songs and only managed to hit any notes when he screamed.. not the magic of Dave that we know and love. and yes we know it is 35 years - most of your fans have been with you all along! Journey came on and it was such a shame. Arnel can sing, but he just doesn't engage the crowd somehow. To front a band as big as Journey, you have to ooze charisma- which the poor guy just doesn't he spent all night jumping all over the stage, and singing more to the band than to the fans. he ruined Faithfully, the arrangement was awful it was like a last minute decision and the rest of the band had no idea what was going on; also Neal looked like he was just there to get the cash and run... So Thunder... can't wait to see them again!! not bothered about the other 2 of our favourite bands though. :-(”
by trickybrewer
Tuesday, May 28 2013, 12:29PM
“I think the reviewer has it about right and this was Whitesnake's audience. We were sat to the side in Block 15 and it was clear to us that in terms of audience participation (if you judge that by numbers joining in, clapping, arm waving etc) that Whitesnake got a far better response than Journey. Infact I was surprised by how many people got up and left during the first part of Journey's set. I reckon maybe 1 in 6 left early including neighbours of mine who said there were lots leaving through the exits when went at 10pm. Reading reviews of the Belfast, Glasgow and Sheffied gigs it seems this was not only in Nottingham.
I was impressed with Thunder and Whitesnake. Personally i would have chosen a few more of the "old" Whitesnake songs but they have 35 years of albums and fans of all ages to please so i wouldnt complain.
To me Journey seemed a little tired and certainly their sound wasnt the best. All drums and keyboards. I wonder how many more would have lft early had they played "Don't Stop Believin'" earlier in the set?
It was still a great night all around, but i wouldnt recommend following Whitesnake on stage unless you have a little more to offer than Journey.”
by Snakecharmer
Tuesday, May 28 2013, 10:26AM
“We came all the way from The Netherlands to see this show and enjoyed it! I fully agree with the reviewer. Whitesnake were the highlight of the evening, although Journey by far played the best set and Thunder's Danny is great fun to look at and to listen to (what a great voice!). Last time we saw Coverdale in The Netherlands his performance was really poor. This time we were positively surprised. Of course his voice is by far not as strong as it used to be. To compensate this, he uses the band harmonies in a clever way. For us it was obvious that David was enjoying himself, joking with the audience and having fun with the band members. Yes, he used the f*ck word a couple of times, but so what? Thunder were a great opener and we thought it was a shame that they only played 50 minutes or so. What an energy and a lot of fun! We came to Nottingham especially for Journey, both being big fans of this band. The performance was ok, the show was great to look at, but as the reviewer writes, we missed the click between band and audience. We think one of the reasons was the set list that was chosen. Not one single song from the Eclipse album, one of their best ever? We did not understand this. Thunder and Whitesnake had a lot of interaction with the audience. Journey's Arnel is a small guy with a great voice, but he lacks the charisma of frontmen like Danny and David. And we think there is a difference in attitude between British and American bands. British bands make the audience part of the show, Americans mostly "do their own thing". That is what Journey did this evening. By involving the audience more than they did now and by chosing a couple of songs from Eclipse ("Human Feel" !!!) and some old favourites, it could have been a legendary evening. Now we had "just" a great evening in Nottingham.”
by jules_22
Tuesday, May 28 2013, 2:12AM
“@ Chocybiccy Totally agree with you there. Thought exactly the same when we saw this show in Sheffield last week. Thought Whitesnake were terrible - Coverdale did nothing for me and got fed up with him swearing at the audience all the time asking them to make some noise. Thought Thunder were ok but never really been a fan of theirs. Journey were by far the better band!”
by Chocybiccy
Monday, May 27 2013, 8:52AM
“We must have seen different shows.
Thunder were the highlight of the whole show.
Danny Bowes energy was electrical. He involved the audience and loved every second from the look on his face.
Whitesnake then came on and ruined the atmosphere.
Being seated in the floor area I was able to have a good look around the arena. If people were enjoying it they must have been keeping it to themselves.
So what it's been 35 years. Great, good for them, but they were not all that.
If half an audience sits down for the guitar solo and starts playing with their phones or talking amongst themselves then that speaks volumes.
Their set should have been cut to 40 minutes.
Journey given the fact that they then had to come on to a bored crowd, did brilliantly.
At least they tried to get the audience involved without swearing at them.
Maybe things would have been better if Thunder and journey had been on first and the self indulgent whitesnake could have been on last, after all if they are that good, they could still rock the audience at that time of night.”
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