It’s in the air. Life is back to a relative normal. Masks are off, social distancing is ceasing to exist and for an evening, life felt like it was before the Covid pandemic. Legendary 80’s rock band Great White took the stage at the Diamond Jo Casino in Northwood, Iowa this past Saturday.
Honestly, I’ve never been to a show at a casino besides a Michael Jackson impersonator concert at the Stratosphere in Las Vegas. It was a different vibe going through the lines of slot machines, blackjack tables and video poker machines to get to the Diamond Jo Casino Ballroom. There was no opening act and Great White came in right as scheduled and didn’t waste time by getting into their song “Desert Moon.” The crowd was rocking and ready for a night of nostalgia with Great White in this intimate venue.
The first thing I immediately noticed was the incredible guitar work from Great White founder Mark Kendall. Kendall put on a clinic playing his brand of bluesy rock, and what I’ve always appreciated about him is that he plays with feeling. When he bends the strings, you can feel what he plays and he put on a show with his guitar work in songs such as “Mista Bone”, “Can’t Shake It” and a wonderful interlude in their smash hit “Rock Me.”
The relatively new vocalist Mitch Malloy held his own as well. With his extremely long hair and sporting a Great White “Rockin’ America 2021” tour t-shirt, Mitch’s charisma and vocal prowess kept the casino crowd engaged. He led a nice audience participation moment during their final song “Once Bitten, Twice Shy.”
Michael Lardie is the unsung hero in Great White. He had a smile on his face that needed to be surgically removed in order to remove said smile. You can tell that he was happy playing for his fans. He provides a nice rhythm guitar and also provided some wonderful keyboard arrangements during interludes and solos.
The rhythm section with Scott Snyder and Audie Desbrow laid the canvas for the Great White sound. The rhythm and the playing during “Mista Bone” got the crowd rocking and they served the song when it was Mitch and Mark’s time to shine on the stage.
If you want hits and a night of nostalgia, then take an evening off from your job and get to the nearest Great White show. From a musicianship standpoint, they bring back waves of memories from when Great White was dominating the radio and dominating MTV with songs such as “House of Broken Love”, “Rock Me” and “Once Bitten, Twice Shy.” Check out the tour dates below.
Great White “Rockin’ America” Tour 2021:
Friday, July 23rd- Southern Iowa Fair in Oskaloosa, Iowa
Wednesday, July 28th- Olmsted County Fair in Rochester, Minnesota
Friday, July 30th- Marquee Theater in Tempe, Arizona
Saturday, July 31st- Cook’s Garage in Lubbock, Texas
Tuesday, August 10th- Shade Valley Camp Resort in Sturgis, South Dakota (w/Vince Neil)
Wednesday, August 11th- Dak Jam Music & Arts Festival in Minot, North Dakota (w/Vince Neil)
Friday, August 27th- Genesee County Fair in Mount Morris, Michigan
Saturday, August 28th- New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York (w/Vixen and Slaughter)
Saturday, September 4th- Resurrection Island Tattoo Convention in Wheeling, West Virginia (w/Autograph)
Friday, September 10th- MGM Northfield Park in Northfield, Ohio (w/Slaughter)
Saturday, September 11th- Marion Popcorn Festival in Marion, Ohio
Wednesday, September 15th- OC Bikefest in Ocean City, Maryland (w/Kix)
Thursday, October 14th- Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa, Florida (w/Vince Neil)
Friday, October 15th- Apache Casino Hotel in Lawton, Oklahoma (w/Queensryche)
Thursday, November 4th- Sycuan Casino Resort in El Cajon, California (w/Slaughter)
For tickets and further information on any of the shows listed above, click here.
Fans can find Great White on their official website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Fans can check out the music video for “Big Time” by Great White below:
Setlist: Saturday, July 17th Diamond Jo Casino in Northwood, Iowa
- Desert Moon
- Lady Red Light
- Can’t Shake It
- Big Time
- House of Broken Love
- Face The Day
- I’m Alright
- The Angel Song
- Mista Bone
- Big Goodbye
- Save All Your Love
- Rock Me
- Once Bitten, Twice Shy
- Photo Credit: All photos belong to Great White
