Cheap Trick played their first post-coronavirus concert on Saturday at the Foxwoods Casino’s Grand Theater in Mashantucket, Conn., with a little help from their sons.
The 19-song performance included classic songs like “Dream Police,” “Surrender” and “I Want You to Want Me,” covers of the Beatles’ “Day Tripper” and Fats Domino’s “Ain’t That a Shame” and several tracks off their new album In Another World, such as “The Summer Looks Good on You” and “Light Up the Fire.”
The band’s first concert since February 2020 proved to be a multigenerational affair, as singer Robin Zander’s son Robin Taylor Zander filled in for bassist Tom Petersson, who is recovering from the open-heart surgery he had in March. Guitarist Rick Nielsen’s son Daxx has also served as the band’s touring drummer since 2010, though ousted original drummer Bun E. Carlos remains a legal member of the group.
You can watch Cheap Trick Play “Dream Police” at their first post-pandemic concert below.
Last month, Petersson said he was doing “much better” after his surgery during an interview with Detroit radio station WRIF. “I was in good shape, and it was something they discovered unexpectedly,” the bassist said. “I didn’t have any symptoms. But it was the kind of thing where without knowing about it, you would just all of a sudden suddenly drop dead. I was, like, ‘Okay. I’m in. Open-heart surgery? Sounds good to me.'”
Cheap Trick will return to the stage on July 2 in Fort Dodge, Iowa, and continue to headline shows throughout the summer and fall. Nielsen, meanwhile, is squeezing in some extra reps on an ongoing co-headlining tour with Nick Perri & the Underground Thieves.
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