MARCO MENDOZA HAS GLASGOW HARD ROCK CAFE AUDIENCE IN HIS POCKET Marco Mendoza: Hard Rock Cafe, Glasgow Friday 10th February 2017 Words: Johnny Main, Pictures: Carlan Braid Marco Mendoza is best known as bass player of The Dead Daisies, but before that he was a member of the reformed Thin Lizzy line-up, a former member of Black Star Riders and Whitesnake as well as recording and touring with ex-Black Sabbath tub thumper Bill Ward, ex-Thin Lizzy/Whitesnake guitarist John Sykes' band Blue Murder and the legendary Ted Nugent. If you add to that a couple of solo albums, 'Live For Tomorrow' from 2007 and 2010s follow-up 'Casa Mendoza', you get an idea of Marco's work ethic. With a break in Dead Daisies' activities, Marco undertook a whistle-stop tour of the UK and Europe, rolling up on a damp and cold Friday night in Glasgow, ready and willing to rock those who braved the inclement weather. Joining Mendoza on this tour are guitarist Fabio Cerrone who has played with Eric Martin (Mr Big), Tony Martin (ex-Black Sabbath) and the Appice brothers, Carmine and Vinnie, whilst drummer Pino Liberti has shared a stage with artists as diverse as Eric Bell (Thin Lizzy), Buddy Miles (Jimi Hendrix/Carlos Santana), Graham Oliver (ex-Saxon) and Uli Jon Roth, so there was no doubt about the quality of talent on stage. Afforded a sixty minute stage time, this headlining set was curtailed due to a strict curfew in the venue, but Mendoza took the audience on a whirlwind trip through his solo career and added in some of his favourite tracks to keep things going but interestingly, there was a distinct lack of Whitesnake, Dead Diasies and Black Star Riders material in the set. As Marco himself admitted, the band play without a setlist and instead "play as they feel" which, tonight, resulted in something of a haphazard set. Bookending his performance were two solo numbers, 'Let The Sun Shine' and 'Your Touch', both taken from his 'Live For Tomorrow' release, whilst another two solo numbers, 'Look Out For The Boys' and 'Still In Me' were placed mid-set. These tracks show that Mendoza's song-writing is without question and he’s more than capable of playing the role of frontman as well as bass player, even if he did seem to spend more time wandering amongst the audience rather than on the stage itself. The rest of the set was made up of covers from Ted Nugent's 'Hey Baby' and the Neil Schon penned 'Hole In My Pocket', to a couple of songs that were unexpected to say the least. Mendoza is hugely influenced by James Brown and Stevie Wonder so the additions of 'I Got You (I Feel Good)' and 'Keep On Running' in the set made an interesting diversion from the rock material. Throwing in a cover of Billie Holiday's 'God Bless The Child' into the mix, it saw Marco singing the first verse (unusually) centre stage and without a microphone, in a captivating performance before he once again wandered off stage and into the audience before the final song of the main set, a fast paced version of Thin Lizzy's 'Chinatown', restored the status quo. Marco Mendoza setlist: Let The Sun Shine Hey Baby Hole In My Pocket Look Out For The Boys God Bless The Child Still In Me I Got You (I Feel Good) Keep On Running Chinatown Your Touch Marco Mendoza's band are: Marco Mendoza – Bass Guitar/Vocals Fabio Cerrone – Guitar Jack Davis – Guitar Pino Liberti – Drums