There are concerts where you look back and realize that you have been lucky enough to be at a show where the band trotted out new music that would be forevermore loved by their biggest fans. With Whitesnake it would be any concert from either the Slide It In or the Whitesnake tours. Now, in 2011, Whitesnake fans can rejoice at being there to hear the songs off their latest release, Forevermore, as it may just be the best thing the Snake has ever released.

The evening opened with another band touring hot on the heels of the best album they ever made, Warrant and their album, Rockaholic. With Janie Lane ousted from the band due to his many, and often embarrassing, misadventures, the band is firing on all cylinders with new vocalist, Robert Mason. The new guy is the ringleader onstage and does a great job replacing the ‘80’s icon Lane. In fact, Mason performs the new tunes, “Lifes a Song” and “Sex Ain’t Love” with the same spunk as he does the bands’ classics “Down Boys,” “Heaven” and “Cherry Pie.” This was a case where no one in the audience cared that the original vocalist wasn’t there. Mason won them over and, if the rest of band can stay committed, then he should find a permanent home with the band.

As good as Warrant’s new album is, and as fun as some of the hairspray standards are, the crowd was there to see David Coverdale and Whitesnake. Coverdale is a charming frontman with a wicked voice and a true rock star persona. He took the stage and all eyes were on him as he brandished his trademark blond locks with his cool looking Whitesnake shirt and shimmering jewelry.

As soon as he opened his mouth and spit out the first words of “Best Years” all rumors of his voice being subpar were quashed. Coverdale sounded, and looked, fantastic. His voice can flit from deep and sexy, to raspy, to over the top all in the same song. The power of his vocals, on this night, were impressive. That is not to say the 59 year old Coverdale has not had to adjust a thing or two, but all in all, he blew the crowd away.

After playing three classic Whitesnake tunes, “Give Me All Your Love,” “Love Ain’t No Stranger” and “Is This Love” Coverdale and band began the focus of the night’s main event; music from their incredible new album Forevermore. Usually, when a classic hard rock band announces that they are going to play new material there is a rush to the toilets and the beer line but not on this night. As soon as Doug Aldrich kicked in the powerful opening to “Steal Your Heart Away” those in attendance took notice.

To introduce the next song, Coverdale joked about his new line of Whitesnake furniture and how the contours of the chair conform to your butt. With that, Aldrich sat down on the stool and played the acoustic opening to the new album’s title track. This is an epic tune that stands proudly amongst any song the band has ever recorded. The same can be said about the album’s first single, which came next, “Love Will Set You Free.”

What happened after these three tunes, however, was an amazing spectacle of musical virtuosity. Guitarist Doug Aldrich wailed into a solo that brought the crowd to their feet. He is a special guitar player who plays with passion, speed, agility and conciseness. Suddenly, charging the stage like a bull was ex-Wenger and current Whitesnake guitar player Reb Beach. He took over for Aldrich and put on clinics in two handed tapping technique and making the guitar howl in pain. After a few minutes, Aldrich reappeared onstage and took his solo up a notch to outdo Beach. The duel lasted a great while and the guitar heroics were on display like a Fourth of July celebration, culminating in a call and response battle and some impressive harmonic soling. Finally, after everyone’s ears had melted, Coverdale once again took center stage and led the band through another new tune, the bluesy rocker “My Evil Ways.”

In the middle of this tune, the band left the stage and this time it was new Whitesnake drummer, Brian Tichy, who put on a clinic. He bashed out a solo that concluded with him, literally, bashing the drums, and cymbals, with his hands as he long ago had tossed his sticks aside. He did John Bonham proud and the crowd responded with a roar. Once the band rejoined Tichy, Whitesnake ended the main set with three more classic tunes, “Fool for Your Lovin’,” “Slide It In” and “Here I Go Again.” After thanking the audience, the band left the stage only to return for one of the most ferocious versions of “Still of the Night” ever witnessed.

Watching the show, it is obvious that David Coverdale is the General, the troops follow his lead; Whitesnake is his band. However, one cannot discount the contribution of guitarist Doug Aldrich. The blond haired guitar player co-wrote the new album and his playing is at a level that stands easily next to former Whitesnake guitarists Bernie Marsden, Mickey Moody, Steve Vai, Adrian Vandenberg and John Sykes. Aldrich is truly that good. His stage presence is that of a true guitar god and his speed and technique are a force to be reckoned with. When a bands’ second guitarist is someone as talented as Reb Beach then that says something about commitment to excellence. Every member of Whitesnake are solid professionals who deliver the goods with passion, volume and precision.

The only complaint of the night is the omission of the classic Snake song, “Slow & Easy.” The band has not been playing this one on this trek and it is a mistake. Somehow, they need to rectify this as it took the focus of the end of the show onto why this song was left out, instead of where it should have been, which is on what a great new album Whitesnake has and how well they are performing onstage.

Classic Rock Revisited highly recommends that all of our readers check out the new album, Forevermore as well as Whitesnake in concert in 2011. This is a band playing at the top of their game, promoting a new album that they are passionate about and doing all they can to remind the world why real music kicks the crap out of Lady Gaga. Whitenake, and Mr. Coverdale, are on a mission to bring real rock music back to the fans. Suffice it to say that Whitesnake are on a roll.