Big Head Todd and The Monsters (BHTM) gave Milwaukee one heck of a show
BHTM
Founded in 1986 in Boulder, Colorado by Todd Park Mohr (guitar, harmonica, keyboard, saxophone, and lead vocals), Brian Nevin (drums, percussion, and vocals), and Rob Squires (bass and vocals), and later added Jeremy Lawton (keyboards, pedal steel guitar, vocals) in 2004, have thirteen studio albums and six live albums. This band checks the boxes for a jam band, alternative rock, and blues rock, while also being known to pay tribute to and perform with blues musicians.
Their fans range from twenty-something to retirees, as observed when I panned the crowd at Milwaukee’s Turner Hall. I had a chance to visit with several audience members before the show and noted many people drove up from the Chicagoland area, drove down from Northern Wisconsin, and traveled even from Iowa.
The first time I saw BHTM live was during their fantastic 100 Years of Robert Johnson Big Head Todd Blues Club with a lineup that also included the late Hubert Sumlin (second guitarist for Howlin’ Wolf), the late David Honeyboy Edwards, Cedric Burnside (grandson of R.L. Burnside), and Lightnin’ Malcolm. The second time I saw BHTM they included guest Chicago Blues guitarist Ronnie Baker Brooks (son of the late Lonnie Brooks), and that was also a great show. We are also lucky to catch BHTM every few years at Milwaukee’s Summerfest, with their most recent performance during the September 2021 post-COVID shutdown. Even when not performing with incredible blues musicians, BHTM always make sure to give at least a nod to the blues by including a song during their setlist, and this show included “Boom Boom,” a song they literally previously recorded with the late John Lee Hooker.
Fans I spoke to after the show unanimously agreed this was one of the best BHTM shows they have seen. There was literally no disappointment expressed by anyone.
New Album is in the Works
We now know there’s definitely a new BHTM album in the works, even though we don’t have the name of this album or the release date. How we know this new album is in the works is BHTM treated us to two new songs: “King Kong” and “My New Number One,” and that motivated me to confirm my hopeful thinking with their management. I was only able to obtain confirmation of a new album, while I was unable to learn any more specifics about it.
Todd was sure to introduce both songs as “new songs” and told us how “My New Number One” is about his adding new guitars to his collection. After their show, I asked those around me if they had a preference between these two new songs. “My New Number One” was easily the favorite by those I polled, and the reasons ranged from both lyrics and Todd’s guitar playing.
I don’t know about you but I do know I plan on keeping my eyes open for more information about this new BHTM album, especially since it has been three years since they released their live albums: Live At The Belly Up and We’re Gonna Play It Anyway-Red Rocks 2020, and it was 2017 when they released studio album New World Arisin’.
Set List
1. Helpless
2. Dirty Juice
3. Resignation Superman
4. Secret Mission
5. Twice As Bright
6. The Damaged One
7. Flander’s Fields
8. Crush
9. Turn The Light Out
10. Please Don’t Tell Her
11. Boom Boom
12. Wipeout Turn
13. King Kong
14. It’s Alright
15. Beautiful World
16. Soul for Every Cowboy
17. New World Arisin
18. My New Number One
19. Bittersweet
20. Broken Hearted Savior
Encore
20. Brandy
21. Circle
22. I Wanna Be Sedated
Click Here for the Full Gallery of the Evening!
If you happened to capture any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media at Shutter 16 Magazine and throw in #Shutter16 and #TwitFromThePit for the world to see.
Website:
https://www.bigheadtodd.com/
Tour:
https://www.bigheadtodd.com/tour-tickets
Socials:
https://www.instagram.com/b.h.t.m/
https://www.facebook.com/BigHeadToddandtheMonsters
https://www.youtube.com/user/bigheadtoddmonsters
