DelGuidice opened his set with “Sometimes a Fantasy,” which featured a killer electric guitar solo from Ken Cino, as red lights shined from the stage. “Mulcahy’s. Good evening. It’s good to be back. Salud to Billy Joel for writing all these great songs,” he said, and he introduced saxophone virtuoso Andy Snitzer, who was remarkable on the sax solos for “New York State of Mind” and “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant.” “How many Italians have we got in here?” he asked.
Filling in for Carmine Giglio was keyboard player Michael Jewell who delivered on the keyboard-driven ballad “Vienna.” They picked up the pace with “My Life” and “This is the Time” was an elegant ballad. Nick Dimichino rocked the bass all night.
Several of his dedicated fans danced along to “Keeping the Faith,” which featured DelGuidice’s whistle register in the end. He dedicated the moving “Goodnight Saigon” to all of the firefighters, police offers and members in the Armed forces, where everybody was chanting “USA.”
They continued with “Movin’ Out” and noteworthy covers of Aerosmith’s “Dream On” and Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love,” which was followed by a “bad-ass” drum solo from Mike Sorrentino. “Give it up for Mike DelGuidice on that one,” Ken Cino said, praising the front-man for his vocal prowess on the classic rock tunes.
It was followed by the acoustic portion of the show, where DelGuidice sang “She’s Always a Woman” and a medley of Elton John songs such as “Your Song” and “Tiny Dancer,” prior to taking his fans on a musical voyage with “The Downeaster Alexa,” and on extremes with “I Go to Extremes.” Steven Fileti was sensational on harmonica on “Piano Man.”
The Verdict
Overall, Mike DelGuidice and his band, Big Shot, doesn’t disappoint. After 34 career Big Shot concerts that this journalist has been fortunate to attend and review, Big Shot is a band that always delivers, and they are one of the finest talents that Long Island has to offer. In addition, Andy Snitzer on saxophone was an eighth world musical wonder. Well done guys.
Steve Bitterman, who is affectionately known as the “Karaoke King of Queens,” remarked, “Mike Delguidice and ‘Big Shot’ were so good that if you closed your eyes you saw Billy Joel and Mark Rivera, and the band’s Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin covers were perfection.”
Children’s book author, Shari Bitterman (Simon the Snail), stated, “It was a real treat seeing Big Shots featuring Mike DelGuidice. He is more than multi-talented; he’s phenomenal! His covers of Billy Joel are beyond spot on as the band’s instrumentals put the icing on the cake. And just when you think he’s hit the top of his game he surprises and delights with his spectacular renditions of Aerosmith’s ‘Dream On’ and Led Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love.'”
